The future of Mendocino County’s redwood country is suddenly up for renegotiation. A bill moving through the California Legislature would give tribes a formal seat at the table in managing the state’s demonstration redwood forests and remove the long-standing mandate that those lands primarily exist to produce timber. Assemblymember Chris Rogers’ AB 2494 would instead center management on carbon storage, wildfire resilience, biodiversity and tribal stewardship, a shift that North Coast communities see as both a long-awaited step toward restoring Indigenous leadership and a potentially jarring economic pivot for timber towns.
According to California Legislative Information, AB 2494 would legally redefine “management” of state demonstration forests so that biodiversity, wildfire resilience and durable on-site carbon storage come first. Timber harvesting would still be allowed, but only when it clearly supports those goals. The bill text also redirects revenue from lumber and engineered-wood product assessments, along with recreational user fees, into the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund to pay for restoration work, research and public access instead of relying chiefly on timber sales to balance the books.
Jackson Demonstration State Forest, the largest of California’s demonstration forests, covers roughly 50,000 acres, and logging receipts have historically helped cover management costs, with about $8.5 million a year coming in, according to the Los Angeles Times. As environmental protests intensified, Cal Fire paused new timber sales and halted some active logging operations for public-safety reasons, then last year approved the first harvest plan since that hiatus. Those moves helped spark the push for legislative change, the outlet reported. Mendocino County Supervisor Ted Williams has told supporters that even a modest increase in visitors could generate more local revenue than the county’s timber tax.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors ultimately voted to send a letter backing AB 2494 after a tense public hearing that pitted foresters and loggers against environmental advocates, as reported by Mendocino Voice. Supporters argued the forests could bring in steadier income through recreation, restoration grants and tribal partnerships, while opponents warned that the measure could undermine local mills and logging jobs that have anchored the regional economy for generations.
Tribes and stewardship
Tribal leaders and conservation groups say co-management would restore Indigenous stewardship practices that long predate state control and revive cultural burning as a key tool for forest health and community safety. Buffie Campbell of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo called AB 2494 a “major step” toward meaningful partnerships between tribes and Cal Fire, according to Local News Matters.
Opposition and economic concerns
Loggers and mill owners counter that the bill would choke off local wood supplies and simply push environmental impacts onto forests in other states or countries. Myles Anderson, who owns a logging company in Fort Bragg, told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s pretty disgusting, really,” and statewide industry groups have warned that leaning more heavily on lumber-tax revenue is both politically risky and economically unreliable.
What happens next
AB 2494 cleared the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on March 23 and on April 15 was re-referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file, according to California Legislative Information. The measure would amend several sections of the Public Resources Code to prioritize conservation and tribal co-management across state demonstration forests. The bill text also notes that because some regulatory violations under the updated rules would constitute crimes, the proposal could create a state-mandated local program, a budget and policy wrinkle that is expected to loom large when Appropriations decides whether the bill moves forward.
