California is taking steps to streamline forestry management efforts and projects across the state by combining two committees into one.

It has taken about two years, but members of the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts’ (CARCD) Forest Management Committee combined with the statewide Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee to create the Joint CARCD Forestry and Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee (Joint Forestry Committee).

The transition to establishing members’ new roles, a committee charter and guiding documents has been challenging. Members have teleconferenced several times and met face-to-face on three occasions to iron out details.

Merging the two committees into one with a joint charter has allowed the group to tackle issues on a broad scale and make recommendations, with the CARCD leading the way as the committee’s sponsor. The result is better organization, more efficiency and a more prominent voice in forestry for RCDs across the state.

“The forestry committee has been instrumental in helping the RCDs strengthen our relationship with state forestry and other partners in California,” said Tom Wehri, former CARCD president and executive director. “It keeps the lines of communication open, and it has raised the level of awareness for what RCDs do here.”

Wehri was instrumental in bringing about the idea of a single committee when he talked with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) more than two decades ago. Based on Wehri’s discussions with CALFIRE, the two committees forged into one in late 1997, with CARCD as co-lead of the committee.

Since then, the group has run as one larger, overseeing committee with two subcommittees. Despite the two separate groups, many of the players served in different roles on both committees, and many of the issues on each individual agenda overlapped.

Last year, the group developed a stronger foundation for combining into one committee with a multitude of purposes.

“It’s been quite an adventure,” said Jerry Reioux, executive secretary for the Joint Forestry Committee. “California is a diverse state, and we have diverse opinions. We’ve got folks with different backgrounds, different forest issues, different geographic and political views, but we’re making it work.”

The roughly 20 members come from a variety of groups involved in forestry, including CALFIRE. The group’s makeup is a mix of genders and age ranges. Its role primarily is to provide recommendations and support to forestry agencies across the state, including the RCDs, the CALFIRE state forester, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and others.

California is a diverse state, and we have diverse opinions. We’ve got folks with different backgrounds, different forest issues, different geographic and political views, but we’re making it work.

“It’s still a work in progress,” said Laurie Tippin with the Honey Lake Valley RCD and chair of the Joint Forestry Committee. “Some people are still on a learning curve in terms of what we are doing differently or that our responsibilities are broader, but it’s reduced confusion and will make us more efficient and stronger statewide in meeting our responsibilities.”

Though meetings are open to all interested parties, committee membership is by appointment from the CARCD president. Membership is solicited from a variety of natural resource fields and requires statewide knowledge or expertise in forest-related issues. The committee strives for a diverse representation and includes members from RCDs; land trusts; the forest products industry; private forest landowners; consulting foresters; CALFIRE and other state, federal and local government agencies. Recruitment to reach that diversity of representation (e.g., environmental or tribal representation) can be a challenge and requires strategic discussions to bridge that gap.

The broad-based expertise affords the committee the ability to view and assess issues on a statewide basis and provide improved recommendations to CARCD and the state forester on projects, such as applications for the Forest Legacy Program.

The committee also takes issues that come before it and moves those forward as appropriate to the state forester, CARCD board and/or NRCS for consideration.

“The committee could say ‘Hey, this is a statewide issue that needs broader attention, let’s ensure we’re making recommendations to the CARCD board or to the state forester,’” Tippin said.

The consolidation provides more benefits to a breadth of nonprofit agencies across the state as well, she said. CALFIRE annually has had millions of dollars dedicated to private landowners for stewardship programs. This past year, CALFIRE decided to hold some funds back to make them available for RCDs and nonprofits to apply with ways to implement a forest improvement program under the newly developed Wildfire Resilience Program.

“CALFIRE has a profound interest in forwarding the needs of private, nonindustrial forestland owners, so we can return our forested lands back to a place of strength and health, where we can ultimately renew our once thriving forestry industry, ” said Stewart McMorrow, deputy chief of Forestry Assistance for CALFIRE. “This work will both increase forest resilience to the effects of climate change and also help to strengthen the communities that depend on our forest lands. CALFIRE greatly values the opportunity to further our partnerships with the RCD community through the Joint Forestry Committee.”

“I don’t think this would’ve happened if we weren’t a strong committee, working together as one,” Tippin said. “The bottom line is that I think perceptions have been broadened, and that has benefited RCDs and helped landowners in California.”