Environmental Protections

California has the most powerful environmental laws in America. Currently there are more than 12 separate environmental laws and thousands of individual environmental regulations that protect California's natural resources. The California Forest Practice Act, for example, has been regulating forest management activities since 1973. To help achieve a healthy forest, California has the most powerful state and federal environmental laws in America. Existing environmental federal and California statutes and regulations include:

Current statutory/regulatory requirements:

A. Federal law governing public/private forest, rangeland or water management activities:

National Environmental Policy Act
Federal Endangered Species Act
Clean Water Act
Clean Air Act
Coastal Zone Management Act
National Forest Management Act
Safe Drinking Water Act

B. State law governing public/private forest, rangeland or water management activities:

Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act
California Endangered Species Act
California Environmental Act
Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
Professional Forester Licensing Law

Agencies with authority over public/private forest, rangeland or water management activities:

A. Federal agencies:

Environmental Protection Agency
Fish & Wildlife Service
Dept. of Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Dept. of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
Dept. of Commerce
Army Corps of Engineers

B. State (California) agencies:

Board of Forestry
Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection
Coastal Commission
Fish & Game Commission
Dept. of Fish and Game
Dept. of Conservation
Dept. of Pesticide Regulation
State Lands Commission
Air Resources Boards (State and Regional)
Water Resources Control Boards (State and Regional)
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency