DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
The 90-day review period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for Golden State Natural Resources’ (GSNR) proposed forest resiliency demonstration project closed on January 20, 2025. Based on the input received, and current biomass market conditions, GSNR staff are now developing and analyzing a reduced-scale project alternative and anticipate releasing a revised DEIR (RDEIR), with an updated evaluation of potential environmental impacts, in early 2026.
GSNR’s proposed project is currently in the environmental review process under CEQA to ensure any and all potential impacts are identified, comprehensively evaluated, and mitigated to the fullest extent feasible. A significant step in this process is the public review and comment upon the DEIR. The DEIR was released for public review and comment on October 22, 2024, with a 90-day review period that closed in late January.
GSNR is currently revising the previously released DEIR to reflect project changes and anticipates recirculating the revised report, with an updated evaluation of potential environmental impacts in early 2026. Once completed, the final EIR will then be presented to the Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA) Board for final certification.
Learn about the status of the proposed project and view the originally released DEIR report, by clicking the button below.
GSNR's proposed forest resiliency project would sustainably procure and process excess biomass produced as part of forest health initiatives into wood chips for use in sustainable fuel and energy production and innovative wood products.
The proposed project would include the development of two wood chip processing facilities, one in the foothills of the Central Sierra Nevada Mountain range, in Tuolumne County, and one in the Modoc Plateau of Northern California, in Lassen County. The finished chips will then be transported domestically by rail to downstream users and emerging market hubs in California and adjacent areas.
This project is supported through a 20-year Master Stewardship Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for all of California’s 18 national forests in Region 5 as well as a blanket purchase agreement with USFS.
The proposed site for the wood pellet processing facility in Tuolumne County, is located at:
12001 LA GRANGE ROAD, JAMESTOWN, CA 95327
GSNR’s project will create living wage employment opportunities, aiding economic growth in the proposed project site communities. Once operating, estimated new jobs created by the project are several dozen full-time jobs in Lassen and Tuolumne as well as multiples of that number in supply chain jobs such as trucking (at the wood chip facilities) and in-forest workers. Additional jobs will be available during facility construction at each of the project sites.
| Date | Meeting | Location | Recording | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, August 14, 2025, 10am (tentative start time) | GSNR Board Meeting | TBD |
TBD | N/A |
| Monday, November 4, 2024, 6pm | DEIR Public Meeting | Chicken Ranch Casino, Event Hall 16929 Chicken Ranch Rd., Jamestown, CA 95327 |
N/A | Flyer |
| Monday, October 30, 2023 | Community Meeting | Chicken Ranch Casino | N/A | Flyer |
| Monday, May 9, 2023 | Community Meeting | Rocca Park | N/A | Flyer |
For additional information, please reach out to us using the contact details below and be sure to join our mailing list.
Golden State Natural Resources
1215 K Street, Suite 1650
Sacramento, CA 95814
gsnr@gsnrnet.org
