California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1.5 - Department of Forestry and Fire Protection › Chapter 4 - Forest Practices › Subchapter 7 - Administration › Article 6.95 - Working Forest Management Plan Administration › Section 1094.6 - Contents of Wfmp

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The WFMP shall serve three functions:
1) to provide information the Director needs
					 to determine whether the proposed WFMP conforms to the Board Rules;
2) to provide information and direction for
					 timber management so it complies with the Board Rules and the management
					 objectives of the landowner(s); and
3) to disclose the potential effects of
					 timber management to the public. For the WFMP to serve these functions, it
					 shall, at a minimum, contain the following information:
(a) Name, address and telephone number of the
					 timberland owner(s).
(b) Name,
					 address and telephone number of the Designated Agent if known at the time of
					 WFMP submission.
(c) Name, address,
					 and telephone number of the timber owner(s) (if different than the timberland
					 owners).
(d) Name, address,
					 telephone number, and registration number of RPF who prepared the
					 Plan.
(e) A United States
					 Geological Survey quadrangle map or equivalent, of a scale not less than 2" per
					 mile. Additional maps may be required to show specific details, and may be
					 planimetric. Color coding on maps may be used if they are able to be reproduced
					 in black and white and clearly show all details. A legend shall be included
					 indicating the meaning of the symbols used. See the District Rules for the
					 appropriate minimum mapping acreages. The map shall include:
(1) Boundaries of WFMP Management Unit(s).
					 Boundaries of Management Units shall not exceed a single ownership which may
					 include, but is not limited to, entities comprised as a single ownership of
					 divided interest, natural-persons with undivided interests, or a legally
					 established artificial-person (such as limited liability companies,
					 corporations, partnerships, or trusts).
(2) Boundaries of yarding (logging) systems,
					 if more than one (1) system is to be used.
(3) Boundaries of areas sample marked for
					 each prescribed silvicultural method to be applied.
(4) Location of all roads to be used for, or
					 potentially impacted by, timber operations. This shall include:
(A) The classification of all roads as
					 permanent, seasonal, temporary, or deactivated.
(B) Roads and Landings located in
					 Watercourses, Lakes, WLPZs, Wet Meadows or Other Wet Areas other than at road
					 Watercourse crossings.
(C) Roads
					 that provide access to rock pits and water drafting sites, and the location of
					 water drafting sites.
(D) Public
					 roads within one-quarter ( ¼ ) mile of the harvest area.
(E) The location of significant existing and
					 potential erosion sites on all roads and landings pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
															923.1(e).
(5) Location of proposed and existing
					 landings outside the WLPZ that are greater than ¼ acre in size or whose
					 construction involves substantial excavation.
(6) Location of area(s) of low, moderate,
					 high or extreme erosion hazard ratings.
(7) Location of all Lakes and Watercourses
					 with Class I, II, III, or IV waters.
(8) Location of known unstable areas or
					 slides.
(9) Location of
					 understocked areas and other areas not normally bearing timber to at least a
					 20-acre minimum, or as specified in the District Rules.
(10) Location of boundaries of timber-site
					 classes needed for determination of stocking standards to be applied.
(11) The locations of logging roads and
					 landings to be abandoned or deactivated.
(12) A soils map where available.
(13) Late Successional Forest Stands or
					 Strata
(14) Location of unique
					 areas including Coastal Commission Special Treatment Areas or other special
					 treatment areas and known locations of state or federally listed threatened,
					 candidate, and endangered species; rare plants; Sensitive Species pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
														895.1; and species that meet the
					 criteria under
					 14 CCR
					 §
														15380(d).
(15) The location of all new permanent
					 constructed and reconstructed and temporary logging road watercourse crossings,
					 including those crossings to be abandoned or deactivated.
(16) For all constructed and reconstructed
					 logging roads and landings:
(A) Location of
					 logging road grades greater than 15 percent for over 200 continuous feet or
					 logging road grades exceeding 20 percent.
(B) Locations of logging road failures on
					 existing logging roads to be reconstructed.
