A place for biochar in the Forest Practice Rules.
We are working to make biochar a clearly defined, practical treatment option for eligible forest residues in California's Forest Practice Rules.
From field education to staff discussions, draft rule language, and formal submissions, this is the record of how that work has developed.
Give practitioners a clearer treatment option.
Our proposal connects the material produced, the treatment activity, and the eligible feedstock to a usable forest-practice pathway. The goal is clearer language for landowners, Registered Professional Foresters, Licensed Timber Operators, and reviewers.
Current stage: the Coalition's policy submission and working redline are published in the Board's November materials for Regulatory Review. The proposed amendments remain a stakeholder draft, with committee consideration and rule development requested.
Biochar
A definition identifying the intended carbon-rich output, distinct from charcoal intended for combustion as fuel.
Biochar Treatment
A name for the controlled conversion activity, allowing treatment provisions to specify how it would be planned, conducted, and completed.
Forest Biochar Feedstock
A defined scope for eligible untreated woody material generated by covered timber operations within the plan area.
Related amendments would connect these definitions to site preparation and slash-treatment provisions, with planning requirements, operating safeguards, completion criteria, and basic records. The proposed pathway is optional and preserves applicable fire, air, water, habitat, worker-safety, and local requirements.
A sustained effort, step by step.
The work began with a policy statement and developed into a specific rule proposal, supported by staff correspondence, field-operating material, successive drafts, and a formal annual-review submission.
-
2024
An official policy letter starts the record
C. Tabor Teachout submitted the Coalition's request to recognize biochar production in forest management. The letter appears in the Board's November 2024 Forest Practice and Management materials.
Source: Original policy letter -
August 2025
Define the question with Board staff
Michael Maguire connected the Coalition with Katie Harrell on August 7. The email record then arranged an August 14 staff discussion about a biochar definition and kiln-based production procedures.
Source: Staff correspondence excerpt -
August 4-5, 2026
Turn the concept into a working rule package
Four working revisions, v0.1 through v0.4, developed the proposal. The resulting package links definitions to district treatment rules, field safeguards, completion criteria, and basic records.
Source: Working redline -
August 5, 2026
Submit the initiation package
We sent the initiation package, v0.4 redline, prior correspondence, and an operational burn-plan example to Board and agency contacts. Katie Harrell acknowledged the request that morning.
Source: August transmittal -
August 17-18, 2026
Continue the conversation at the Board
Board staff identified the next joint meeting and annual Regulatory Review as opportunities for input. We confirmed Tabor Teachout as our August 18 representative and continued our engagement on definitions and the treatment pathway.
Source: Meeting coordination -
September 24, 2026
A clearer framework for the 2027 workplan
The Board's staff overview set out an outcomes-based approach to regulatory priorities. It gave our next submission a clearer framework for explaining the proposal's practical forestry purpose.
Source: Board priority framework -
October 29, 2026
Finalize the policy explanation
Our updated policy statement explains the necessity and function of each definition, the related treatment provisions, and the requested committee process. It replaces the earlier initiation narrative while retaining v0.4 as the technical attachment.
Source: Policy submission -
October 30, 2026
Submit for Regulatory Review and receive acknowledgment
We transmitted the policy statement and unchanged v0.4 redline at 8:00 a.m. The Board Public Comments address acknowledged the submission at 3:14 p.m.
Source: Submission and receipt -
November 2026
The package appears in the official Board binder
The Board's November materials publish our package as JOINT 7(j), Regulatory Review Scherer Redacted. Readers can now review the proposal through the agency's own public record.
Source: Board-published package -
November 4, 2026Planned participation
Planned in-person follow-through
Our team plans to attend the 9:00 a.m. meeting at 715 P Street, Sacramento, Room 2-221C. Annual Regulatory Review is agenda item 7. Our requested next step is committee consideration and a defined review pathway.
Source: Official meeting agenda
Policy grounded in practical work.
Our seminars and field operations make the implementation questions tangible: what material is being treated, how a production area is managed, how crews quench and handle biochar, and what information an operator can reasonably document.
What the policy workload has involved
- Compare existing rule locations and district cross-references.
- Develop and refine four working versions of the rule plead.
- Connect plan information to real operating conditions.
- Draft fire, resource-protection, completion, and record provisions.
- Coordinate with staff and prepare material for public discussion.
- Submit the policy explanation and redline through annual review.
November 4, 2026
Our team plans to attend the meeting focused on Forest Practice and Management issues. Annual Regulatory Review is item 7. We are seeking a clear committee pathway for reviewing the definitions and related treatment proposal.
California Natural Resources Agency
715 P Street, Room 2-221C
Sacramento, CA 95814
The submissions, correspondence, and public record.
Select a document to expand its viewer on this page.
Current submission
Board-published record / JOINT 7(j) Our submission in the Board's November binder The Board-published package contains the October policy submission and the August v0.4 working redline. This is the clearest public record of the material now before the Board. Read the official packageClose document
Coalition policy statement Forest Biochar Treatment Policy Submission Explains the requested definitions, the need for a consistent treatment pathway, intended implementation effects, and the request for 2027 committee workplan consideration. Read the policy submissionClose document
Proposed rule text Forest Biochar Rule Plead Redline v0.4 Shows existing text alongside proposed additions for definitions, site preparation, slash treatment, operating safeguards, completion, and records. The October package submitted this attachment unchanged. View the redlineClose document
Transmittal and acknowledgment October 30 submission and receipt Documents the two-attachment regulatory review submission and the Board Public Comments acknowledgment received that afternoon. Read the submission recordClose document
How the proposal developed
Initial committee request Forest Biochar Initiation Submission v0.4 The earlier request for pre-rulemaking scoping, a staff contact, committee referral, and a practical review process for the forest-residue treatment concept. Read the initiation packageClose document
Staff coordination August scoping request and Board correspondence Includes the initiation transmittal, staff acknowledgment, guidance on the August meeting and annual review process, and the Coalition's designation of Tabor Teachout to attend. Read the August exchangeClose document
Editable source Redline v0.4 Word source The editable working source supplied with the policy archive, available here alongside the PDF reading copy. View the Word sourceClose document
Board context and early record
Agency review framework Board priorities for the 2026 Regulatory Review The Board's staff overview connects annual review proposals to the 2027 workplan, including modernization, practical implementation, and pathways for low-value wood. Read the Board frameworkClose document
Our starting point Biochar Coalition's 2024 policy letter The original letter asks the Board to recognize biochar production in forest management. This viewer uses the Board's public copy of the same letter. Read the 2024 letterClose document
Agency summary of public input 2024 Call for Regulatory Review The Board's review table records Teachout's request to recognize biochar for forest management, documenting the early submission in the agency's own record. Read the 2024 review recordClose document
Next meeting November 4-5, 2026 meeting agenda Official meeting notice, location, and agenda. The November 4 session focuses on Forest Practice and Management issues; the full Board meeting follows November 5. Read the meeting agendaClose document
Earlier staff engagement2025 staff dialogue: a short record excerptRead the excerptClose excerpt
The Coalition's August 7-11, 2025 correspondence records Michael Maguire's introduction to Katie Harrell and arrangements for an August 14 staff discussion.
The forest practice rules are the Board’s responsibility.
Katie Harrell, Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, August 7, 2025
Harrell invited the Coalition to discuss a possible Forest Practice Committee presentation. The correspondence then arranged the August 14 staff discussion.