California Board of Forestry & Fire Protection

 

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Terrence O'Brien

Chair
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EMC 2023 Annual Report & Workplan Released

The Effectiveness Monitoring Committee (EMC) published its 2023 Annual Report and Workplan, which reports on progress toward the EMC’s annual priorities, goals, and objectives; provides EMC-supported project-specific updates; and lies out the upcoming year’s annual priorities. Read the EMC’s 2023 Annual Report and Workplan.

Call for Nominations for the Range Management Advisory Committee Members

The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection seeks nominations to the Range Management Advisory Committee (RMAC) for applicants from organizations representing rangeland owners to fill one (1) seat. Members in this seat type were nominated by organizations including the California Cattlemen’s Association, California Wool Growers Association, Farm Bureau (currently vacant), Corte Madera Ranch, Wildlands, and U.C. Cooperative Extension. See the Call for Applications for more information; organizations may submit nominations using the Nomination Form. Interested parties may send inquiries via email, and Nominated Applicants may submit a Letter of Interest and current Resume or CV to Kristina.Wolf@bof.ca.gov. See the current membership roster for details about the current membership.

The Joint Institute for Wood Products Innovation (Institute) is requesting nominations for vacancies within its Advisory Council. The Institute is a committee of the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) and consists of two co-chairs, two academic positions, 11 Council members, and one Board staff. Council members reflect a diversity of perspectives and expertise, which may include forest products, forest management, environmental conservation, finance/investment, forested communities, rural economic development, tribes, and other areas of interest as determined by the Board.

This report quantifies forest biomass piles accumulated from 2018 – 2021 and provides an inventory of forest biomass pile material potentially available for wood and biomass utilization.  It offers details on the number of forest biomass pile burn permits issued from 2018 - 2021 by CA air district to provide information about open pile burning, prescribed burning, and the total acreage and tonnage of burn piles in CA. Highlights include potentially 150,000 acres of available forest biomass piles, representing approx. 1 million tons of material in piles currently on the landscape, with 78% of it occurring on public lands. Nineteen percent is accessible via existing road networks.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Information on the CalVTP Resource Library

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection announces the release of new tools for efficient California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP) implementation and Project-Specific Analysis (PSA) preparation. Find all the information, including links to the updated CalVTP webpage, example PSAs and PSA/Addenda, new FAQs, and implementation tools, here: Information on the CalVTP Resource Library

A goal of the Effectiveness Monitoring Committee (EMC) is to develop a process-based understanding of the effectiveness of the California Forest Practice Rules (FPRs) and other natural resource protection statutes and laws, codes and regulations. To facilitate an Adaptive Management process that informs proposed changes to forestry policy and regulations, the EMC supports research that addresses twelve core research themes. Aligned with these research themes, the EMC has developed a set of Critical Monitoring Questions (CMQ) to guide prospective grantee research questions and help direct EMC funding focus. The research themes and CMQs provided in this document—initially adopted in 2017 and presented in the 2018 Strategic Plan were updated in 2024.

Reports

Report On Exempt Timber Harvesting For The Reduction of Fire Hazard Within 150 Feet Of Structures

State law require monitoring of non-discretionary Exemption and Emergency Notice timber harvesting in the state of California and the submission of reports to the Legislature.

2020 California Forest Pest Conditions

In 2019, aerial detection surveys flown between July and August covered 41 million acres of forested land. Field staff then conducted spot ground checks on selected points and polygons to verify host and agent. This year, approximately 3.8 million acres were virtually surveyed by 13 surveyors who utilized either tablets or PCs to visually scan satellite or aerial imagery and digitize points and polygons of disturbance.

2021 Report On Forest Management Research

The Board, assisted by the director [of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection], shall biennially determine state needs for forest management research and recommend the conduct of needed projects to the Governor and the Legislature.

2023 BOF Annual Report

The California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (Board) is a Governor-appointed body within the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Members are appointed on the basis of their professional and educational qualification.

Wildfire Prevention