There are tons of places to collect in CA. We have miles and miles of National Forest and BLM land where it's perfectly legal.
I don't know about Angeles National Forest, but Cleveland National forest requires a permit that requires 8 months in advance to get in order to recreationally collect legally.
Source please.
Sorry, it was 8 weeks in advance.
https://www.fs.usda....stelprdb5214085
I also sent them an email almost 2 weeks ago on where I can get the forest product permit, but I haven't gotten a reply yet.
Oh I see you're talking about plant "forest products" specifically. Well, I have read in a number of places that the laws are so poorly written and confusing for collecting insects, that eventually, after receiving so many emails from people, some top USFS official put out a memo making it very clear what the differences are between recreational collecting and special use collecting, and that recreational collecting does not require a permit. Looking at that page, it is not clear which kind of noncommercial collecting they are referring to, because it's not even specified. The bullet point that says "No commercial collecting allowed. For all requests, include a copy of the study design, list of requested species, quantities, and a map of proposed collecting locations." doesn't even make sense. The second part of that I assume was supposed to be a separate bullet point, because why in the world would they go into detail about the requests if it's not allowed at all. Assuming that it is just further discussion about noncommercial collecting, it sure looks to me like they are referring to special use collecting.
Either way, right below all of that, it looks like firewood collecting permits are completely waived until May 15th, so just plan on using your drift wood to keep you warm, and maybe change your mind later.