Over the last several months, the environmental community has defeated many legislative attempts to weaken California's environmental protections. However, with only two weeks left in the session we're still racing to fix several measures that could be adopted at any moment.

Here's one that's particularly troubling:

AB 1066 by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza threatens the health of our forests, water, and air by allowing numerous extensions of Timber Harvest Plans (THPs).

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's program for approving timber harvest plans is a "certified regulatory program" that is supposed to be "functionally equivalent" to the traditional CEQA process. Unfortunately the department has had a history

of failing to live up to the substantive and procedural requirements of CEQA, and the courts have repeatedly found that implementation of the certified regulatory program does not measure up.

By allowing repeated one and two year extensions, AB 1066 increases the difficulty of THP reviewing agencies like the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, regional water boards, and the Department of Fish and Game to effectively analyze environmental impacts. In addition, with longer compliance periods, timber companies may concentrate their logging activities at times when lumber prices are high, exacerbating the industry's boom and bust cycle.

AB 1066 is now on the Senate floor. Even after several rounds of amendments, it's clear that the bill will have significant negative effects on our state. We hope the Senate sees fit to send it back to the drawing board one more time.

MAKING WAVES: NEW CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED

Last Friday, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass announced the appointment of two new California Coastal Commission members: Esther Sanchez from San Diego county and Mark Stone from Santa Cruz county.

The two new commissioners received strong support from the environmental community during the nomination process.

Esther Sanchez currently serves as an Oceanside City Councilmember and previously served on the Multiple Habitat Conservation Plan planning group. Sanchez has served as an attorney in both public and private practices. She says she plans to listen closely to the community's needs and become a voice for Californians regarding responsible planning of the state's coast.

Mark Stone currently serves on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Previously he was a trustee for the Scott's Valley Unified School District. Stone is a long time environmentalist.

PCL welcomes both Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Stone to the commission. We're confident that they will fight to ensure that new development is consistent with our state's long-held goal of protecting our coastline.