The Division of Forestry has the main responsibility for enforcing the Regulations. The Department of Fish and Game and the Coastal Management Program also have important related responsibilities, but not under the Forest Practice Act. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is responsible for water quality.
Penalties under the Code include stop work orders, remedial work orders, administrative penalties, tickets, prosecution with fines of up to one-million dollars and imprisonments. The nature and magnitude of penalties vary depending on the area of land, volume of timber, number of trees and number of livestock involved. Also, designated officials will issue tickets for some offenses. Penalties are determined by senior officials following the Administrative Remedies Regulation under the Act.
If an offender believes that a determination is wrong he may request, within a three week period, a review of a determination by a review official. Following the review, the determination may be appealed to the Forest Appeals Commission.
The Ministry of Forests, and hence the Regional and District Managers, have primary responsibility for enforcement of the Forest Practices Code Act and Regulations. The Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks has enforcement responsibility for specific sections of the Code. Inspections will be carried out by designated officials or senior officials of the Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks, and/or the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (FPC Act, 1994, s. 107). "Whistle blower" provisions in the Act protect persons giving information, or otherwise aiding in a prosecution, from punishment or discrimination.
The public can bring action against the Board or CDF for failure to carry out their responsibilities under the Act.
Enforcement of the Forest Practice Act and Rules is mainly the responsibility of CDF. The Department of Fish and Game has responsibility for enforcing the federal Endangered Species Act and is in charge of ensuring protection of streambeds when a Timber Harvest Plan proposes to alter them.
Under the Water Code and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, the State Water Resources Control Board has the main responsibility for preventing water pollution.
Under the Forest Improvement Act professional assistance is available for planning and implementing forest improvement activities. A subsidy or loan is available for forest draining, reforestation and afforestation, tending of seeding stands and young plantations, forest fertilizations, forest road construction, prescribed burning and pruning.
The most severe penalty is for the devastation [3] of a forest. In this case the landowner must sign a closing agreement with the district forestry board prohibiting the owner from cutting for a period of usually 10 years ( E. Hellstrom, pers. comm.). The forest owner is also responsible for all costs associated with regeneration of the devastated area (Section 17, Private Forest Act).
Penalties can also be granted if a forest owner does not give a felling notice, uses the forest in violation of a closing order or violates the felling and regeneration plan approved by the District Forestry Board (Section 12, Private Forest Act). The District Forestry Board also has the authority to confiscate and sell at public auction the timber obtained from illegal use of the forest (Sections 13 & 15, Private Forest Act).
The District Forestry Boards are directly responsible for enforcing the Private Forestry Act (Section 3, Private Forest Act).
The Department of Forest Policy in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is responsible for enforcement of the Finnish Forest and Park Act.
Federal Republic of Germany
Incentives for compliance with regulations are not included in the Forest Law. However, subsidies and tax allowances are available to forest owners. The federal and state administrations jointly fund forest projects promoting ecological objectives.
The Federal Forest Act is enforced by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry (Section 44, Federal Forest Act). It is the duty of the federal ministry to ensure the State governments comply with the requirements of the Act. It is the responsibility of the state forestry administrations to enforce the regulations within their state.
Baden-Wurttemberg
However, the subsidies for silviculture , road construction and forest associations, described for the Federal Republic, are available to Baden-Wurttemberg forest owners.
The penalty structure for non-compliance is outlined in Section 9 of the State Forest Law. Penalties are levied for;
A maximum fine of DM 50,000 (approx. $55,000 Canadian) will be levied if forest land is converted to another land use without first receiving permission from the Administrative Forest District.
Enforcing the prescribed forestry practices of Baden-Wurttemberg's forest law is one of the responsibilities of the 1500 local District Forestry Officers. State and public forests are inspected at least once every 10 years. The inspection involves the completion of a forest inventory. Private forest owners are not obligated to conduct a forest inventory.
Bavaria
Subsidies are available for silviculture , road construction and forest associations. Subsidies are also available under the Law for Improvement of the Agrarian Structure and Coastal Protection. Funds are available under this Law for restocking damaged stands, primary afforestation of devastated stands, stand tending and fertilization (Brinkmann, pers. comm.).
Non-compliance is regulated by fines. The maximum fine of DM 50,000 (approx. $55,000 Canadian) is for converting forest land to another land use or clearcutting in high elevation forests without permission. Enforcement of the Forest Law is the responsibility of the State forest administration and the General Administrative Districts. All State Ministries have offices at the Administrative District and Office level.
Conservation officers, appointed under the Forests Act, and additional personnel as deemed necessary by the Minister of Natural Resources, enforce the Forests Act and regulations. A conservation officer has the powers, authority, privileges and immunities of a warden appointed pursuant to the Lands and Forests Act. 1986, c.10, s 6. (Forests Act, 1986: s. 6-6), and may arrest and detain a person to prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence (Forests Act, 1986: s. 34).
The Ministry of Natural Resources has primary responsibility for enforcement of the Act and the Regulations. Inspections of forest harvesting operations are carried out within the first week of operation, and then on a monthly basis until operations are completed, to monitor compliance with approved Forest Management Plans, silvicultural ground rules, specific prescriptions for operations in Areas of Concern, and exceptions to the silvicultural guides and implementation manuals (FMPM, 1994:174). The Ministry of Natural Resources must ensure that timber-related statutes and regulations are interpreted consistently, supervised adequately, and enforced fairly but firmly in all cases of non-compliance (EA, 1994:459).
