Introducing ACL’s Incoming Executive Director: Sam Dorsey

Associated California Loggers is pleased to introduce Sam Dorsey as our incoming Executive Director.

A Northern California native and Cal Poly Humboldt graduate, Sam has built his career around forest policy and land management. He brings more than a decade of congressional experience, including serving as a field representative and senior legislative assistant for the late Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who chaired the Congressional Western Caucus and the House Forestry Subcommittee.

During his time with Congressman LaMalfa, Sam worked closely on key forestry and land-management priorities, including increasing active timber management, improving wildfire response, and reforming the Endangered Species Act and NEPA processes.

Following Congressman LaMalfa’s passing, Sam continued this work with Congresswoman Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, focusing on Western resource, energy, and federal-lands issues.

Sam brings to ACL a strong understanding of Congress, the U.S. Forest Service, and the state and federal regulations affecting loggers, foresters, and equipment operators across California.

Sam begins his work for ACL November 2. We are excited to welcome Sam to Associated California Loggers and look forward to the experience, knowledge, and leadership he will bring to ACL and the California timber industry.

Please join us in welcoming Sam Dorsey!

The post Introducing Sam Dorsey, incoming Executive Director for Associated California Loggers, beginning November 2, 2026 appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

Veto Message AB 2494

THE LINK ABOVE LEADS TO A “VETO LETTER TEMPLATE” FOR YOU TO WRITE A LETTER URGING GOVERNOR NEWSOM TO VETO(KILL) AB 2494.

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO INSERT YOUR NAME AND COMPANY NAME INTO THE LETTER DIRECTLY. IF YOU CANNOT, YOU SHOULD CONTACT ACL AT ecarleson@calog.com OR 916-441-7940 AND WE WILL E-MAIL THE TEMPLATE LETTER DIRECTLY TO YOU AT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS.

ACL AND OTHER TIMBER ASSOCIATIONS HAVE OPOSED AB 2494 SINCE IT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED EARLIER THIS YEAR. THE BILL EFFECTIVELY “GUTS THE HARVESTING PROVISIONS” OUT OF THE MANAGEMENT OF EVERY STATE DEMONSTRATION FOREST IN THE STATE. NOT JUST THE “TARGETED” JACKSON STATE SEMONSTRATION FOREST — ALL DEMONSTRATION FORESTS.

AB 2494 HAS BEEN PRESENTED BY ITS AUTHOR AND SPONSORS(ANTI-FORESTRY GROUPS) AS A MEASURE ADVANCING WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND FOREST RESILIENCE, BUT THE LEGISLATION FUNDAMENTALLY RE-WRITES THE MANAGEMENT DIRECTION FOR CAL FIRE’S DEMONSTRATION STATE FOREST SYSTEM.

AB 2494 MOVES AWAY FROM ESTABLISHED SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES . INTRODUCES UNCERTAIN NEW STANDARDS, AND RISKS CONSTRAINING THE VERY ACTIVE MANAGEMENT THAT MAKES THESE FORESTS VALUABLE FOR WILDFIRE RESILIENCE, RESEARCH, RESTORATION, RECREATION, BIODIVIRSITY, AND FOREST PRODUCTS.

TIPS TO SUBMIT THE LETTER:

SUBMIT LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR’S LEGISLATIVE PORTAL: leg.unit@gov.ca.gov.

ADDRESS THE LETTER AND THE E-MAIL TO: GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM

INCLUDE ONLY ONE LETTER PER E-MAIL

INCLUDE THE BILL NUMBER (AB 2404) AND “REQUEST FOR VETO” IN THE E-MAIL SUBJECT LINE.

THANK YO FOR JOINING ACL IN TRYING TO STOP THIS BAD LEGISLATION AT THE GOVERNOR’S DESK!

(THE GOVERNOR HAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 TO VETO THIS BILL –OR TO SIGN IT INTO LAW AGAINST OUR WISHES.)