(C) Location of logging roads across and
					 landings on unstable areas or connected headwall swales.
(D) Location of excess material disposal
					 sites on slopes greater than 40 percent or on active unstable areas.
(E) Location of logging roads and landings
					 across slopes greater than 65 percent for 100 lineal feet or more.
(F) Location of logging roads and landings
					 across slopes greater than 50 percent for 100 lineal feet or more within 100
					 feet of the boundary of a WLPZ that drains toward the zoned watercourse or
					 lake.
(17) Location of
					 main ridge tops on the logging area suitable for fire suppression efforts that
					 will require the felling of snags.
(18) Location of any in lieu use of heavy
					 equipment and location of tractor roads in Watercourses, lakes, WLPZs, marshes,
					 Wet Meadows and Other Wet Areas, except where the WFMP has a standard operating
					 practice(s) pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
														1094.6
					 (jj).
(19) Boundaries of any areas where Tractor
					 Operations are proposed for use on areas designated for Cable
					 Yarding.
(f) A
					 description of the Plan area within which timber operations are to be
					 conducted, except as otherwise specified. The description shall include the
					 following:
(1) Township, range, and section
					 number(s) and approximate Plan acreage,
(2) County name(s),
(3) CALWATER v2.2 planning watershed
					 number(s) and hydrologic area number,
(4) The forest district and subdistrict (if
					 any) in which the WFMP is located.
(5) A description of present and proposed
					 Plan area uses other than timber production.
(g) A description by the RPF of the inventory
					 design and standards which, at a minimum, shall include:
(1) The baseline conditions found on the WFMP
					 and the future conditions and planning horizon associated with the estimate of
					 LTSY.
(2) A description of the
					 design of inventory plots or strips, cruise lines and reference points between
					 plots or strips, that are sufficient to facilitate initial review of the
					 WFMP.
(3) The type of projections
					 or models used for projecting growth and yield appropriate for stand conditions
					 and estimated period of time to achieve LTSY.
(h) A description of the inventory design and
					 timber stand stratification criteria that demonstrates that the inventory
					 supporting the growth and yield calculations used to determine LTSY by volume
					 for the WFMPs meets the following minimum standards:
(1) For Major Stand Type(s) or Strata, the
					 inventory estimate shall be within fifteen (15) percent of the mean at one (1)
					 standard error.
(2) For Stand(s) or
					 Strata that make up greater than ten (10) percent and less than twenty five
					 (25) percent of the WFMP area, the estimate shall be no greater than twenty
					 five (25) percent of the mean at one (1) standard error.
(3) Inventory estimates and growth and yield
					 shall be projected for the purposes of determining LTSY and volumes available
					 for harvest by Stand or Strata and aggregated for the area covered by the WFMP
					 to develop the LTSY estimate. LTSY estimates shall reasonably reflect
					 constraints applicable to the Working Forest Timberlands on forest management
					 activities. Reasonable constraints shall include biologic and economic factors,
					 while accounting for limits on productivity due to constraints imposed from
					 consideration of other forest values, including but not limited to, recreation,
					 watershed, wildlife, range and forage, fisheries, regional economic activity,
					 employment and aesthetic enjoyment.
(i) A description of the property and planned
					 activities including:
(1) Acres of Stands,
					 Strata and Major Stand Types.
(2)
					 Projected growth.
(3) Existing
					 stand types.
(4) Major Stand Types
					 or Strata.
(5) Current projected
					 growth by Strata.
(6) Silvicultural
					 method(s) to be applied to Strata to achieve LTSY.
(7) Existing and projected timber volumes and
					 tree sizes to be available for harvest.
(8) Projected frequencies of
					 harvest.
(9) Silvicultural
					 method(s) to be applied during the initial harvest(s) and projected future
					 harvest(s), and method(s) used in the projected growth and yield to achieve
					 LTSY.
(j) All necessary
					 information to demonstrate compliance with Article 12 (commencing with Section
					 923) of Subchapter 4 of, Article
					 11 (commencing with Section
					 943) of Subchapter 5 of, and
					 Article 12 (commencing with Section
					 963) of Subchapter 6 of, Division
					 1.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as applicable.
