Senate Bill S2114A

                                BILL NUMBER:S2114A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to authorizing residents of the counties of St. Lawrence,
Jefferson and Oswego to collect downed lumber from state owned forest
lands outside the forest preserve; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon the expiration thereof

PURPOSE:  To empower the Commissioner of the Department of
Environmental Conservation to set forth rules and regulations that
allow the residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego counties to
collect downed lumber from state owned forest land outside of the
forest preserve for a period of three years.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 3-0301 of the Environmental Conservation Law
to empower the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
Conservation to set forth rules and regulations that allow the
residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego counties to collect
downed lumber from state owned forest land outside of the forest
preserve for a period of three years.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:  New York had approximately 16,000 acres of forest
              

which were eligible in 2011 to be logged under the Department of
Environmental Conservation's (DEC) sustainable harvest plan in the
2011 New York State Best Management Practices Guide However, in 2011
New York harvested less than 7,000 acres.

The result of neglecting forests ready for harvest is some of our most
precious resources are left to decompose. The loss of valuable
commodities is compounded by big storms like Hurricane Irene. Because
of the age of much of the forest land, north country forests were
especially susceptible to damage, resulting in abundant deadfall.
Brush and deadfall also make those forests more vulnerable to fire.
Neighboring states, like Massachusetts, have planned to lift lumbering
moratoriums on hundreds of thousands of acres of forest lands after
large storms.

Especially for residents of regions of the state where winters are
especially cold, the rising cost of fuel has left rural communities
scrambling to find alternate sources of heat. They're increasingly
turning to wood, which has become the fastest growing source of home
heating fuel across the US. Since 2000, according to the US Census,
the number of households in New York that use wood as their primary
fuel source has increased by more than 65 percent, and the percentage
of wood-heated homes exceeds the US average in 40 of our 62 counties,
including some with high rates of poverty and unemployment.

This bill will empower the Commissioner of the DEC to set forth rules
and regulations that allow the residents of St. Lawrence, Jefferson
and Oswego counties to collect downed lumber from state owned forest
land outside of the forest preserve for a period of three years.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: S.7381 of 2012 - Third Reading


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect on the first of January
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall
expire three years after such effective date when upon such date the
provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed. Effective
immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or
regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on its
effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.