North State Assemblyman Brian Dahle had two bills successfully move through the legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. The two bills revised forestry and timber laws. The first bill addressed a 40 year old law dictating the number of trees per acre to be planted following timber harvesting or natural disaster. Dahle tells KNCO the original law was good at the time it was passed, but now it can cause more harm than good.

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Dahle’s bill allows the Board of Forestry to use modern techniques and science to determine restocking numbers case by case.

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The bill received bi-partisan support and will reduce costs for replanting and allow for more efficient regrowth.

A separate bill authored by Dahle allows for a property owner to extend Timber Harvest Plans to allow flexibility and opportunity to harvest as conditions change. A timber harvesting plan can run 30,000 to 40,000 dollars to create. Dahle says market and environmental conditions directly effect tree harvesting.

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Dahle says that the bill also allows foresters to move between tree types as well as adjusting for natural disasters.

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Dahle refers to the bill as a “common sense bill” that reduces costly paperwork while increasing flexibility for harvesting timber.