(k) Special provisions to protect unique
					 areas, if any, within the WFMP area.
(l) A description of Late Succession Forest
					 Stands, including their biological legacies and hardwoods, in the Plan area,
					 their acreage, composition, structure, and how the total acreage of this type
					 of habitat will be maintained across the Plan area under a constraint of no net
					 loss. Nothing in this requirement shall be interpreted to preclude active
					 management on any given acre of an approved Plan if the management is conducted
					 in a manner that maintains or enhances the overall acreage of Late Succession
					 Forest Stands that existed in the Plan area upon initial Plan approval. An
					 exception to the no net loss constraint may be granted in the event of a
					 catastrophic loss due to emergency factors such as wildfire, insect, and
					 disease activity. The description shall include the following:
(1) Retention measures for existing
					 biological legacies such as snags, trees with cavities or basal hollows, and
					 down logs, and address how legacies shall be managed over time as appropriate
					 with the forest type, climate, and timberland owner's forest fire fuels and
					 wildlife management objectives.
(2)
					 Hardwood tree species and how they will be managed over
					 time.
(m) Disclosure of:
(1) State or federally listed threatened,
					 candidate, endangered, or rare plant or animal species known locations within
					 the biological assessment area and the WFMP, their status and habitats, take
					 avoidance methodologies, enforceable protection measures for species within or
					 adjacent to the WFMP and habitats within the WFMP area, and how forest
					 management will maintain species and habitats over time;
(2) Any known locations of plant or animal
					 species pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
														15380(d) within the
					 biological assessment area and the WFMP;
(3) Information on the presence and known
					 locations of individual Sensitive Species pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
														895.1 adjacent to or within the WFMP
					 or their key habitats within the WFMP.
(n) A description of the following for each
					 Management Unit shall contain:
(1) Acres by
					 Stand or Strata and estimated growth and yield for each planned harvest entry
					 covering the period of time the LTSY plan establishes as necessary to meet
					 growth and yield objectives. The growth and yield estimates may be based on
					 weighted average of yield for the Major Stand Type(s) or Strata within the area
					 included in the Management Unit and shall include:
(A) Existing and Projected timber volumes and
					 tree sizes to be available for harvest.
(B) Existing stocking levels, including but
					 not limited to, average conifer and hardwood basal area density and average
					 conifer and hardwood trees per acre.
(C) Potential pest and protection
					 problems.
(2) Management
					 Unit history.
(3) Yarding methods
					 to be used.
(o) For LTSY
					 projections that project a reduction, over 100-year planning horizon or shorter
					 planning horizon until growth and yield are balanced, in quadratic mean
					 diameter of trees greater than 12 inches in diameter or a reduced level of
					 inventory for a Major Stand Type or for a Stand or Strata that make up greater
					 than 10 percent and less than 25 percent of the WFMP area, an assessment shall
					 be included that does all of the following:
(1) Addresses state or federally listed
					 threatened, candidate, and endangered species; rare plants; Sensitive Species
					 pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §
														895.1; and species that meet the
					 criteria under
					 14 CCR
					 §
														15380(d), that timber
					 operations could adversely impact by potential changes to habitat.
(2) Addresses species habitat needs utilizing
					 the "WHR system" described in "A Guide to Wildlife Habitats in California,"
					 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1988, herein incorporated by
					 reference, or comparable typing system approved by the Director after
					 consultation with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(3) Addresses constraints to timber
					 management, the impact of the availability and distribution of habitats on the
					 ownership and within the cumulative impacts assessment area identified in the
					 Plan in relation to the harvest schedule, and the impacts of the planned
					 management activities utilizing the existing habitat as the baseline for
					 comparison.
(4) Discusses and
					 includes feasible measures planned to avoid or mitigate potentially significant
					 adverse impacts on fish or wildlife, which can include, but is not limited to,
					 recruitment or retention of large down logs greater than 16 inches in diameter
					 and 20 feet in length, retention of trees with structural features such as
					 basal hollows, cavities, large limbs, or broken tops, retention of hardwoods,
					 and retention or recruitment of snags greater than 24 inches in diameter and 16
					 feet in height.
