Breaking News: EPIC Sponsors Legislation to Conserve State Demonstration Forest System

On Friday, February 20th, Assemblymember Chris Rogers and Senator Mike McGuire introduced AB 2494, a bill that would provide a transformative update to the management of California’s state demonstration forests by shifting the management of the forest away from industrial commercial timber production, and towards ecological restoration, climate resilience, and Tribal co-governance for more than 85,000 acres of public forestland statewide. 

The legislation brings the governance of state-owned demonstration forests to the modern era by updating management objectives that date back to 1947, when logging old-growth forests and destructive logging techniques were still being demonstrated. By modernizing state policy that governs state demonstration forests, which are currently managed by the California Board of Forestry and CAL FIRE under laws within the Public Resources Code, we are helping the state to catch up with its conservation priorities and climate goals. Prioritizing the climate and wildlife within state demonstration forests is critical in a time when the federal government is backsliding on its prior commitments to address the climate crisis and is instead ramping up timber production across the country. This bill would shift the focus of demonstration forest management from timber products to thriving forests that store significant amounts of carbon and serve as quality wildlife habitat—opening up portions of these lands to count towards the state’s goal to conserve and protect 30% of land and coastal waters by the year 2030. 

This bill will consequently include the end of the commercial logging mandate for the Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF). The Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino County is the largest demonstration forest in the state, nearly 50,000 acres of the 85,000 throughout the whole state. Within JDSF, there are active mushroom foragers, mountain bikers, campers, hikers, and equestrians, which in turn support the local tourism economy. The area also constitutes a tribal cultural landscape for Coast Yuki and Northern Pomo peoples. 

EPIC is just one in a long line of advocates to push for changing the industrial logging mandate for state forests. In the early 2000s, the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Forest, headed by Vince Taylor, joined with Forests Forever and Senator Wesley Chesboro to introduce a bill that would have changed the focus of the state forests from timber production to a mix of uses, including restoration, education, and recreation. SB1648 passed the Assembly and the Senate, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger returned it to the legislature unsigned on September 16th, 2004. The JDSF Advisory Group (JAG) was formed in April of 2008 to make recommendations on long-term management of JDSF to CAL FIRE and the Board of Forestry. In response to the destructive Caspar 500 timber harvest plan, the Save Jackson State Forest Coalition was formed in 2020 and forest defenders successfully blocked operations from moving forward. In 2021 the Mendocino Board of Supervisors called for an alignment of Jackson Demonstration State Forest management goals with California’s climate commitments, in a way that enhanced the wide-ranging scientific, recreational and economic opportunities offered by Jackson Demonstration State Forest. In 2023 the Save Jackson State Forest Coalition, which included the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, created a petition calling for a logging moratorium, a shift to ecology-first management rooted in Indigenous stewardship, formal co‑management, and strong climate and culture-focused protections. This same year, the California Democratic Party adopted a resolution on JDSF calling for tribal co-management. The introduction of AB 2494, the newest vision of state demonstration forest reform, would not have been possible without years of advocacy by EPIC’s many partners and allies—including the Save Jackson State Forest Coalition and the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. We truly hope that this bill honors the late Priscilla Hunter’s memory and her fierce commitment to forest health and Tribal cultural longevity. 

AB 2494 enables CAL FIRE to seek opportunities for Tribal co-management and to integrate local Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge into forest stewardship, strengthening Tribal sovereignty and cultural stewardship of ancestral lands. “Inviting and including Native voices through partnership and co-management is how we will make systemic changes in land management,” said Buffie Campbell, Executive Director, Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council (enrolled member of Sherwood Valley, descendant of Noyo Reservation and Yokayo Rancheria; Northern Pomo). “Tribal nations and Indigenous communities have long faced barriers to caring for their ancestral homelands since colonization—including being shut out of true co-management and limited in bringing Traditional Ecological Knowledge into California’s State Demonstration Forests. Updating the State Demonstration Forests Act is a major step toward changing that.… This is an impactful step towards educating the public regarding Tribal Sovereignty and historical trauma and its effects today, as well as providing acknowledgement of those Tribes and once known villages impacted by antiquated laws.”

As this bill moves forward, EPIC is hopeful that the bill will not only shift management practices in demonstration forests to uphold the state’s values in ecology, climate resiliency, and Tribal sovereignty, but will also influence the timber industry by demonstrating restoration logging practices.

Please thank Assemblymember Chris Rogers and Senator Mike McGuire for introducing AB 2494, and for being fierce advocates for our forests.