On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee confirmed the appointments of Katherine Delbar and J. Keith Gilless to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. Both appointments are supported by RCRC and that support was voiced during the confirmation hearing. With the Senate Rules Committee supporting these nominees, consideration by the full State Senate is expected soon.

Katherine Delbar 52, of Potter Valley in Mendocino County, has served on the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection since 2016. Delbar brings her experience as both a timberland owner and a rancher living in an RCRC member county to the Board’s decision-making process, which is vital to the Board’s understanding of timber management in rural communities. Delbar has also had a hand in such large-scale undertakings as adoption of the Programmatic Vegetation Treatment Program and the related Environmental Impact Assessment, which will be vital to the State achieving its vegetation management and wildfire prevention goals. RCRC’s letter of support is available here.

J. Keith Gilless, 64, of San Francisco, has served on the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection since 2011. RCRC staff has an established, strong working relationship with Gilless through his work with the Governor’s Forest Management Task Force and the California Climate Action Team, and his willingness to work with local governments on planning and timber harvest issues. As Chair of the Board, Gilless has shown strong leadership and has shepherded the Board through such large-scale undertakings as adoption of the Programmatic Vegetation Treatment Program and the related Environmental Impact Assessment, which will be vital to the State achieving its vegetation management and wildfire prevention goals. RCRC’s letter of support is available here.

RCRC member counties contain the vast majority of California’s forested lands and have suffered many of the State’s most damaging wildfires in the past decade, and RCRC works with the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to ensure the public health and safety of our counties’ residents through various measures. The collective experience of Delbar and Gilless is of great value to the continuation of those efforts.