1018 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FOKESTRY 



reforested within a period to be fixed by the forest authorities. Pri- 

 vate forests, or public and private forests together, may be combined 

 into cooperative units and managed by the State forest service, upon 

 request of the owners. Individual owners also may have their forests 

 managed by the State, under voluntary contract. 



A forest or the standing timber may not be sold without permission 

 of the forest authority, and the State has prior option on any forest 

 that is offered for sale. It is not permitted to break up forest proper- 

 ties so as to make units of less than one half hectare. Protection 

 forests must be handled in accordance with an approved management 

 plan and qualified foresters must be employed. 



MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 21 



Private owners in this State hold slightly less than half of the forest 

 area. Forest devastation is forbidden, and forest land may not be 

 cleared for other use without permission of the forest authorities. Not 

 to exceed 4 percent of the area of a forest of 25 to 100 hectares may be 

 cut over in any one year. For a forest of more than 100 hectares not 

 more than 2 percent of the area may be cut in any one year, the 

 forest must be managed according to a working plan, and technically 

 qualified foresters must be employed. 



Areas on which the volume of timber has been reduced below 40 

 percent of the original stand, by cutting, fire, or otherwise, must be 

 reforested within three years. If the owner fails to do this, the public 

 authorities will do it at his expense. Existing bare land must be 

 planted within a period to be fixed, and the State will contribute part 

 of the necessary funds for this work. The dividing of forests is 

 forbidden, except as may be allowed by a later law. Forests which 

 serve as recreation spots for people in the cities may not be cut without 

 permission of a special commission which is set up for the purpose. 



The supervisory authority is the Agricultural Chamber, working 

 through its forestry committee, which consists of forest owners, 

 representatives of the communal forests, the small owners, and the 



Erofessional foresters. Appeals from decisions of the Chamber may 

 e taken to the State Department of Agriculture, Domains, and 

 Forests. 



PRUSSIA 22 



Half of the forest in Prussia is privately owned. Mandatory 

 control applies only to protection forests, which are those protecting 

 other forests or watercourses from drifting sand, protecting lowlands, 

 roads or buildings against floods or landslides, protecting against 

 winds, or protecting the flow of streams. In these forests, methods of 

 cutting may be prescribed, and planting or other control work 

 required. A special law applying to the headwaters of the Oder, in 

 Silesia, forbids excessive removal of litter, grazing, removal of 

 stumps, or digging of drainage ditches. 



Forests may be classified as protection forests upon application of 

 communes, local or district authorities, interested persons who are 

 exposed to danger, or the State police authorities. Forest owners are 



21 Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung 105: 298-306. 1929. 



22 Manuscript report on law of July 6, 1875. 

 Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung 105: 298-306. 1929. 

 Deutsche Forstzeitung 47: 654-655. 1932. 



Weber, H., "Forstpolitik," ch. XIX, p. 415, in Handbuch der Forstwissenschaft, Ed. 4, Bd. 4. 

 Tubingen, 1927. 



