A 4405: Relates to selectively cutting timber and exclusion of current best management practices from regulated activities.
The bill aims to amend the environmental conservation law to provide exemptions for certain agricultural activities. On lands in active agricultural use or silviculture, activities such as grazing, watering livestock, harvesting natural products, selectively cutting timber, and draining land for growing agricultural products are excluded from regulated activities and do not require a permit. However, structures not required for enhancement or maintenance of agricultural productivity and filling activities are not excluded. Additionally, the use of land that meets the definition of a freshwater wetland for uses other than those referred to in the bill is subject to the provisions of the article. When selectively cutting timber, the construction and use of temporary skidder trails and machinery using current best management practices are excluded from regulated activities. All activities…
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to environmental conservation |
| Feb. 04, 2025 | referred to environmental conservation |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4405 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Environmental Conservation AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to selectively cutting timber The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 24-0701 of the environmental 2 conservation law, as amended by section 7 of part QQ of chapter 58 of 3 the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 4 4. On lands in active agricultural use or silviculture use, the activ- 5 ities of farmers and other landowners in grazing and watering livestock, 6 making reasonable use of water resources, harvesting natural products of 7 the wetlands, selectively cutting timber, draining land or wetlands for 8 growing agricultural products and otherwise engaging in the use of 9 wetlands or other land for growing agricultural products shall be 10 excluded from regulated activities and shall not require a permit under 11 subdivision one of this section, except that structures not required for 12 enhancement or maintenance of the agricultural productivity of the land 13 and any filling activities shall not be excluded hereunder, and provided 14 that the use of land that meets the definition of a freshwater wetland 15 in section 24-0107 of this article for uses other than those referred to 16 in this subdivision shall be subject to the provisions of this article. 17 When selectively cutting timber, the construction and use of temporary 18 skidder trails and machinery, using current best management practices 19 as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest 20 Services, for the removal of such timber shall be excluded from 21 regulated activities and shall not require a permit under subdivision 22 one of this section. All activities on lands that meet the definition of 23 a freshwater wetland shall be subject to the provisions of this article 24 once agricultural or silviculture activities cease. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05961-01-5