Our world is a complex matrix of laws, rules, regulations and guidelines.
It is the responsibility of all parties involved in land management to comply to
the best of their ability with relevant guidelines. The following is a
list of those that might apply to an Alabama landowner. The list addresses those that directly affect land management and
exclude business and tax implications regulations that affect all individuals.
A good resource for timberland tax issues is
www.timbertax.org. A resource for business compliance with federal
requirements is the
Small Business Resource Guide.
Regulations and Guidelines
The Endangered Species Act
is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). The law
prohibits the "taking" of endanger species. To take is defined as “to
harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or
attempt to engage in any such conduct”. For forest landowners a major
concern is "incidental taking" by alteration of endangered species habitat.
The USFW has several
tools they can use to help landowners to deal with the presence of
endangered species on their property.
The Clean Water Act
is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. However most
aspects of the Clean Water Act are implemented and enforced by state
agencies like the Alabama Department
of Environmental Management.
Best Management
Practices are a number of practices that when implemented reduce the
amount of pollution from forestry activities. The practices are
voluntary but are encouraged through education and monitoring of BMP
implementation. Alabama has a implementation rate of over 90%
thanks to the diligence of foresters, loggers, contractors, and
landowners.
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act regulates dredging and filling in
Waters of the US which extends to
wetlands.
While forestry activities are exempt from Section 404, BMP compliance in
forestry activities in and near wetlands is especially important.
Alabama mandates registration of foresters that offer to
practice or practice forestry. Registration requires a
forestry education, an exam, maintenance of continuing
profession education and acceptance of a code of ethics.
Forester registration is supervised by
Alabama State Board of Registration
for Foresters.
Silvicultural operations often require the application of chemical for
weed and pest control. Restricted use pesticides must be applied by a
licensed
applicator.
The
Prescribed Burn Certification helps reduce the liability of those
engaged in the use of prescribed fire in forest management. The
program provides education for participants and establishes a set of
guidelines for prescribed fire management.
Contracts
Contracts are one important method maintaining compliance in many types of
business transactions.
Certifications
Certification has become increasingly important in all aspects of the forest
industry. Even though certification is voluntary, maintaining
certifications is important for independent verification that the organization
follows guidelines. Those guidelines often contain items
similar to those covered in the Stewardship Principles. A comparison of
global certification programs is posted on the
Forest Certification Resource
Center. Certification programs in the United States include:
