resource management -...
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Director’s Report to the Board of Forestry
Resources Building, Auditorium 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, California 95814
November 2017 ______________________________________________________________________________
Resource Management
Forest Practice Program (through 10/31/17):
Plan Submissions:
• THP submissions: The number of THP submissions through September 2017 was nearly the same as last year (164 compared to 163 in 2016).
• NTMP submissions: NTMP submissions were 21% lower than in September of last year (i.e., 11 compared to 14). NTO submissions were approximately 8% higher than the total received in September last year (i.e. 136 compared to 126).
• Exemption Notice submissions: Exemption submissions were approximately 15% lower compared to September last year (i.e. 1,887 compared to 2,218). The number of Drought Mortality Exemptions filed through September this year is down by approximately 26% compared to last year and the area covered is approximately 15% lower.
• Emergency Notice submissions: Emergency Notice submissions were down approximately 56% compared to September of last year (i.e. 69 compared to 156).
• Plan Approval: 160 THPs have been approved to date this year; this is 19 less than the total from the same time-period last year. The number of NTMPs approved through September 2017 was nearly the same as last year (12 compared to 11 in 2016).
Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (TRFRF) Activities:
[Updated from the TRFRF Database (01/01/2017 through 9/31/2017)]
• The Department has expended 116,767 hours of Forest Practice related activities through September 31, 2017; 109,007 hours funded by TRFRF and 7,760 hours not funded by TRFRF.
Timber Operators Licensing (LTO) and Forest Practice Enforcement Updates:
• During the month of October 2017, the Timber Operator Licensing Program sent out 669 renewal reminder postcards for the upcoming 2018-2019 renewal period. Since the postcards have been sent out, the Program has already received 113 renewal applications. Since beginning the courtesy postcard reminders in 2016, the Timber Operator Licensing Program has received fewer phone calls and experienced a much
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smoother renewal process. The following tables summarize LTO and Enforcement Activities since the last report.
Table 2: LTO License Status Table 3: Active Civil Penalties Case Status
Status #
New Applications Rec’d 11
Renewal Applications Rec’d 113
New Licenses Issued 10
Licenses Renewed 76
Incomplete Applications Rec’d 8
Applications Returned 1
Refunds Issued 0
Insurance Certificates Rec’d 86
Watershed Protection Program Update:
• On October 8 and 9, 2017, a series of wildfires started in Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Solano, and Mendocino counties that resulted in three major fire complexes: (1) the Southern LNU Complex; (2) the Central LNU Complex; and (3) the Mendocino Lake Complex. Due to the size of the fires, their proximity to populated areas, and the potential for post-fire debris flows and flooding, CAL FIRE’s Incident Management Team 1 (IMT 1) requested that a team of resource professionals prioritize these fires for Watershed Emergency Response Team (WERT) evaluations.
Table 1. Summary of Wine Country Fires
Complex Fires
Southern LNU Complex Atlas Fire
Central LNU Complex Tubbs, Pocket, & Nuns Fires
Mendocino/Lake Complex Redwood & Sulphur Fires
Totals: 7
The primary objective of a WERT is to conduct a rapid identification of exigent life-safety and property hazards associated with post-fire debris flows and flooding; focused on the relationship between observed soil burn severity, slope, watercourses, geology, and the potential for storm rainfall to mobilize sediment as debris flows or debris-laden flows, both within and adjacent to the burned areas. Multi-agency interdisciplinary teams (WERTs) led by CAL FIRE foresters and hydrologists were formed comprised of personnel from California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Geological Survey (CGS), Department of Water Resources (DWR), North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB), San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (SFBRWQCB), and the US Forest Service (USFS).
Status # of Cases
Under Review 24
Development for Signature 13
CPO Signed, Mailed, Served 17
Due and Payable 2
Hearing Scheduled 0
Settlement Mitigation 1
Payments 7
Probation 11
Judgement Needed 9
Other 13
Total 97
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Resource Protection and Improvement Program
California Climate Investments Grant Guidelines for the 2017/2018 grant cycle are nearly complete. Advertisement will occur and workshops will be scheduled soon. Grant awards are planned for May (Urban Forestry) and June (Forest Health), 2018.
Urban and Community Forestry (UCF):
• The program is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Little to the Urban and Community Forestry Program Manager position. Robert previously worked in Forest Practice Law Enforcement.
Demonstration State Forests:
• The California Conservation Corps (CCC) have been working on two in-stream habitat improvement projects on Jackson.
• The 2017 Cutter Timber Sale on Latour was completed in late October.
• Mountain Home is working with the BLM on a Good Neighbor Authority project for thinning and fuels reduction at BLM’s Case Mountain site in Tulare County.
