Non-Industrial Timber Management Plans

California has more than 9.2 million acres of timberland in public ownership. Privately owned timberlands are nearly as extensive, covering 7.4 million acres. These private timberlands are separated into industrial (4.2 million acres) and non-industrial private forest (3.2 million acres) classifications. Lands owned by companies that grow timber for industrial use are appropriately labeled industrial. Whereas private forests owned by non-timber industries is simply categorized as non-industrial.

The Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act and related Forest Practice Rules allow non-industrial private forest landowners with less than 2,500 acres of timberland to submit a Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP). The statute and regulations for NTMPs mandate the use of uneven-aged management to achieve a sustained yield of forest products. In exchange for the cost of creating a long-term management plan and commitment to managing their forest with various aged trees, timberland owners are guaranteed several regulatory assurances. They do not have to prepare individual Timber Harvesting Plans (THP). They may begin harvesting on the same day they file a notice of operations with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and they may be "grandfathered" from subsequent rule changes by linking the NTMP with Forest Practice Rules.

Since its inception in 1989, the number of NTMPs has increased steadily. A total of 466 NTMPs were approved as of 2002, encompassing 210,028 acres.

Landowners failing to qualify for the NTMP must submit a Timber Harvesting Plan (THP). The process can be lengthy and expensive; costs can reach $35,000 or more. A Registered Professional Forester is required to prepare the plan, public agencies review then either approve or reject the plan. If approved, the plan is viable for three years. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has criticized the plan because it lacks incentives for landowners to manage their lands with a long-term, conservation approach.

Conifer forests are the most common land cover in the region and forestry provides a major economic opportunity for the SOSA region. Stumpage values, the price of sold lumber, from timber receipts for the state often exceed $1 billion a year, though declining in recent years due to decrease in timber stumpage values and decreasing harvests.

The primary timber producing areas in the region are the Northwest and Northern Regions. While the Southwest contributes modestly, the East Side and Tahoe/Reno Regions have virtually no timber harvest.