Action Alert: Comment on the draft Forest Management Plan at Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF)

Cal Fire is accepting comments on the draft Forest Management Plan for the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Comments are due December 12 and can be submitted to JDSF@fire.ca.gov with subject line “FMP Public Comment” or the JDSF website.

Here are a few talking points that you can use in your comment:

• Lack of CEQA Review and Outdated Environmental Analysis: The Forest Management Plan update lacks a new CEQA review, even though the last comprehensive Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was completed in 2007. Since then, regulatory requirements and environmental conditions have changed substantially. A new EIR is essential to ensure public transparency, updated environmental impact analysis, and appropriate mitigation measures. The Board of Forestry is inaccurately describing the adoption of this forest-wide management plan as mere “information collection”. State Senator Mike McGuire and State Assemblymember Chris Rogers agree. See their Sept. 5, 2025 letter.

• The FMP must acknowledge growing fire risk and slowing tree growth rates under climate change, potentially reducing sustainable harvest levels and not allowing for an increase in carbon storage and sequestration.

• The FMP must include restrictions and clear criteria for new road construction, emphasizing active road decommissioning to reduce erosion and habitat fragmentation.

• The FMP must include clear restrictions on clear-cutting and salvage logging to protect forest ecosystems.

• The FMP must describe risks to special-status plant species from logging, herbicides, and other disturbances.

• The FMP must include explicit goals and actions to protect native and special-status plants in the FMP.

• The FMP must include explicitly stated goals of protecting large old trees from commercial harvest

• The FMP must acknowledge the potential impact of harvesting activity on mushroom foraging or wildlife

• The current draft fails to propose any changes to the current land allocations (most of the forest is still dedicated to commercial timber harvest)

• The FMP must explicitly allow for tribal co-governance agreements under AB 1284 and have mandatory language to follow requirements such as AB 52 on tribal consultation and mitigations for impacts to tribal cultural resources (draft language is permissive)

Unique, individual comments are the best, but if you’re short on time, we’ve also provided a pre-formatted letter here that you can send in just a few clicks.

Thank you for taking action to protect JDSF!