• Boggs Mountain staff are working on an update to the Boggs Mountain State Forest Management Plan.
• As in the past 5 years, this year’s Capitol Christmas tree is being delivered November 7 from LaTour Demonstration State Forest.
Lewis A. Moran Reforestation Center (LAMRC):
• Cone collections are 900 bushels to date. A breakdown of from where and what species is available upon request. LAMRC is still expecting approximately 100 bushels of Giant sequoia cones from SPI – Tree Improvement as part of the ongoing Giant Sequoia Genetic Conservation Plan.
• The LAMRC Nursery has been in contact with greenhouse manufacturers to help refine specifications with the intent of being able to produce 300,000 seedlings/year.
• CAL FIRE will be placing a speculative order for 50,000 seedlings for this coming growing season. This order may be increased.
Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP):
• Forests and Rangelands Assessment 2017 public release is anticipated by late December/early January.
• FRAP (Dave Sapsis) is acting as the chair of an independent review panel to review and finalize the second phase of the California Public Utilities’ Commission map of priority areas for fire risk associated with utility power lines. It is to be finalized by November and adopted by the CPUC in December.
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• CalMAPPER: FRAP (Mark Rosenberg) is working with the CalMapper Technical Committee to finalize version 3 for release in January 2018.
California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP):
• Contracts are actively being completed for the FY 2017 allocation and High Speed Rail Authority funding for reforestation projects remains available for contracting.
• Revision of the reforestation manual for California is proceeding well and on track to be completed in early 2018.
• Staff at the Nursery have initiated an update to the California seed zone maps in cooperation with academic, State and private partners.
Forest Pest Management:
• SODBLITZ: positive locations in San Luis Obispo County in 2016 were resampled in 2017 and all the results came back negative for P. ramorum.
• The invasive shot hole borer (ISHB) has not spread further north than the Santa Barbara County Montecito area.
• Bark beetle activity is lower in the central and southern Sierra Nevada Region of California. Fir engraver beetle activity at higher elevations continues to expand.
Vegetation Management Program
• The Vegetation Management Program currently has 66 approved projects for 74,619 planned acres.
• Two projects came under contract in the last month for a total of 5,972 planned acres. Three projects were submitted for review but are not yet approved for a total of 2,411 planned acres.
Cultural Resources:
• CAL FIRE just completed giving the five-day Archaeological Course #161 in Anderson, CA. 39 students attended. Most appeared to be from the timber industry.
• The Department will host its first Native American Advisory Council meeting on January 31st in Sacramento.
Tree Mortality Task Force:
• The next TMTF meeting will be held on November 13, from 1:00-3:00 P.M. A meeting announcement and agenda will be posted online on November 10.
• On October 23, California Natural Resources Agency issued recommendations to the Legislature from the SB 859 Working Group. You can view the full report here.
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• The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is working to complete the second (CAL FIRE funded) Aerial Detection Survey of tree mortality in California for 2017. The USFS is awaiting guidance on a release protocol.
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Planning & Risk Analysis Program
• Program staff were very busy the past month with the fire activity in Northern California.
• The Damage Assessment Program was in full force over the past several weeks collecting electronic data on structures damaged and destroyed by the wildfires. Over 60 CAL FIRE damage inspectors collected data on almost 10,000 structures affected by the fires.
• Staff continue to support the Fire Plan Rewrite committee in developing the 2018 Strategic Fire Plan.
SRA Program
• SRA Program has received the documentation to begin the process to generate the Informational Report for the State Responsibility Are Fire Prevention Fee for Fiscal Year 2016-17. The goal is to have a completed report within the next 30 days.
• SRA Program has submitted documentation to BSO in order to make significant reductions to the Designated Fee Administrator (SCI) contract. The goal is to have the revised contract in place by January 2018.
• SRA Program has been working to interpret new legislation and revised the SRA Fire Prevention Grant Program within the new requirements. This is being accomplished with close collaboration with Resource Management staff members.
• Administrative work for the past two Grant cycles continues.
Pre-Fire • Preparation for the Pre-Fire Workshop (late-November) which will include training on
Version 3 of CalMAPPER.
Land Use Planning
• Conducted the 2017 Fall Team Workshop. Presentations to the group included CalOES – Hazard Mitigation, Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT), Fire Resource and Assessment Program (FRAP), Damage Inspection and CEQA. Refocus on interaction with local planning agencies preparing for Local Hazard Mitigation Plan updates and Safety Element reviews.
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• Significant increase in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Firewise USA program applications. Many inquiries on how to become a Firewise community.
CAIRS • 2016 Redbook (statistics report) is in the approval process.
