ARTICLE 3. State Forests [4645. - 4659.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 3.
in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4646. Section 4646.

The director, acting in accordance with policies adopted by the board, shall administer this chapter. The director may exercise all powers necessary to accomplish its purposes and intent.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4647. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4648. Section 4648.

(a) 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 the director 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, all of the following factors: (1) That the lands are suited primarily to timber growing. (2) That the lands represent growing capacities not below the average for the timber region. (3) That they are favorably situated for multiple use and economical administration, management, and utilization. (b) The director shall not approve the acquisition of any lands pursuant to this chapter unless the director receives a resolution recommending the action adopted by the board of supervisors of the county in which those 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4649. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4650. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4650.1. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4651. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4652. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4653. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4654. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4655. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4656. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4656.1. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4656.3. Section 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).

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4658. Section 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.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 4659. Section 4659.

(a) For purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “City” means the City of Fort Bragg. (2) “County” means the County of Mendocino. (3) “Entity acquiring title” means either the city or the county, whichever exercises the option specified in subdivision (c) to take title to the property. (4) “Property” means the certain real property described as the easterly 17 acres, more or less, of that portion of Mendocino County Assessor’s Parcel Number 019-150-05 which is north of State Highway 20, located in a portion of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. (5) “Solid waste transfer station” has the same meaning as transfer station, as defined in Section 40200. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Director of General Services, subject to the approval of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, may grant an option to the city or to the county, for either entity to acquire title to the property for the purpose of developing a solid waste transfer station. (c) The option agreement shall have a term of five years, from the date of execution, for the city or county to exercise the option and take title to the site. (d) Following the transfer of title, the entity acquiring title shall complete the development of, and open, a solid waste transfer station no later than 10 years from the date of recordation of the transfer document or the title to the property shall revert back to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the entity shall reimburse the state for the administrative costs incurred by the state to process the reversionary documents. (e) If the entity acquiring title to the property is successful in opening a solid waste transfer station on the site, all delivery and acceptance of solid waste shall cease at the existing Caspar Landfill property, also known as Mendocino County Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 118-500-10 and 118-500-11. (f) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, on behalf of the state, may be compensated for loss of up to 17 acres of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest by transfer from the Department of Parks and Recreation, on behalf of the state, of 12.6 acres in Russian Gulch State Park, which is separated from the remainder of the state park by a county road. (g) The Department of Parks and Recreation, on behalf of the state, may be compensated, in turn, for loss of the 12.6 acres in Russian Gulch State Park specified in subdivision (f) by the grant of a restrictive covenant on 60 acres of city and county property on the northern boundary of the state park, which is currently a closed landfill and small volume transfer station, and by an option to buy 35 acres of the city and county property. (h) If the city or county exercises the option to take title to the property pursuant to this section, the Department of Parks and Recreation, with the approval of the Director of General Services, may transfer to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection jurisdiction over that portion of Russian Gulch State Park northeast of Mendocino County Road 409, being 12.6 acres, more or less, and being a portion of Mendocino County Assessor’s Parcel Number 118-520-02, to be included as a part of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest under the direction of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. (i) If the option to acquire the property is exercised, the entity acquiring title to the property shall execute and record in favor of the Department of Parks and Recreation both of the following: (1) A covenant restricting the uses and activities at the Caspar Landfill property to prevent any significant nuisance impacts on Russian Gulch State Park. The form of this restrictive covenant shall be approved, prior to recordation, by the Department of Parks and Recreation. (2) An option with a term of 99 years and a price of one dollar ($1) to purchase the westernmost 35 acres of the Caspar Landfill property, described in subdivision (e), with road access to that property. (j) The entity acquiring title to the property shall reimburse the state for the difference in the appraised value of the assets that are to be exchanged, if the state is found to be receiving less value, and for reasonable administrative costs incurred to complete the transfer of title. (k) The entity acquiring title of the property shall be solely responsible for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) in connection with the transfer of property ownership and development of the solid waste transfer station. (l) The exchange of lands carried out pursuant to this section shall be based on current fair market value and subject to the terms and conditions, and with the reservations, restrictions, and exceptions that the Director of General Services determines are in the best interests of the state, including the condition that the exchange shall result in no net cost or loss to the state. (m) (1) If the state exercises the option to purchase the westernmost 35 acres of the Caspar Landfill property, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i), the city or county shall indemnify the state against any liability that arises from any injury caused by, or any remediation required by, any contamination on the Caspar Landfill property that is transferred to the state. (2) The Department of Parks and Recreation shall authorize access to the property described in paragraph (1) to the county in order for the county to perform monitoring, including monitoring of groundwater to ensure that there is no leakage or contamination from the landfill.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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