Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 921.3 - Silvicultural Methods

The objective of this Section is to prescribe silvicultural methods that will protect the long-term productivity of soils and Timberlands in Coastal Commission Special Treatment Areas and protect the natural and scenic qualities of these areas. The following silvicultural methods as prescribed below will be applied in Coastal Commission Special Treatment Areas. 14 CCR §§ 913 through 913.6 defines these methods.

(a) Commercial Thinning or Selection Methods. When the commercial thinning or the selection silvicultural method is used the following standards are required:

(1) For an initial entry into an even-aged stand, leave a well distributed timber stand after cutting and logging operations have been completed on the cut area at least forty (40) percent by number of those trees eighteen (18) inches and more d.b.h. present prior to commencement of current Timber Operations. Leave trees shall be thrifty coniferous trees which are free from substantial damage caused by Timber Operations. No conifer tree shall be cut which is more than seventy-five (75) feet from a leave tree twelve (12) inches d.b.h. or larger located within the Logging Area.

(2) For timber stands where more than one age class is present, leave at least fifty (50) percent by number of those trees over twelve (12) inches d.b.h. Leave trees shall be thrifty coniferous trees which are free from substantial damage caused by Timber Operations. No conifer tree shall be cut which is more than seventy-five (75) feet from a leave tree twelve (12) inches d.b.h. or larger located within the Logging Area.

(3) A report of Stocking as described in PRC § 4587 shall be filed within six months following completion of work as described in the Plan.

(b) Sanitation-Salvage Method. When the sanitation-salvage silivcultural method is used the following practices are required:

(1) Restrictions on time periods for subsequent Timber Operations shall not apply to the sanitation-salvage silvicultural method.

(2) A determined effort shall be made to regenerate any cut area during the first planting season following log removal. Necessary site preparation, planting or seeding shall be completed within the first planting season following logging, except where unusual and adverse weather conditions require extending site preparation and planting into the following planting season. Deficiencies in Stocking shall be corrected by planting annually at least three times if necessary to meet the Stocking Standards in 14 CCR § 921.4.

(3) Where the result of the cutting would have the effect of a clearcut all of the restrictions in this section pertaining to the use of clearcuts shall apply, except for 1) areas which are currently suffering severe damage due to insects or disease and the removal of the entire affected area is deemed necessary by a forest pathologist or forest entomologist and agreed to by the Director to prevent the spread of the disease or insects, or 2) except for areas which have recently been burned over and the RPF determined recovery of the affected area is unlikely.

(c) Clearcutting Method. The clearcutting method provides for harvesting of the entire existing timber stand in one harvest in an area. Every reasonable effort shall be made by the RPF to use silvicultural methods other than clearcutting to protect the natural and scenic values in the Coastal Commission Special Treatment Areas. The clearcutting method is not authorized for Special Treatment Areas in the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast Forest District.

(1) The clearcutting method may be used when justified and explained in the Plan and found in conformance by the Director for one or more of the following reasons:

(A) Leave trees would be subject to severe damage from sunburn, saltburn, and/or windthrow.

(B) Conifer stand improvement necessitates the clearing of a stand of hardwoods.

(C) Leave trees would prevent regeneration of the principal conifer Species.

(D) Old growth stands where seventy (70) percent or more of the Countable Trees over thirty-six (36) inches d.b.h. are more than two hundred (200) years old.

(E) Timber stands where trees are infected with insects or diseases, and there is significant risk for substantial loss of standing timber or timber growth.

(2) Clearcut areas shall not exceed ten (10) acres in size, but may be enlarged to not more than fifteen (15) acres when explained and justified in the Plan, and when found in conformance with the Rules. Exceptions to the ten (10) acres size limit may be proposed by the RPF preparing the Plan when in his or her judgment the result will be overall reduction of soil erosion due to logging and road construction, or when it is necessary to include "long corners" to take advantage of topography for a more natural logging unit.

(3) Clearcut areas of ten (10) acres or larger regardless of ownership shall be separated by a logical logging unit not less than three hundred (300) feet in width between the clearcut areas. Except for the sanitation-salvage, commercial thinning, and selection silvicultural method, no other harvesting shall take place in the unit adjacent to the clearcut areas until a fifty (50) percent crown cover of conifer tree Species has been attained in the clearcut areas. Contiguous clearcuts may occur without regard to ownership only when the total combined acreage in the area clearcut is no more than ten (10) acres.

(4) Straight boundaries and a quadrilateral appearance should be avoided in defining and logging the area to be clearcut. The outline of the clearcut area should, where possible, be in accordance aesthetically with natural pattern and features of the topography.

(5) The area to be clearcut must be clearly defined on the ground prior to initial inspection so the Department can readily determine if the full intent of the regulations will be complied with.

(6) No area previously cut under any other silvicultural method, except the sanitation-salvage method, shall be clearcut until ten (10) years have elapsed.

(7) Regeneration after clearcutting shall be obtained by using conifer trees or seed appropriate to the site. Site preparation and the planting of seedlings and/or seeding shall be completed within the first planting season following logging except where unusual and adverse weather conditions require extending site preparation and planting into the following planting season. Deficiencies in Stocking shall be corrected by planting annually, if necessary. Stocking requirements shall be met within five (5) years after completion of Timber Operations.

(d) Rehabilitation Cutting. Rehabilitation cutting may be applied to stands where the primary forest management objective is to reestablish full conifer Stocking on lands where brush and hardwoods are the predominant Species. Areas harvested for rehabilitation purposes must be significantly understocked with conifers prior to the proposed harvest. The Director may request that a report of Stocking be submitted by the RPF prior to approval of the Plan. This report will be requested when it cannot be mutually resolved on the ground that the area is significantly understocked. Restrictions applicable to clearcutting in 14 CCR § 921.3(c) shall apply to rehabilitation cutting. Leave trees shall be marked in areas harvested for rehabilitation purposes.

(e) Fuelbreak/Defensible Space. These are projects where some trees and other vegetation and fuels are removed to create or maintain a shaded fuel break or defensible space in an area to reduce the potential for wildfires and the damage they might cause. Minimum Stocking Standards within the timber operating area shall be met immediately after harvest and shall be those found in 14 CCR § 912.7. The RPF shall describe in the Plan specific vegetation and fuels treatment, including timing, to reduce fuels to meet the objectives of a Community Fuelbreak Area or other objectives identified by the RPF with the written concurrence of a public fire agency and determined by the Director to be consistent with the purposes of this section. The Plan shall include RPF recommendations to protect the natural and scenic qualities of the resources that led to the designation of the area as a Special Treatment Area, including, but not limited to, treating slash in areas highly visible to the public from a publicly accessible vantage point.

(f) Variable Retention may be utilized as described within 14 CCR § 953.4(d) to achieve the objectives of this section. The Plan shall include RPF recommendations to protect the natural and scenic qualities of the resources that led to the designation of the area as a Special Treatment Area, including, but not limited to, treating slash in areas highly visible to the public from a publicly accessible vantage point.

(g) Recutting of Logging Areas. Timber Operations for removal of trees may only be repeated on a Logging Area within less than ten (10) years after completion of a previous Timber Operation if minimum Stocking Standards have been met, the reasons for the operation are justified and explained in the Plan, and the scenic and/or natural qualities of a stand would be enhanced by lighter or more frequent tree removal. In no instance shall Stocking be reduced below the standards provided in 14 CCR § 921.4 nor shall more than sixty (60) percent by numbers of those trees eighteen (18) inches and more d.b.h. and no more than fifty (50) percent by numbers of those trees over twelve (12) inches d.b.h. but less than eighteen (18) inches d.b.h. be removed within any one ten (10) year period.

(h) An Alternative Prescription shall be included in a Plan when, in the judgment of the RPF, an alternative Regeneration Method or Intermediate Treatment offers a more effective or more Feasible way of achieving the objectives of this section than any of the standard Silvicultural Methods provided above.

(1) The Alternative Prescription shall comply with 14 CCR §§ 913.6(b) and (d), and is subject to Director approval as described within 14 CCR § 913.6(e)

(2) If an Alternative Prescription will have the practical on-the-ground effect of a clearcut, regardless of name or description, then the acreage limitations, and requirement for separation by a typical logging unit, Yarding equipment limitations, exceptions, and Stocking requirements for the clearcut Regeneration Method described above, shall apply.

(3) Proposed modifications shall protect the natural and scenic qualities of the Coastal Commission Special Treatment Areas to at least the same extent as otherwise provided in these Rules, in consideration of the resources that led to the designation of the area as a Special Treatment Area.

On Timber Operations in which cutting has occurred within ten (10) years preceding the current operations, stumps which are the result of cutting trees within the preceding ten (10) years shall be counted as trees cut during the current operation in determining percent of trees cut.

Timber Operations conducted under the Sanitation-Salvage Silvicultural Method, and the harvesting of minor forest products and incidental vegetation are exempt from the above provisions of this Section.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 921.3

Note: Authority cited: Sections 4551 and 4553, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 4551.5, 4561, 4561.2 and 30417, Public Resources Code.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 4551 and 4553, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 4551.5, 4561 and 30417, Public Resources Code.

1. Amendment filed 8-10-83; effective upon filing pursuant to Government Code Section 11346.2(d) (Register 83, No. 37).
2. Amendment filed 11-15-85; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 85, No. 46).
3. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 10-31-2017 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2017, No. 44).
4. Amendment of subsections (a)(1)-(2), (c)(1)(D), (c)(2)-(3), (c)(6)-(7), new subsections (e)-(f), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsection (g), new subsections (h)-(h)(3), amendment of last paragraph and amendment of Note filed 11-16-2023; operative 1/1/2024 pursuant to Public Resources Code section 4554.5(a) (Register 2023, No. 46).