In order to ensure public safety, protect the environment and manage resource conflicts, activities such as constructing a building, structure, trail or recreation facility are not permitted without the approval of the District Manager. In order to protect the recreational resource, the District Manager may restrict and regulate non-recreational use at recreation sites, recreation trails and interpretive forest sites, as well as Resource Management Zones, Landscape Units and Sensitive Areas established for recreation. In order to manage recreational use, the District Manager may restrict and regulate public recreational use on public forest lands. Furthermore, the Forest Recreation Regulation sets out the rules governing the use of recreation sites, recreation trails, interpretive forest sites, and wilderness areas. It also establishes the enforcement authorities, including orders to vacate and offenses. A series of guidebooks dealing with recreation and visual landscape management provides the strategies to manage recreation and visual resources.
Finland has a public access principle that allows the recreational use of all commercial forests. Forestry plans specify recreational use objectives and unique areas have a special management and use plan (Finnish Forest and Park Service, 1994). Basic recreational services, such as trails and camp fire pits are provided in commercial forests and wherever possible, forestry activities are used to enhance recreation areas. During harvesting, recreational paths and trails must remain open; they cannot be used as extraction routes or be covered with logging waste (Finnish Forest and Park Service, 1994).
The value of Finland's state forests for recreation is determined by the Finnish Forest and Park Service. Value is determined by assessing the beauty, the state of the terrain, the closeness to nature, the proximity to a shore, the number of old trees, the variation in tree species, and the proportion of broadleaf trees, bushes and ground vegetation (Finnish Forest and Park Service, 1994). Exceptional areas are designated as national recreation areas and are managed specifically for recreation. There are approximately 100 designated state recreation areas (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 1994a).
Visual landscapes are managed as either distant or near landscapes. Management of the distant landscape involves classifying and analyzing landscape types (e.g. summit forests, stands on slopes, border stands) and studying their visibility, diversity and problem areas from the regions roads, rivers, lakes, high elevations and settlements (Finnish Forest and Park Service, 1994).
Silviculture in the near landscape is regulated in great detail. Stands on hill summits, shorelines, roadsides, near settlements and recreation forests, immovable ancient relics, and national heritage landscapes have specific requirements as well as additional guidelines (Finnish Forest and Park Service, 1994). Generally, the intent of the guidelines are to ensure regeneration areas reflect the form, lines, and scale of the landscape, blending in as much as possible.
A basic principle for forestry, outlined in Section 6 of the Federal Forest Act, states the natural characteristics of the forest must be retained. Retaining the natural characteristics are to protect the forest for sustained processes, protect the people from hazards, and provide recreational opportunities whenever possible. The Federal Forest Act then designates and regulates recreational areas in Sections 13 and 14.
Recreation is also regulated by the Nature Preservation Act.
Visual landscapes are not mentioned in the Federal Forest Act. However, there is a federal Land-Use Planning Law that is administered by the state land-use planning departments. Under this law, inventories of recreational areas and visual landscapes are completed and mapped at the State, regional, and community level. Regulations pertaining to environmental and landscape issues relevant to that planning level are included with the land-use maps.
Section 13 of the Federal Forest Act allows the designation of Recreation Forests. The designation is made if it is necessary for the public well-being. It is usually only applied near urban areas. The State has the authority to regulate activities within the recreation forests, (e.g. forest management techniques or hunting). The forest owner must allow recreational developments on the land if the forest is declared a recreation forest.
Section 14 of the Federal Act allows public access to forest land for recreation. Bikes, horses, and wheelchairs are allowed, but only on forest roads. The forests may be closed during forest operations or during the application of forest or wildlife management projects. However, a forest can not be closed without permission. Access to the forest is regulated at the state level.
Baden-Wurttemberg
Recreation areas are designated by the forest administration and are managed according to Forest Law regulations pertaining to protected forest areas (Sections 30 -33). There are no exemptions to the forest regulations once a protected area has been designated. The Nature Preservation Law also authorizes the environmental administration to designate Landscape Protection Areas that may be used for recreation. Each designated protection area has a special management plan, unique to the area. The regulations for use of the area are listed in the plan.
