Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 2494, which would have prioritized carbon storage, wildfire resilience and biodiversity over timber production at California’s 14 demonstration forests and directed officials to seek tribal agreements to integrate traditional knowledge.
Cal Fire manages the 14 forests, which are billed as “living laboratories” for forest-management practices. Existing law directs them to produce as much timber as can be sustained over time while considering recreation and wildlife. Newsom said the bill risked limiting the state’s ability to demonstrate science-based practices that inform management on public and private lands across California.
Assemblymember Chris Rogers, the bill’s author, called Newsom’s veto message “nonsensical,” saying it broadened a law centered on sustained timber output. Tribes, environmentalists, mountain bikers, and leaders in Mendocino and Humboldt counties backed the bill; the Rural County Representatives of California and many timber and agriculture interests opposed it. RCRC said the bill could limit resilience work, including harvesting trees of different sizes and types, and raised funding concerns and vague definitions it said could invite litigation. Polly Girvin said the fight would continue under California’s next governor; activists have opposed logging at Jackson Demonstration State Forest for decades.
