A bill that would significantly change how California manages its Demonstration State Forests is now before Gov. Gavin Newsom after it cleared the Legislature last month, with supporters urging the governor to sign it before the September 30 deadline.

Assembly Bill 2494, authored by Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa), would replace the existing emphasis on sustained production of forest products with a broader management framework focused on biodiversity, carbon storage and sequestration, climate and wildfire resilience, watershed health, recreation and ecological research. The bill also creates a pathway for California Native American tribes to enter into co-management agreements with the state and incorporates traditional ecological knowledge into forest management.

The Power in Nature Coalition, a statewide network of more than 500 community, environmental, conservation, land trust, Indigenous and tribal organizations and members, is among those calling on Newsom to sign the legislation.

Under current law, Demonstration State Forests are intended in part to demonstrate forest practices and the economic feasibility of timber production. CAL FIRE operates 14 Demonstration State Forests totaling approximately 85,000 acres. The agency describes them as living laboratories for research and management, while also providing timber, recreation, watershed protection and wildlife habitat.

AB 2494 would change the statutory definition of “management” from handling forest crops and soil to maximize sustained production of high-quality forest products to management of forest vegetation, water and soils for public benefits.

The bill specifically identifies biodiversity conservation and habitat, durable onsite carbon storage and sequestration, climate resilience and adaptation, ecosystem function, recreation, watershed health, wildfire resilience and ecological research as public benefits.

Timber harvesting would not be prohibited

Although some describe the legislation as ending logging in state forests, the bill does not prohibit timber harvesting.

AB 2494 states that timber harvesting may occur when it advances research, demonstrates management strategies or applies techniques intended to address vulnerable forest conditions and restore resilient ecosystems. Projects would also be required to balance the public benefits identified in the legislation.

The bill’s author likewise says timber and other forest products could continue to be sold, but under the new management principles established by the legislation.

That distinction has become important in the debate over the bill.

The Mendocino Voice reported in August that AB 2494 does not stop existing timber harvest plans, including the Coastal Adaptive Management Experiment, or AMEX, in Jackson Demonstration State Forest. EPIC, the bill’s sponsor, told the newspaper that the legislation instead provides new direction for future management.

Jackson Forest at center of debate

California’s largest demonstration forest is Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino County. It covers 48,652 acres, and the state acquired it in 1947. CAL FIRE says the forest contains primarily young-growth redwood, Douglas-fir and hardwoods and has been used for research into forest management, watershed conditions and wildfire resilience.

CAL FIRE currently describes Jackson as a working forest. The agency reports that its conifer timber inventory is about 2.3 billion board feet and that the forest grows about 53 million board feet annually, while harvesting averages 14.3 million board feet per year.

Jackson also provides public recreation, including hiking, biking, horseback riding, camping, swimming, hunting and mushroom collecting. According to CAL FIRE, the forest has 48 miles of sanctioned trails.

The debate over the forest has been particularly intense because of disagreements over logging, old-growth and mature trees, forest management and the role of Indigenous tribes in managing lands that include ancestral territories. The Los Angeles Times reported that tribal representatives became prominent voices in the effort to change management of Jackson Forest.

Tribal co-management

One of the bill’s major changes is how it treats California Native American tribes.

AB 2494 authorizes the Natural Resources Agency secretary to enter into, and requires good-faith efforts to collaboratively develop, co-management agreements with California Native American tribes. Those agreements would incorporate local traditional ecological and Indigenous knowledge into management decisions.

The bill defines co-management as an agreement in which two or more sovereigns negotiate and allocate management functions and responsibilities concerning ancestral lands and waters.

Supporters say this could give tribes a more formal role in managing forests within their ancestral territories.

“Our hope is Governor Newsom chooses a path forward for Demonstration Forest systems inclusive of Tribal co-management and surveys, meaningful consultation and conservation plans,” said Nikcole Whipple of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, according to the Power in Nature statement.

The statement also cites the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians, Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and other tribal organizations as supporters.

Connection to California’s 30×30 goal

Supporters also connect AB 2494 to California’s effort to conserve at least 30% of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030.

Newsom established the 30×30 goal through an executive order in 2020. The Legislature later enacted Senate Bill 337 in 2023, making the goal state law. California’s 2024 progress report says the state began the effort in October 2020 and that SB 337 ensured the goal would remain in place through 2030.

The state’s 30×30 strategy is broader than simply preventing development or logging. California describes conservation as including efforts to protect biodiversity, expand access to nature and address climate change. Its 2022 strategy estimated that 24% of California’s lands and 16% of coastal waters were already conserved and identified additional conservation needed to reach the 2030 target.

Power in Nature argues that the roughly 85,000 acres in the Demonstration State Forest system should contribute to that conservation effort.

Support — and opposition

AB 2494 has drawn support from environmental organizations and tribal groups, but it has also faced opposition.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors considered a request in September to ask Newsom to veto the bill. County officials said they were concerned that the legislation was unclear and could interfere with research and sustainable forest-management practices at Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. The county had previously taken an “Oppose Unless Amended” position.

The disagreement illustrates the larger question facing the governor: whether the state’s demonstration forests should continue primarily as working forests that demonstrate timber-production practices, or whether their statutory mission should give greater weight to ecological restoration, biodiversity, climate resilience, recreation and tribal stewardship.

AB 2494 passed the Legislature on August 28 and was presented to the governor on September 4.

Newsom has until September 30, 2026, to sign or veto the legislation. If signed, AB 2494 would not end timber harvesting in California’s Demonstration State Forests. Instead, it would change the legal framework for managing those forests, making multiple public benefits—including biodiversity, carbon storage, wildfire resilience, recreation, research and tribal co-management—central to their future management.