The post URGENT! JOIN ACL IN WRITING GOVERNOR NEWSOM TO KILL (VETO) A BAD BILL THAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS PASSED TO HIS DESK– ASSEMBLY BILL 2494 (REMOVES HARVESTING FROM STATE DEMONSTRATION FORESTS) – TEMPLATE WITHIN appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

TIME TO RENEW MEMBERSHIP!

In early July, ACL sent out out its annual dues billing for 2026-2027. You should have received your dues billing materials by mail by now.

We know that this remains one of the most challenging economic periods in the modern history of logging, but your comparatively small investment in Associated California Loggers gives you your strongest line of defense against even more costly proposals from state and federal government. With various governmental fees and regulations slowed down, reduced, or stopped entirely, ACL has assisted its members in saving them money well in excess of most annual dues payments.

At the same time, ACL provides you with a team of professionals and your fellow loggers who are working for you in getting the logging economy back where it needs to be in the months and years to come. In recent years, ACL has also fought for its members in getting their just recognition and funding for tree mortality work and wildfire-related work, and to be considered first for projects involving fuels reduction, thinning, and “increasing the pace and scale” of forest harvest. ACL is also strongly involved on federal issues at a time of positive change in Washington DC.

Each year, your renewal not only helps ACL fight for your rights but helps you in getting access to affordable and dependably available insurance; providing you with continuing education, certification, and placement on the “ProLogger List” sent to timber industry employers; offering you safety services and logging-related news; and giving you a supportive network of friends and families committed together to the time-honored tradition of logging in California.

We would appreciate receiving your dues renewal as soon as you can. This will help avoid the costs of printing and postage for second notice mailings. This will also guarantee you continued access to ACL services. We believe that ACL can help you now more than ever, and we value your support.

The post TIME TO RENEW MEMBERSHIP! ASSOCIATED CALIFORNIA LOGGERS MAILS OUT DUES RENEWAL BILLINGS FOR 2026-2027 appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

Dear prospective applicants,

This is a reminder that concept proposals for FY 2026-27 Forest Health Research grants are due by July 30, 2026, 3pm pacific time.

If you are planning to apply, please submit your applications as early as possible to avoid any potential technical difficulties close to the application deadline.

View the Grant Guidelines and Apply

Please note that we are also hosting our final informal prospective applicant office hours Tuesday, July 28 at 10 – 11 am PDT

Webinar materials and office hours information can be found here.

Explore Previously Funded Grants

Forest Health Research Program Team:

Amanda Alsumidaie-Reynolds

amanda.reynolds@fire.ca.gov

Max Odkins

maxwell.odkins@fire.ca.gov

Nadia Tase

nadia.tase@fire.ca.gov

FRAP Website | Privacy Policy

The post REMINDER: THIS WEEK — CAL FIRE RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSALS FOR 2026-2027 — TWO DEADLINES: (1) PROPOSALS DUE THURSDAY JULY 30; (2) FINAL PROSPECTIVE APPLICANT OFFICE HOURS ON TUESDAY JULY 28 appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

Forest Stewardship Workshop Series: Online with a field day in Plumas County

August 4 – September 29, 2026

All forest landowners across California are welcome to join!

Register now for a California Forest Stewardship Workshop

Online August 4 – September 29, 2026 and in-person Saturday,

August 29th in Plumas County

Join the workshop to better understand and protect your forests by receiving technical assistance, developing a forest management plan, and having a resource professional visit your forest.

Workshop topics include:

•Forest management objectives and planning

•Forest health

•Forest and fire ecology, wildlife, watersheds

•Fuels reduction and forest resource marketing

•Mapping, inventory, and silviculture

•Project development & permitting

•Getting professional help and cost-share opportunities

Participants will utilize online resources on their own time to complete learning modules and short activities.