• Completed the CAIRS (incident reporting system) replacement requirements have been completed. Target date is Dec. 1, 2017, for the contract to go out to bid.
• Collaborated with Operations Chiefs, Staff Chiefs and the DINS program to establish a procedure for documenting exposure fires on large wildland-incidents. Currently working on finalizing the plan and disseminating the information.
• Received and completed approximately 25 statistic requests via the Public Records
Act.
• Requested and received missing and late data from approximately 41 fire departments that resulted in an additional 450,000 incidents added to the CAIRS data base for 2016 and 2017.
• Composed and submitted a thorough review of the NFIRS reporting system and
process to the National Fire Programs (NFP) division of the USFA.
• Researched and composed a report on the variance of incidents between CAD and CAIRS.
FIRE PROTECTION
Fire Protection
Law Enforcement/Civil Cost Recovery
• Last month, CAL FIRE Law Enforcement made 21 arrests and issued 76 citations (excluding PRC 4291).
• Last month, CAL FIRE received $5,571,530 resulting from Civil Cost Recovery actions.
• In response to the October wind event fires in BTU, NEU, MEU, and LNU, CAL FIRE had approximately 30 investigators deployed from throughout the State in the affected units, investigating the numerous fires.
Fire Protection Operations
• Sacramento Intel was activated October 9 through October 26 to support the 2017 October Fire Siege State Operations Center (SOC) activation. A total of eight personnel created up to eight products per day that were distributed to the Unified Coordination Group (UCG), CAL FIRE Executive and CAL FIRE Communications/PIO. Good coordination with the Cal OES Fire and Rescue, GIS and Intel staff.
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• The AVL/MDT project is moving forward with installations completed in the Fresno Kings Unit (FKU). FKU resources are still considered in a Beta test status as the AVL Team completes the final steps to move into production. The Butte Unit (BTU) will be the next unit for installations, tentatively scheduled around December 1.
Mobile Equipment
• New vehicles continue to arrive at the Davis Mobile Equipment Facility from the Fiscal Year 2016 Fleet Acquisition Plan. Staff will begin outfitting the new vehicles as quickly as possible to get them into the field.
• Mobile Equipment procured a transport and three vehicle car trailer. The use of this vehicle should make Mobile Equipment and CAL FIRE more efficient moving new and surveyed vehicles to units across the State.
Aviation Management Unit
• At the peak of the October fire activity, CAL FIRE had the following number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft available and responding to the active fires:
o Aerial Supervision including air attacks and lead planes = 27
o Air tankers = 41
o Helicopters = 113
• Many inquiries are coming into Aviation and Communications regarding the effects and chemical properties of fire retardant after the October fires. We have documents including Mitigated Negative Declarations, Material Safety Data Sheets, and Vendor Q&A documents we are making readily available as questions are asked. Retardant is primarily 88% water with the remainder being 12% red dye, gumming agents, and fertilizer based materials.
• The CAL FIRE Helicopter Bid Protest continued on October 18. All parties stated their case in this final follow up day. All parties must submit their written briefs by Monday, November 6 to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ intends to provide a ruling in early December 2017.
Tactical Air Operations
• Fire activity this month has placed the focus on operations by providing direct support to CNR and CSR through surge capacity of the following resources:
o California National Guard
▪ Two MAFFS air tankers (C-130)
▪ Eleven Type I helicopters (UH-60)
▪ Two remotely piloted reconnaissance platforms (MQ-9)
o Nevada National Guard
▪ Two Type I helicopters (CH-47, UH-60)
o United States Navy
▪ Three Type I helicopters (UH-60)
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o United States Marine Corps
▪ Three Type I helicopters (UH-1Y)
o Temporary reload base opened at Browns Field in San Diego. This base is capable a simultaneous loading of two USFS / CAL FIRE Large Air Tankers (LATs).
• Command Third Fleet – United States Navy has submitted an update / renewal of our standing agreement for Defense Support of Civilian Authority – Immediate Response. It is currently under review with Cooperative Fire Protection.
Incident Management Teams
• On the night of October 8 and the morning of October 9, CAL FIRE successfully activated five Incident Management Teams. Four IMTs were activated to LNU, MEU, and NEU and the fifth IMT was placed on hardcover to cover other incidents that may occur across the State. It reflects our continued abilities to meet all hazard incident needs with Incident Command System (ICS) qualified personnel.
Cooperative Fire Program Local Government Program
• All Units with Local Government Fire Protection Reimbursement Agreements have submitted their Annual Budget Reports/Three-year Plans. This allows personnel growth projections to be submitted to the Budget Office for revisions in Departmental position authority. Currently, there is one potential new fire protection agreement with the City of Montclair undergoing review in the Concept Phase. Starting in January 2018, Local Government Program staff will begin work on a collaborative project with the Department’s Information Technology staff to develop an interactive data, reporting, and contract development program which will streamline the local government contract and approval process. It is anticipated this project will conduct a pilot in the summer of 2018.
Conservation Camp Program
• CAL FIRE and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) continue to meet regularly regarding inmate population and the current lower population numbers which are beginning to show from the effects of Proposition 57. At the height of the recent October fire siege, 123 (63%) fire crews were committed to all major incidents statewide.
• The statewide Conservation Camps population as of Thursday, October 26, 2017:
o The current statewide shortage of fire crew members assigned to fire crews is 957 (An increase of 22 from 935 as of October 12, 2017).
o The inmate population stands at 82% (+1%) of capacity
o The fire while crew capacity stands at 71% (-1%) of capacity
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State-Federal Program
• The recent October fire siege resulted in 10 additional Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAG) for emergency (fire) suppression reimbursement. The estimated suppression costs of the October siege is over $210,000,000.00. These grants provide for federal reimbursement of 75% of the costs associated with these fires during a prescribed time-period. CAL FIRE received a total of 17 FMAG reimbursements this year, in addition, to three flood declarations.
• Work continues on the renewal of the California Master Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreement (CFMA) as well as the Reciprocal Fire Protection Cooperative Agreement for State of California Military Department Assets (National Guard).
Safety and EMS Programs
• On October 16, a private contractor assigned to the LNU complex in Napa County suffered fatal injuries when his water tender rolled over onto its top after leaving the roadway. The Safety Program is monitoring CHP’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) report to determine the cause of the accident with hope of preventing this type of accident from happening again.
• On October 19, CAL FIRE was notified of a recall for processed vegetables distributed by the MANN Packing Co. of Salinas, CA. CAL FIRE delivered a statewide safety communication to notify our employees as well as other cooperators of the potential to contract the Listeria infection. To date, there has not been any reports of employees or cooperators contracting the bacterial infection.
• CAL FIRE’s EMT Refresher, Public Safety First Aid (PSFA), and AED training programs were renewed by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA). This renewal will allow CAL FIRE to continue to self-certify EMT’s, PSFA personnel and its AED program.
Training Program
• The California Joint Apprentice Committee (Cal-JAC) conference was held November 1-4, 2017 in Palm Desert
• All CAL FIRE Unit and Region training officers met during the Cal-JAC conference breakouts November 1-2 for a total of 8 hours to:
o Discuss ICS Qualifications System, 4039 policy revisions
o Discuss career development tracks for all CAL FIRE employees, 4021 policy revisions
o Discuss training updates and future direction
• October 30, 2017 marks the start of the annual training cycle at the CAL FIRE Training Center in Ione.
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California Forest Practice Rules -Exemptions and Emergency NoticesAccepted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through September
10/30/2017 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Page 1 of 2
Type of ExemptionAdmin Area
Count Acres Count Acres
Coast 102 325,266 98 331,781Cascade 377 1,694,494 322 1,623,762South 1 240 1 240Sierra 77 230,600 41 248,788
Totals 557 2,250,600 462 2,204,571Coast 12 978 14 4,219Cascade 246 21,119 126 8,256South 1 20 1 200Sierra 629 66,144 517 62,250
Totals 888 88,261 658 74,925Coast 69 95 83 114Cascade 170 313 147 382South 0 0 0 0Sierra 43 222 15 37
Totals 282 630 245 533Coast 6 25 2 14Cascade 0 0 3 47South 0 0 0 0Sierra 1 3 0 0
Totals 7 28 5 61Coast 3 13 8 24Cascade 2 12 8 35South 0 0 0 0Sierra 3 7 7 32
Totals 8 32 23 91
Coast 0 0 1 58Cascade 4 51 5 427South 0 0 0 0Sierra 1 29 1 57
Totals 5 80 7 542Coast 3 190 1 67Cascade 15 1,751 10 1,342South 0 0 0 0Sierra 0 0 1 161
Totals 18 1,941 12 1,570Coast 98 248 60 156Cascade 218 443 121 259South 1 3 1 3Sierra 22 36 28 44
Totals 339 730 210 462Coast 7 31 7 452Cascade 22 663 72 95,824South 0 0 0 0Sierra 77 6,531 179 290,127
Totals 106 7,225 258 386,403Coast 0 0 1 2Cascade 2 1,890 2 483South 0 0 0 0Sierra 0 0 1 1
Totals 2 1,890 4 486Coast 0 0 1 3,493Cascade 2 1,500 2 133South 0 0 0 0Sierra 0 0 0 0
Totals 2 1,500 3 3,626
All Exemptions Grand Totals 2,214 2,352,917 1,887 2,673,270
Sub Damaged Timberlands 1038(d)
Dead, Dying, Diseased/Fuelwood, Split Products/Christmas Tree 1038(a)&(b)
Rule
Public Agency/Utility Right-of-Way
Slash Removal
Forest Fire Prevention 1038(i)
Fire Hazard (300 ft.)