Penalties vary according to their nature; violations may result in fines or imprisonment. The base fine specified for a violation is up to U.S. $250 (approx. $325 Canadian); the maximum civil penalty is U.S. $5,000 (approx. $6,500 Canadian) per violation. However, fines can also be assessed for as much as two times the amount of any profit realized from a violation. Penalties are assessed using a mathematical formula that considers the base amount, cooperation, prior knowledge, history of price violations, damage to resources and the extent to which damage can be repaired.
The Oregon Department of Forestry has the responsibility for enforcement of forest practice law and rules.
Fines or a maximum prison term of six months may be levied on individuals who willfully or through negligence violate the regulations authorized by the Forestry Act (Section 38). Penalties apply to the following sections:
Section 7 - the use of forest reproductive material in establishing new stands,
Section 10 - harvesting that does not promote establishment of a new stand, benefit an existing stand or protect a young stand,
Section 11 - harvesting that exceeds a holdings allowable percentage of cut or young forest,
Section 14 - failure to notify authorities prior to harvest or drainage installation,
Section 16 - harvesting in difficult to regenerate areas without permission,
Section 18 - failure to protect cultural heritage or nature conservation interests,
Section 20 - failure to consult Sami people regarding proposed harvesting in reindeer husbandry areas,
Section 21 - failure to preserve reindeer habitat,
Section 25 - failure to protect selected valuable broadleaved forests,
Section 27 - failure to receive permission prior to harvesting or failure to follow specified methods for harvesting in selected valuable broadleaved forests,
Section 29 - failure to comply with regulations specified to control insect infestations,
Section 30 - failure to comply with regulations specified to preserve nature conservation and cultural heritage,
Section 31 - failure to take reindeer husbandry requirements into account when planning forest activities,
Section 36 - violation of a harvesting prohibition order.
The highest monetary penalty decreed to date is 160,000 SEK (approx. $32,000 Canadian). This fine was given to a person who refused to establish a new stand on a large area after final harvest (P. Kjellin, pers. comm.).
In addition to the fines and possible prison term, the timber or the equivalent value of the timber obtained from a harvesting operation that violated the Forestry Act is forfeited (Section 39).
Forest owners are legally required to comply with the regulations specified for each section of the Forestry Act. Enforcement of the Act is the responsibility of the entire forestry organization, the National Board of Forestry, the County Forestry Boards and the local district offices.
If the Act is not being followed the County Forestry Board will provide the forest owner with a prescription that also specifies a monetary penalty. If the prescription is not followed, a court will decide whether the forest owner must pay the specified penalty. When the forest owner does something wrong (e.g. fells a stand that is too young) a prosecutor will take the forest owner to court. A stop work order can be issued by the County Forestry Board if illegal harvesting is in progress. If the owner is found guilty a fine must be paid. The forest owner may also be required to forfeit the value of the illegally obtained timber.
A Chief Forest Officer, under the direction of the Forest Practices Board is responsible for monitoring standards and ensuring uniform enforcement and inspection practices. Enforcement is carried out by both planning and inspecting Forest Practices Officers, as well as by annual surveys of a sample of approved Timber Harvesting Plans. Prosecutions and evidence gathering resulting from major breaches and private property enforcement are carried out by the Forest Practices Unit's Forest Practices Inspector (Wilkinson, pers. comm.).
The Forestry Authority (FA) enforces the regulations and standards and government or non-government positions enforce or ensure compliance with the regulations. Inspections of forest operations occur in varying degrees of frequency by Woodland Officers of the WGS, and FA staff (Bell, pers. comm.). However, to receive a grant, planting and inspection is made during years one and five.
The U.S. Forest Service has the responsibility for enforcement of forest practice and planning laws and regulations within national forests.
Direct monetary fines are not typically imposed, but licence suspensions or cancellations pose indirect financial penalties for the licence holder. Local government deals with private land breaches through Planning Scheme mechanisms (Leonard, pers. comm.).
Public lands are monitored by authorised officers of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources under the Conservation, Forest and Lands Act, and the Forests Act. Compliance on private lands is ensured under the Planning and Environment Act, by a responsible authority (Code, 1989:3).
Violations may result in a range of actions from informal conferences to stop work orders or fines up to U.S. $10,000.00 (approx. $13,000 Canadian) per violation. Several factors are considered in assessing penalties: previous violation history, severity of impact on public resources, whether violation was intentional, reparability of the adverse effect of the violation and cooperation with DNR.
Primary responsibility for enforcement of the Forest Practices Act is vested in the staff of the DNR. The Department of Ecology has responsibility for water quality programs and the Department of Fish & Wildlife provides consultation on fish and wildlife issues.
A Forest Officer in Charge (F.O.I.C.), appointed by the Executive Director of the Department of Conservation and Land Management has primary responsibility for enforcement. The F.O.I.C. may, in turn, delegate some of their responsibilities to other Forest Officers.