Zoom meetings with all participants and presenters will take place once a week on Tuesdays, 6:00pm-7:30pm. The in-person field day will cover silviculture, forest inventory and mapping activities. Participants who complete the workshop will be eligible for a free site visit with a California Registered Professional Forester, California Certified Burn Boss, or California Certified Range Manager.

Registration is available at:

https://link.ucanr.edu/stewardshipworskhopregistration

Registration fee is $75.00.

Scholarship funding for registration fee is available.

For questions, contact Kim Ingram, kcingram@ucanr.edu

UC ANR Forest Stewardship | https://link.ucanr.edu/stewardshipworkshops

The post Register now for a California Forest Stewardship Workshop Online August 4 – September 29, 2026 and in-person Saturday, August 29th in Plumas County appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

“It is with great pride, and not a little emotion, that I announce I shall be retiring this year. This will occur sometime later in 2026. I expect to continue as the Executive Director of Associated California Loggers until a smooth transition can take place.

I am completing 20 years in this position, and this position has been a deeply satisfying way for me to spend these important years in my life and to help cap my professional career.

Representing the timber industry and forest health in California is a challenge, to be sure. But there can be no more rewarding experience than to know that one is serving the hard-working men and women of the logging and log hauling sector of the industry. I have been particularly moved by the number of multi-generational families who are among our membership and serve on our board. At the same time, our “solo members” and owner operators are an equally important part of this sector.

Together, our Regular Members and Associate Members constitute the backbone of the rural timber economy.  They live and work in the forests they love.  They stand on the front lines of wildfire prevention and suppression. They collect and transport the wood materials that provide alternative biomass energy to the state while clearing the forests of fire-danger debris.  And they are helping establish the growing marketplace of new types of forest products (like mass timber) to stand alongside our traditional harvest work, and stewardship of the land.

Having talked to many “retirees” who have come before me, I anticipate that some new, likely smaller-scale, projects lie ahead for me, and I will be keeping my California license to practice law. Also, I really AM “going to spend more time with my family.” (This is not the usual boilerplate. I have grandchildren.) i also look forward to the pursuits of my later years with my friends.

Among those friends, I trust, are some of the men and women it has been my honor in representing at Associated California Loggers for 20 years, and in representing other segments of the timber industry for many years before that. I thank you all.”

The post AN ANNOUNCEMENT: ASSOCIATED CALIFORNIA LOGGERS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ERIC CARLESON TO RETIRE LATER IN 2026 appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

At its June quarterly Board meeting, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy approved two new grant programs – one focused on continuing its Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program and an inaugural Landscape Grant Program that will increase the pace and scale of critical forest health and wildfire-resilience work across the Sierra-Cascade.

“These grant programs will continue vital work of our partners to improve forest health, increase wildfire resilience, and help protect communities and key infrastructure,” said SNC Executive Officer, Angela Avery. “We are extremely excited about our new Landscape Grant Program that will fund collaborative resilience projects taking place in the Sierra-Cascade. To match the frequency and scale of recent, damaging wildfires, we need to support collaboration and invest at the landscape scale.”

Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program

The 2026 Wildfire and Forest Resilience Directed Grant Program focuses on funding high-impact forest-health planning or implementation projects that deliver strong, direct benefits to communities, critical infrastructure, or unique natural resources.

The program is funded by Proposition 4 (the Climate Bond), which voters passed in November of 2024 and allocates $33.5 million to SNC for wildfire-resilience projects. Thanks to early action by Governor Newsom and the legislature, $30.9 million of SNC’s wildfire-resilience funds were made available in April 2025.

This is the second grant program with wildfire- and forest-resilience funding from the Climate Bond made available to partners from the SNC. Concept proposals are being accepted through July 27, 2026 and guidelines, eligibility requirements, and more information can be found on the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Grant Page on the SNC website.

Landscape Grant Program

With an increase in high-severity wildfires throughout the Sierra-Cascade, the need to increase the pace and scale of forest-health and community-protection work is critical. The inaugural Landscape Grant Program is part of SNC’s Landscape Investment Strategy and funds projects and activities that are intended to address ecological and community priorities, such as forest health, wildfire resilience, and watershed protection across a large landscape.

