1030 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



may be grazed after 3 years). Deforestation (including destruction 

 by overgrazing, by burning, or by overcutting contrary to an approved 

 working plan) is forbidden with certain exceptions, and then requires 

 the approval of the Minister of Agriculture and Domains, after a 

 field examination and recommendation by the Technical Council. 



Forest other than protection forest may be subjected to the regime 

 forestier upon application by the owner. The State is to encourage 

 the reforestation of all forests by having State forest officers make 

 working plans when requested to do so by the owners, by furnishing 

 seed and plants free or at cost, and by premiums and tax reductions 

 in return for good forest management. 



RUSSIA 



Although, strictly speaking, there are now no private forests in the 

 Soviet Union, considerable areas of forest have been turned over to 

 the villages and agricultural communes, workers' associations, and 

 even to individuals, for use and management. These are practically 

 equivalent to private forests. The holders must protect them from 

 fire, theft, and overgrazing, and must follow working plans prepared 

 by the Provincial Forest Department at the cost of the user. Openings 

 that will not reforest naturally must be replanted. Clearing for other 

 use may be permitted under suitable restrictions. If users fail to 

 comply with these requirements the forests may be taken from them. 



Exploitation of most of the state forests is under control of the 

 Supreme Economic Council, and is not subject to regulation by the 

 forestry authorities. Cutting on a large scale has been done without 

 regard to the perpetuation of the forests, and great areas have been 

 devastated. In view of the evil effects of denudation in certain re- 

 gions, the Government in 1931 provided for a segregation of forests of 

 silvicultural importance, to be protected and managed by the Com- 

 missariat of Agriculture. These forests include those of the poorly 

 forested districts of the south and east and those on the headwaters of 

 certain rivers such as the Volga, the Don, and the Dnieper. Cutting 

 in these forests must be gradually reduced so that by 1935 it does not 

 exceed the annual growth. All forests in a 1-kilometer strip on each 

 side of the lower and middle reaches of the Volga, Don, Dnieper, and 

 Ural Rivers are declared protection forests, in which only dead and 

 defective timber may be cut. 



The former forest law (that of 1888) provided for various degrees 

 of public control, depending on the situation of the forest. Local 

 forest boards were set up in each province and district, consisting of 

 representatives of the local administration, forest owners, foresters, 

 and a local justice, with the governor as chairman. 



The board's permission was required before forest land could be 

 cleared, but it was usually granted (except in case of " protected" 

 forests) where the land was suitable for agriculture. Except in clear- 

 ing land it was not permitted to cut in such a manner as to prevent 

 natural regeneration, or to pasture cattle on land stocked with young 

 growth. Owners of nonprotection forest could submit a working 

 plan to the board, and if it was approved they were allowed to operate 



Der Forstkodex der Russischen Socialistischen Foderativen Sowjet-Republik. (Translated into 

 German by E. Buchholz.) Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt 51:132-146. 1929. 

 Fernow, B. E., A Brief History of Forestry, pp. 264-268. Cambridge, Mass., 1911. 

 Buchholz, Erwin, Die Wald- und Holzwirtschaft Sowjet-Russlands. 131 pp. Berlin, 1932. 



