As used in this chapter:

(a) “A county with high unemployment” means a county with an annual unemployment rate, as reported by the Employment Development Department, higher than the mean annual unemployment rate of “rate adjustment counties” as defined pursuant to the Timber Yield Tax Law (Part 18.5 (commencing with Section 38101) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code).

(b) “Eligible landowner” means any person who meets the conditions set forth in Sections 4797 and 4799. Where ownership of forest land and timber is not held by the same person, “landowner” means either the person or persons owning the land or the person or persons owning the timber.

(c) “Fish and wildlife habitat improvements” means measures designed to protect, maintain, or enhance fish and wildlife habitat including, but not limited to, stream clearance, reestablishment of desirable vegetation along stream channels and elsewhere, measures to encourage habitat diversity, restoration of anadromous fisheries, and forest road repair and upgrading that protect, maintain, or enhance fish and wildlife habitat.

(d) “Followup work” means forest resource improvement work necessary to promote the survival of seed or seedlings planted, or protection or enhancement of other work undertaken, as part of a prior forest resource improvement project pursuant to this chapter.

(e) “Forest land” means land at least 10 percent occupied by trees of any size that are native to California, including native oaks, or formerly having had that tree cover and not currently zoned for uses incompatible with forest resource management.

(f) “Forest land conservation measures” means measures designed to protect, maintain, or enhance the forest resource system, including soil and watershed values, diversity of forest species, and protection of a forest stand from fire. These measures include thinning, shaded fuel breaks, and other land treatments or forest resource improvement projects consistent with Section 4794.

(g) “Forest land with demonstrated potential for improved forest resource management” means forest land that could produce significantly greater forest resource benefits if forest resource improvement work was carried out and that is not managed for uses incompatible with forest resource management.

(h) “Forest resources” means those uses and values associated with forest land, including fish, forage, recreation and aesthetics, soils, timber, watershed, wilderness, and wildlife.

(i) “Forest resource system” means the interdependent system of air, water, solar energy, and forest resources, as defined by subdivision (h).

(j) “Forest resource improvement work” means the forest resource improvement measures enumerated in Section 4794 for which assistance is authorized pursuant to this chapter.

(k) “Forest resource improvement project” means a project undertaken pursuant to Section 4795 or a loan made pursuant to Section 4796.

(l) “Management plan” means a long-term forest and land management plan submitted to the director pursuant to Section 4799.

(m) “Person” includes:

(1) Any private individual, organization, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation.

(2) Except for the purposes of Section 4795 and subdivision (a) of Section 4796, any city, county, or district.

(n) “Prevailing rate” means the average annual rate earned by the state on moneys deposited in the Pooled Money Investment Account in the General Fund.

(o) “Reforestation” means planting of tree seedlings, cuttings, or seed.

(p) “Restocked” means stocking to the degree required by the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973, Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 4511) of Part 2.

(q) “Small business entity” means a business enterprise, including a landowner, with five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or less annual gross revenue.

(r) “Smaller nonindustrial landowners” means owners of 5,000 acres or less of forest land.

(s) “Uses incompatible with forest resource management” means uses not listed in subdivision (h) of Section 51104 or Section 51111 of the Government Code by the city or county in which the parcel subject to a forest resource improvement project lies.

(t) “Young growth stand improvement” means precommercial thinning or weeding of young growth stands to provide more growing space and release of young trees from competing vegetation.

(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 409, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2001.)