On February 20, 2026, a transformative bill regarding management of state forests, including Jackson Demonstration State Forest, was introduced in the California State Legislature.
AB 2494 was introduced by Northcoast Assemblymember Chris Rogers, and co-sponsored by Northcoast State Sen. Mike McGuire. It is also sponsored by our close allies, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) in Humboldt County.
Now we have to prevent compromises and get it passed!
AB 2494 changes the way management is defined for the State Demonstration Forest system–more than 85,000 acres of state public lands throughout California, of which Jackson State Demonstration Forest, at 50,000 acres in coastal Mendocino County, is the largest. The bill would end the commercial logging mandate, and not incidentally, qualify the entire 85,000 acres for the state’s goal to conserve and protect 30% of the land and coastal waters by the year 2030.
Make no mistake—we are here because of the active grassroots campaign and strong tribal involvement and support over the last many years.
This redefinition of management for state forests is long-needed, as the current language dates back to 1947, when logging old-growth forests and destructive logging techniques were still being demonstrated, and before awareness of forest’s role in mitigation for climate chaos. It was also before there was an active conversation and movement to bring Tribes into co-governance agreements with the state on Indigenous ancestral territory. That a shift in focus is long overdue cannot be overstated.
By modernizing state policy that governs State Demonstration Forests, which are currently managed by the State Board of Forestry and CalFire under laws within the Public Resources Code, we can help the state update the management of its forests to catch up with its stated conservation priorities and climate goals. Prioritizing the climate and wildlife within State Demonstration Forests is critical in a time when the federal government is backsliding on its prior commitments to address the climate crisis and is instead ramping up timber production on federal public lands across the country. This bill would shift the focus of demonstration forest management from timber products to thriving forests that store significant amounts of carbon and serve as quality wildlife habitat.
Jackson is very popular as a place for recreation, including mountain biking, camping, hiking, mushroom foraging, and horse trekking–supporting the local tourism economy. The area also constitutes a Tribal cultural landscape for Coast Yuki and Northern Pomo peoples.
The bill enables the state to seek opportunities for Tribal co-management and to integrate local Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge into forest stewardship, strengthening Tribal sovereignty and cultural stewardship of ancestral lands.
“Inviting and including Native voices through partnership and co-management is how we will make systemic changes in land management,” said Buffie Campbell, an enrolled member of Sherwood Valley, descendant of Noyo Reservation and Yokayo Rancheria, Northern Pomo. “Tribal nations and Indigenous communities have long faced barriers to caring for their ancestral homelands since colonization—including being shut out of true co-management and limited in bringing Traditional Ecological Knowledge into California’s State Demonstration Forests. Updating the State Demonstration Forests Act is a major step toward changing that.… This is an impactful step towards educating the public regarding Tribal Sovereignty and historical trauma and its effects today, as well as providing acknowledgement of those Tribes and once-known villages impacted by antiquated laws.”
You can read the full text of the bill here:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2494
Please do help us thank Assemblymember Chris Rogers for introducing AB 2494, and for being a fierce advocate for our forests.
We will be back in touch with you soon to let you know how you can be part of the campaign to make this bill law. But we wanted to let you know of this significant victory, at a time we all need some good news!
