4645-4658
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 4645-4658
4645. The department, in accordance with plans approved by the board, may engage in the management, protection, and reforestation of state forests. 4646. The director, acting in accordance with policies adopted by the board, shall administer this chapter. He may exercise all powers necessary to accomplish its purposes and intent. 4647. The department shall prepare a map setting forth the boundaries of purchase areas, and it shall prepare data relating to the forest conditions within these areas. In the preparation of the map and data the department shall be guided by, but not limited to, a report prepared and submitted to the Legislature by the California Forestry Study Committee provided for in Chapter 1086, Statutes of 1943. The department shall make the necessary surveys, examinations, appraisals, inventories, and title searches and obtain other pertinent data and information bearing on tracts of forest land offered for sale for state forest purposes. 4648. Acquisition of forest land pursuant to this chapter shall be made only upon the approval of the director. Approval by the director shall be based on satisfactory evidence presented to him by the board as to the suitability and desirability of lands under consideration for purchase for state forest purposes. This suitability and desirability shall be predicated on, but not limited to, the following factors: (a) That the lands are suited primarily to timber growing. (b) That the lands represent growing capacities not below the average for the timber region. (c) That they are favorably situated for multiple use and economical administration, management, and utilization. The director shall not approve the acquisition of any lands pursuant to this chapter unless he receives a resolution recommending such action adopted by the board of supervisors of the county in which such lands are situated following a public hearing held by the board of supervisors on the proposed acquisition. Notice of the hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code. The holding of a hearing shall be optional to the board of supervisors for areas of 2,000 acres or less. Upon approval of a purchase by the director, the department may negotiate for and consummate the purchase of the lands. 4649. Whenever it is deemed advisable and advantageous, the board may enter into an agreement with the Department of Corrections, or the Youth Authority for employment of inmates of these institutions in work on state forests. 4650. (a) With the approval of the Director of General Services, the director may make sales of forest products from state forests that do not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in value without advertising for bids. With the approval of the Director of General Services, the director may also make sales that do not exceed 100,000 board feet of dead, dying, downed, diseased, or defective trees, trees harvested in connection therewith for thinning purposes or other forest improvement work, or any combination thereof, without advertising for bids. (b) Any sale of forest products in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in value, or in excess of 100,000 board feet with respect to dead, dying, downed, diseased, or defective trees, trees harvested in connection therewith for thinning purposes or other forest improvement work, or any combination thereof, shall be upon competitive bids. Advertising for bids shall be the same as is generally in use for the sale of state property. 4650.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, timber from state forests shall not be sold to any California division of a primary manufacturer, or to any person for resale to a primary manufacturer, who does either of the following: (1) Uses that timber at any plant not located within the United States unless it is sawn on four sides to dimensions not greater than 4 inches by 12 inches. (2) Within one year prior to the bid date and one year after the termination of the contract, sells unprocessed timber, which is harvested from private timberlands and is exported into foreign commerce from this state. (b) Any purchaser of timber from state forests who makes use of timber in violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is prohibited from purchasing state forest timber for a period of five years and may have his or her license suspended for a period of up to one year. (c) The department may adopt appropriate regulations to prevent the substitution of timber from state forests for timber exported from private timberlands. (d) For purposes of this section, "unprocessed timber" means trees or portions of trees or other roundwood not processed to standards and specifications suitable for end product use, but does not include timber processed into any of the following: (1) Lumber or construction timbers, except Western Red Cedar, meeting current American Lumber Standards Grades or Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau Export R or N list grades, sawn on four sides, not intended for remanufacture. (2) Lumber, construction timbers, or cants for remanufacture, except Western Red Cedar, meeting current American Lumber Standards Grades or Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau Export R or N list clear grades, sawn on four sides, not to exceed 12 inches in thickness. (3) Lumber, construction timbers, or cants for remanufacture, except Western Red Cedar, that do not meet the grades referred to in paragraph (2) and are sawn on four sides, with wane less than 1/4 of any face, not exceeding 8 3/4 inches in thickness. (4) Chips, pulp, or pulp products. (5) Veneer or plywood. (6) Poles, posts, or piling cut or treated with preservatives for use as such. (7) Shakes or shingles. (8) Aspen or other pulpwood bolts, not exceeding 100 inches in length, exported for processing into pulp. (9) Pulp logs or cull logs processed at domestic pulp mills, domestic chip plants, or other domestic operations for the purpose of conversion of the logs into chips. 4651. The management of state forests and the cutting and sale of timber and other forest products from state forests shall conform to regulations prepared by the director and approved by the board. These regulations shall be in conformity with forest management practices designed to achieve maximum sustained production of high-quality forest products while giving consideration to values relating to recreation, watershed, wildlife, range and forage, fisheries, and aesthetic enjoyment. The sale of timber and other forest products is limited to raw materials only. 4652. (a) The department may collect recreational user fees for overnight camping and reserved group activities in a demonstration state forest. The department shall not charge a fee that exceeds the amount necessary to reimburse the department's costs for maintenance and improvement of campground facilities, associated recreational facilities, natural environment, and access thereto. (b) All recreational user fees received by the department during each fiscal year shall be deposited into the Forest Resources Improvement Fund and shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to reimburse the department's cost of maintaining and improving the campground facilities, associated recreational facilities, natural environment, and access thereto. (c) Receipts from the sales of forest products and recreational user fees shall be deposited monthly with the State Treasurer in the Forest Resources Improvement Fund. The Controller shall keep a record of accounts of such receipts separately. 4653. State-owned lands classified by the department and approved by the board as not suited to the growing of forest products, or necessary to the management of the forest, shall be sold according to state laws. 4654. There shall be paid to each county in which lands acquired for state forest purposes are situated, out of funds hereafter made available for such purpose, an amount equivalent to taxes levied by the county on similar land similarly situated in the county in the same manner as provided in the Revenue and Taxation Code for secured property tax payments as long as the state continues to own the land. Such payments shall be based only upon the value of the forest lands used for purposes of continuous commercial forest production and not upon value of such forest land used for any other purposes, including any improvements on such lands. Determination of what constitutes similar land similarly situated shall be made by a committee consisting of the county assessor of the county in which the land is located, a representative of the State Board of Equalization and a representative of the department. The money received by any county pursuant to this section may be expended by it for any proper state purpose not prohibited by the State Constitution. 4655. Tax-deeded lands classified as forest lands, pursuant to Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 3534), Part 6, Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, may be acquired for the state forest purposes through the usual procedure governing the sale of tax-deeded lands. 4656. This chapter does not interfere with the reasonable use of state forests for hunting, fishing, recreation and camping, except as otherwise provided by law. The use of state forest lands for grazing and mining purposes shall be permitted pursuant to regulations established by the board in accordance with Chapter 3. 5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The use and development of water facilities for irrigation and power shall be permitted as provided by law. 4656.1. The board may establish rules and regulations, in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, for the preservation, protection, and use of state forests and for the promotion and protection of public health and safety within state forests. 4656.2. The department shall protect the state forests from damage and preserve the peace therein. 4656.3. Any person who violates the rules and regulations pertaining to the state forests established by the board is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000). 4657. Insofar as the provisions of this chapter may be in conflict with any other provision of this division, the provision of this chapter shall control. 4658. The Mountain Home Tract Forest in Tulare County shall be developed and maintained, pursuant to this chapter, as a multiple-use forest, primarily for public hunting, fishing, and recreation. In future acquisitions and exchanges of land, as provided by law, the acreage in state ownership shall not be reduced below 4,000 acres.