File the required pre-operation timber harvest notification for a forestry/land-clearing job in a state with a verified online forest-practices system (Oregon FERNS, Washington FPARS/fpOnline, or California CalTREES)

Steps

1. In Oregon: create/access a FERNS account and submit the Notification of Operation (or NOAP for power-driven machinery) at ferns.odf.oregon.gov at least 15 days before operations begin, since notification data also feeds Oregon Department of Revenue timber tax reporting
2. In Washington: file the Forest Practices Application/Notification either via the legacy paper FPA process or the new fpOnline system, which began rolling out to users in March-April 2026 (DNR continued accepting paper FPAs in parallel during the transition), and track status via the public FPARS search tool
3. In California: for commercial timber operations, determine whether a full Timber Harvest Plan, a Notice of Timber Operations, or an exemption applies, and file/track it through CAL FIRE's CalTREES system, noting that most THPs must be prepared and submitted by a Registered Professional Forester
4. In all three states, retain the system-generated confirmation/tracking number on-site and do not begin ground-disturbing work until the applicable review/hold period has passed or approval is issued
5. Monitor each system for agency comments, requested plan amendments, or public comments during the review window before mobilizing equipment