On May 14, EPIC-sponsored legislation AB 2494 that will end the commercial logging mandate in all state forests, including the Jackson Demonstration State Forest, will be heard in its second committee hearing in the California State Legislature. The Assembly Appropriations Committee will vote on the bill, deciding whether it continues the process through the legislature to eventually get signed into law by Governor Newsom.

Last Wednesday EPIC took a tour of Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) and Miller Family Farm to learn about different management techniques in restoration forestry and how restoration forestry may count as “conserved” under the State’s policies to conserve 30% of California’s lands and waters by 2030.

Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF), located between the cities of Fort Bragg and Ukiah in Mendocino, is a place to recreate and...