Section 33 of the Forest Law regulates Recreation Forests. The Law gives the forest administration the authority to regulate silviculture, forest management, hunting, and visitor use. As stated in the Federal Act, forest owners must allow recreation developments on their land if it is designated a recreation forest. Section 33 does not protect recreation forests from future changes in land use.
Even though the quality of the recreation areas are not assessed, inventories are conducted and must be considered when planning forest activities.
Baden-Wurttemberg does have an Agriculture Law that indirectly regulates visual landscapes. The Agriculture Law regulates afforestation and the prevention or allowance of afforestation projects is determined by the projects affect on the visual landscape. However, because pleasing or unpleasing landscapes are a subjective evaluation, using the visual landscape as a project determinant has not been upheld in the courts (Brunner, pers. comm.).
The current laws are being reformed. New laws will give the communities the power to make land use decisions which affect their landscapes (Brunner, pers. comm.).
Bavaria
Recreation and visual landscapes are recognized as valuable resources in Bavaria. The Forest Law and the Nature Preservation Law protect recreation areas and visual landscapes are regulated by Article 16 of the Forest Law.
An objective of the Forest Law, specified in Article 1, is to enable recreational use of the forest. Articles 11 and 12 govern the designation and regulation of the recreation forests. Article 11 allows urban forests to be protected from any change in land use. With this designation, urban forests are retained to moderate the urban climate, provide recreational opportunities, and protect the community from hazards and pollution. Article 12 authorizes the forest administration to designate recreation forests and regulate their silviculture practices, forest management, hunting and visitor use. The land is not protected from possible land use change under Article 12.
Article 16 of the Forest Law requires land owners to receive permission from the forest administration if they wish to afforest an area. The forest administration reserves the right to approve or reject the request because of the impact the afforestation project may have on the visual landscape.
Special provisions in the Act restrict operations along visually sensitive corridors.
Buffer strips extending 150 feet (46m) on each side may be established along designated scenic highways and other corridors. As of March 1993 there are 29 designated scenic highways in Oregon. They are: Interstate Highways 5, 84,205, 405 and State Highways 6, 7, 20, 18/22, 26,27, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 38, 42, 58, 62, 82, 97, 101, 126, 138, 140, 199, 230, 234 and 395.
Special tree retention and green-up criteria apply to the buffer strips.
Areas important for outdoor recreation are regulated by Section 30 of the Forestry Act. Regulating forest waste land, size of felling areas, regeneration methods, the retention of individual trees and groups of trees, fertilization, drainage, and the routing of forest roads can be done for recreation purposes. Measures can be prescribed by the County Forestry Board during the forest planning process.
Some recreation areas are protected as nature reserves with restrictions for land use and with a management plan. However, forestry activities may continue in nature reserves declared chiefly for recreational use (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 1994). Other areas owned by the state or communes are managed specifically for recreation, without special regulations.
The total area of forest land within national parks, nature reserves and nature management areas in 1993 was approximately 2.5 million ha or 6% of Sweden's land base. This total includes managed forests where harvesting is allowed (summary from the Swedish Nature Conservation Register, provided by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency).
Tasmania's guiding principle regarding protection of the visual landscape is that landscape is an important tourist and local resource and proper management is required (FPC, 1993:6). Harvesting operations may be highly visible on Tasmania's hilly terrain, but operations generally cannot and need not be hidden from view but can be modified to reduce the visual impact and harmonize with the landscape (FPC, 1993:6). This may be accomplished by:
Forestry Tasmania Visual Management System must be applied on all Crown forests, and should be applied on private forests. Where protection of existing landscape values is the priority for management, these areas will be protected within a Special Management Zone (Bird, 1993:4).
In addition, logging roads should be designed and located to fit the natural contours of the landscape to maintain landscape values.
Indirectly, RMZ, WMZ and wildlife tree requirements may affect recreational or visual concerns. Also, streams with known recreational use are required to have bridge (rather than culvert) crossings.
Amenity reserves are established to protect and screen areas, including recreation sites, from logging activities (MOLS, 1990:54).