Unlike many SNC grant programs, the Landscape Grant Program, also funded through the Climate Bond, does not have an open application process. Instead, the SNC identifies potential Investment Ready Landscapes and collaboratives through an internal evaluation process based on regional expertise and longstanding engagement with partners and will invite selected collaboratives to participate in the program.

Evaluations will begin during the summer of 2026 and finalists will be invited for interviews in the fall of 2026. Guidelines, eligibility, and more information can be found on the Landscape Grant Program web page on the SNC website.

The post THE SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY APPROVES AND ANNOUNCES TWO NEW GRANT PROGRAMS appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

Here is the New and Revised May 2026 “electronic version” of the Associated California Loggers newsletter.

To access the electronic newsletter, simply click on this LINK The newsletter can then be read and/or downloaded and printed.

Thank you!

Eric Carleson Executive Director

Associated California Loggers

(916) 441-7940

www.calog.com

The post May 2026-Electronic Newsletter appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

These classes are in high demand and therefore, we have scheduled 8 classes for the Fall Semester. If you haven’t had a chance to attend, please watch the schedule carefully and get registered to attend as soon as the email with the appropriate registration link arrives in your email inbox.

Here is the Fall 2026 Schedule:

Fri-Sat, Aug 21-22 | Email with Registration link will be sent Tue, Jul 21, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Sep 4-5 | Email with Registration link will be sent Tue, Aug 4, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Sep 25-26 | Email with Registration link will be sent Tue, Aug 25, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Oct 2-3 | Email with Registration link will be sent Wed, Sep 2, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Oct 16-17 | Email with Registration link will be sent Wed, Sep 16, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Nov 6-7 | Email with Registration link will be sent Tue, Oct 6, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Nov 20-21 | Email with Registration link will be sent Tue, Oct 20, 2026 @3pm

Fri-Sat, Dec 11-12 | Email with Registration link will be sent Wed, Nov 11, 2026 @3pm

There are NO REGISTRATION FEES. Enrollment is limited and filled on a first come, first served basis! To secure a seat, you MUST REGISTER using the link provided. Registrations WILL NOT be accepted via email or phone. The ONLY way to secure a seat is through the link provided in the email on the dates above.

If you have already attended the class and no longer wish to receive Shasta College LTO Class update emails, please reply and I will remove your name from our Master Distribution list.

Please let me know if you have any other questions,

Patricia Cascio

Administrative Assistant-Forest Health

BACTE | Office 1301-A

530-242-7565

pcascio@shastacollege.edu

The post SHASTA COLLEGE ANNOUNCES LTO CLASSES THROUGH THE REST OF 2026(FALL SEMESTER) : AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER appeared first on Associated California Loggers.

Wildfire Prevention Grants

The Virtual Office Hours will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. No registration is necessary.

CAL FIRE will be hosting an online virtual Office Hours for the FY 2025-2026 Wildfire Prevention Grant Program funded by the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (Proposition 4).

Remote Participation: Participation is remote only.

Virtual Office Hours Details:

Date: May 20, 2026

Topic: Application and Scope of Work

Time: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM

Microsoft Teams Meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app, or room device.

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 268 375 103 661 019

Passcode: RH2DK3JL

Or call in (audio only)

+1 650-564-3271,,386701309#

Wildfire Prevention Grants

Program Contacts

Northern Region Contact

CNRgrants@fire.ca.gov

Southern Region Contact

SouthernRegionGrants@fire.ca.gov

Sacramento Contact

WPgrants@fire.ca.gov

CALFIRE.Grants@fire.ca.gov

The post CAL FIRE TO HOST AN ONLINE WORKSHOP ON WILDFIRE PREVENTION GRANTS appeared first on Associated California Loggers.