Fire Hazard (150 ft.) and Fire Hazard (300 ft.)
1038(c)(6)
Fire Hazard (150 ft.) 1038(c)
Drought Mortality 1038(k)
1038(c)(6)
2016 2017
1038(g)
1104.1(b)&(c)
1104.1(a)
1038(j) Forest Fire Prevention Pilot
Less Than 3 Acre Conversion
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California Forest Practice Rules -Exemptions and Emergency NoticesAccepted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through September
10/30/2017 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Page 2 of 2
Type Admin
of 1052 Emergency Notice Area Count Acres Count Acres
Coast 0 0 0 0Cascade 4 1,377 1 27South 0 0 0 0Sierra 4 3,581 7 255
Totals 8 4,958 8 282Coast 45 6,433 5 359Cascade 27 2,260 39 6,776South 0 0 0 0Sierra 68 5,356 1 500
Totals 140 14,049 45 7,635Coast 0 0 0 0Cascade 0 0 1 3South 0 0 0 0Sierra 0 0 2 53
Totals 0 0 3 56Coast 0 0 0 0Cascade 9 1,782 2 252South 0 0 0 0Sierra 5 3,725 4 221
Totals 14 5,507 6 473Coast 0 0 2 25Cascade 0 0 4 63South 0 0 0 0Sierra 0 0 0 0
Totals 0 0 6 88
8,534Grand TotalsAll Emergency Notices 162 24,514 68
2016
Drought
Fire
Fuel Hazard Reduction
Insect
All Other Emergency Notices
2017
The State of California and the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy of data or maps. Neither the State nor the Department shall be liable under any circumstances for any direct, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to any claim by any user or third party on account of or arising from the use of data or maps. Acreage is taken from the documents of record and may not represent acres harvested on the ground.Data Source: Forest Practice System (FPS)Data Contact: [email protected]
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Year Comparison 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016
THPs Received103 107 52 51 0 0 9 5 164 163
THPs Rejected for Filing (Returned) 33 24 9 14 0 0 5 4 47 42
THPs Pre-Harvest Inspections 112 109 43 51 0 0 9 6 164 166
THPs with NON-Concurrences 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
THPs Denied0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
THPs Approved111 106 42 66 0 0 7 7 160 179
Acreage in Approved THPs30,591 30,860 19,786 40,147 0 0 1,374 1,916 51,751 72,923
NTMPs Received9 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 11 14
NTMPs Rejected for Filing (Returned) 1 7 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 8
NTMPs Pre-Harvest Inspections 11 10 2 1 0 0 0 0 13 11
NTMPs with NON-Concurrences 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NTMPs Denied0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NTMPs Approved 9 8 3 3 0 0 0 0 12 11
NTMPs Approved Acres1,039 1,488 3,874 4,311 0 0 0 0 4,913 5,799
NTMP Notice of Timber Operations Received 113 106 11 13 0 0 12 7 136 126
Exemption Notices Received276 299 818 1058 3 3 790 858 1,887 2,218
Emergency Notices Received7 46 47 36 0 0 15 74 69 156
Exemption Types
Received 2017
Other
Exemp
Rec'd
2017
Santa Rosa 23 276
Redding 202 818
Riverside 1 3
Fresno 697 790
Emergency Types
Received 2017
Other
Emerg
Rec'd
201
Santa Rosa 2 7
Redding 5 47
Riverside 0 0
Fresno 8 15
41
98
322
1
1 4 0
0 0 0
2
0
2 0
5 0 0
39
0
1
Wind
CALENDAR YEAR 2017
TIMBER HARVESTING INFORMATION THROUGH SEPTEMBERNote: This information is for Timber Harvesting Plans, Exemptions, Emergencies, and Nonindustrial Timber
Management Plans submitted to the Department during a calendar year. The numbers are the cumulative totals for the
calendar year as of the specific date
TotalsSanta Rosa Redding Riverside
Fire InsectFuel Hazard
121
1
22 228
Fresno
Dead Dying
Diseased
< 3 Acre
Conversions
60
Fire HazardForest Fire
Prevention
2
15
00
93
158
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