(p) A
					 certification by the RPF preparing the Plan that the RPF or the RPF's
					 Supervised Designee has personally inspected the Plan area and has clearly
					 explained to the timberland owner(s) that the Plan is a long-term commitment
					 that may require ongoing investments, including inventory sampling and logging
					 road maintenance, for the purpose of managing the Plan.
(q) The WFMP shall describe a future schedule
					 of inventory sampling and analysis of LTSY, which shall consider:
(1) Site class, projected growth and yield
					 and harvest(s).
(2) Original
					 projections or model calibration and accuracy.
(3) Episodic events including disease and
					 drought caused tree mortality, windthrow, fire and
					 reforestation.
(r) A
					 description of any cultural or historical resources known to exist with a
					 description of possible impacts and protection methods to be used during timber
					 operations.
(s) Whether a
					 timberland conversion certificate is in effect, its date of expiration, and its
					 identification number.
(t) Whether
					 a timber harvesting plan is on file with the Department for any part of the
					 Plan area and if a Report of Satisfactory Stocking has been issued by the
					 Department (show Plan number).
(u)
					 A description of potential impacts to, and protections for, the quality and
					 beneficial uses of water.
(v) A
					 description of how the site preparation standards and stocking standards of the
					 selected silvicultural method, or that level of stocking above the minimum that
					 will achieve long term sustained yield (LTSY), will be met.
(w) A description of slash treatment for site
					 preparation, fire protection and pest protection consideration.
(x) A description of the cumulative impacts
					 analysis with supporting information, including impact(s) of projected timber
					 operations over the life of the Plan.
(y) The Department shall make available a
					 copy of the California Forest Practice Rules in effect at the time of WFMP
					 approval.
(z) Explanation and
					 justification for, and specific measures to be used for, tractor operations on
					 unstable areas, on slopes over 65%, and in areas where slopes average over 50%
					 where the EHR is high or extreme.
(aa) Explanation and justification for
					 tractor operations in areas designated for cable yarding.
(bb) Winter period operating plan where
					 appropriate.
(cc) Explanation and
					 justification for use of Landings, Logging Roads and skid trails in the
					 protection zones of Watercourses, Lakes, Wet Meadows and Other Wet
					 Areas.
(dd) Explanation and
					 justification of any in-lieu or alternative practices for Watercourse and Lake
					 protection.
(ee) Explanation of
					 alternatives to standard Rules for harvesting and erosion control.
(ff) Explanation and justification for
					 landings that exceed the maximum size specified in the Rules.
(gg) A description of soils, surface erosion
					 hazard, mass wasting erosion hazard, and erosion control measures.
(hh) A description of the existing and
					 proposed road system to be used in implementation of the WFMP, including the
					 diameter of any permanent culverts on Class I, II, or III Watercourses and the
					 methods used to determine the diameter.
(ii) A description of Lakes, Wet Meadows and
					 Other Wet Areas.
(jj) A RPF may
					 propose, and the Director may approve, a standard operating practice(s) that
					 could be utilized in site-specific locations during future operations under an
					 approved WFMP. Standard operating practices are limited to contents pursuant to
					 14 CCR
					 §§
													1094.6(z) and
					 1094.6(cc).
(1) A representative sample of each type of
					 proposed standard operating practice(s) shall be flagged in the field by the
					 RPF, or Supervised Designee, and available for field review by the
					 interdisciplinary review team.
(2)
					 For locations where the prescribed standard operating practice(s) will not
					 adequately address the site specific conditions, the RPF, through consultation
					 with the multi-disciplinary review team, may develop alternative mitigations
					 that shall be incorporated into the WFMP through a deviation prior to submittal
					 of a Working Forest Harvest Notice for the area in which the developed
					 mitigation measure(s) applies and is located.
(kk) Proprietary information shall be treated
					 consistent with PRC §
												21160
					 and GOV §
												6254.7.