State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > California > Prc > 4781-4788PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 4781-4788
4781. The people of the state have a direct interest in the protection and improvement of public and private lands which are principally used or useful for range or forage purposes for domestic livestock and wildlife. This article is enacted in furtherance of that interest to provide not only for controlled land clearance and revegetation of such lands but also having as its objective fire prevention and protection, watershed protection and conservation, and the prevention of soil erosion. 4782. This article shall be administered by the department. 4783. The department may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with any person, firm, public or private corporation, district, or municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of the state, or any group or combination of them, that owns or controls brush-covered land within any state responsibility area for the purpose of engaging in controlled land clearance and revegetation, including the burning of brush from such lands, or portions of such lands, under the supervision of the department or by the department. 4784. In furtherance of such contracts and agreements, and also independently of them, the department shall engage in experimental land clearance and revegetation of such lands in the interests of protection and improvement of range and forage lands and shall also engage in such research in connection with it as will enable it to determine the value of such methods in relation to the several purposes and interests of the people of the state as set forth in this article. 4785. The department shall from time to time prepare reports setting forth data as to the experiments so conducted and its findings and conclusions with reference thereto and submit these reports to the board for its guidance and assistance in determining the policy to be followed by the board with reference to range and forage lands. The board shall make these reports available to the Legislature. 4786. In making such experiments and in conducting or supervising land clearance pursuant to the agreements or contracts contemplated by this article, the department shall have available such fire crews and firefighting equipment as it deems reasonably necessary to prevent the spread of any fire from the area proposed to be cleared, if such equipment and fire crews are not needed for the control of wildfire. 4787. The department, with the approval of the board, may make such regulations as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article. 4788. The department may accept contributions of money from any private source to carry out the powers and duties imposed upon it by this article.
