1456 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The maze of detailed prohibitions and penalties in the 

 penal sections of the Forest Code is bewildering to the 

 foreign student. Yet they throw much light upon French 

 conceptions of forest conservation. For example, the code 

 provides not only for penalties to the state (fine or im- 

 prisonment) and civil damages to the owner of the land 

 for tangible loss or injury to his property but also for 

 damages to intangible interests such as the disruption of 

 a plan of management. The innocent trespasser who cuts 

 green trees pays a fine, the commercial value of the 

 stumpage cut, and a further sum representing the value 

 of the trees to the owner for further growth and seed pro- 

 duction. The fine for cutting trees over 20 centimeters 

 in circumference is 50 centimes for each tenth of a meter 

 of circumference for each tree, in the case of most hard- 

 woods, and 25 centimes for other species. A lower fine 

 is imposed if trees less than 20 centimeters in circum- 

 ference or if limb or branch wood are cut. For every 

 tree cut which has been planted or sown by hand, the 

 fine is three francs, together with obligatory imprison- 

 ment for one month. The distinction between planted 

 and naturally grown timber, however, ceases after the 

 trees become over five years of age. If the wood is re- 

 moved from the forest, added penalties are imposed of 

 ten francs for each wagon-load, five francs for a pack- 

 load upon an animal, and two francs for a man-load of 

 fagot6 or poles. The difficulty in estimating intangible 

 damages has led to the adoption of the rule that such 

 damages shall be adjudged as not less than the penai 

 fine. They may be as much more as the owner can 

 establish to the satisfaction of the court. 



While the admission of mitigating circumstances is for- 

 bidden, the courts are compelled to impose severer pen- 

 alties in cases where an offense is repeated within twelve 

 months, when it is committed at night, and when illegal 

 cutting is done by the saw. In the last two instances, the 

 purpose of the more severe punishment is to discourage 

 trespasses under circumstances which render them diffi- 

 cult of detection. The difficulty of the forest service in 

 preventing unauthorized grazing and the stress placed 

 upon injuries to forest reproduction by grazing have led 

 to exceptionally severe penalties for offenses of this class, 

 involving obligatory imprisonment in most cases. This 

 extends even to swine herders who have purchased graz- 

 ing rights to acorn masts but whose pigs stray beyond 

 the designated areas. The unauthorized introduction of 

 animals into areas under the "regime forestier," whether 

 they graze or not, is subject to an arbitrary schedule of 

 fines. These range from 25 centimes to one franc for 

 each pig, sheep, or calf and from 40 centimes to two 

 francs for each ox, goat, or beast of burden. And it is 

 especially noteworthy that the fines are doubled if the 

 animals are discovered in woods under ten years of age. 

 The obvious principle of the forest code is to take no 

 chances. Any person found in a public forest off of the 

 ordinary roads with wood-cutting tools in his possession 

 is liable to a fine of 10 francs and confiscation of his out- 

 fit. Counterfeiting the official marking hammer of the 

 state service is punishable by forced imprisonment for 



twenty years. A series of protective zones is established 

 around the exterior boundaries of all public forests. 

 Within 500 meters, no workshops, yards, or factories 

 which fabricate or trade in wood can be established with- 

 out special authority. Within a zone of 1,000 meters, fur- 

 naces or fuel-using factories are similarly excluded; 

 while sawmills are forbidden within a zone of 2,000 

 meters except under permit from the forest service. The 

 intent of these drastic restrictions is to prevent the ex- 

 istence of commercial establishments in locations where 

 timber cut illegally might be quickly or readily consumed, 

 disposed of, or changed in form so as to render detection 

 of the trespass difficult. The penalties for unauthorized 

 establishments within the prohibited zones are fines rang- 

 ing up to 500 francs, enforced demolition of the struc- 

 tures, and, in extreme cases, confiscation of the timber 

 found in them from whatever source. When sawmills 

 are authorized within the 2,000-meter zone, they must 

 notify the forest guard of each lot of logs which they 

 are to receive and hold it for his inspection and marking 

 before it can be manufactured. 



It requires but very slight acquaintance with the per- 

 sonnel of the French forest service to appreciate that this 

 penal system is far more onerous on the statute books 

 than in actual enforcement. While the laws and penal- 

 ties savor of the seventeenth century, their present-day 

 application is eminently human and modern. This could 

 not be otherwise in view of the tact and diplomatic skill 

 of the French forest officers, practically all of whom, 

 rangers and guards included, receive special training for 

 their functions ; and particularly in view of the personal 

 individualism and latitude with which the French official 

 usually handles his local situation. Particularly during 

 the last fifty years, the Service des Eaux et Forets has 

 sought to overcome the antagonism of local populations 

 to the state forests and forest policy ; and the terrifying 

 list of penalties represents today a latent measure of last 

 resort rather than an active instrument in current admin- 

 istration. 



This practice is, indeed, strongly supported by pro- 

 visions of the Forest Code itself. One of the character- 

 istic expressions of French temperament and administra- 

 tive instinct in the code is the wide authority given to ad- 

 ministrative officers to compromise its violations. Before 

 judgment is rendered, such compromises can dispose of 

 the entire matter, even when the offender is liable to im- 

 prisonment. Following a judgment, pecuniary penalties 

 only can be compromised. The Forest Conservateurs, 

 who are usually in charge of a Department, can com- 

 promise cases where the fines and damages do not ex- 

 ceed 1,000 francs. Even the most serious violations of 

 the code can be settled out of court by the Secretary of 

 Agriculture. In actual practice, by far the larger pro- 

 portion of trespasses and other offenses are disposed of 

 in this direct fashion. 



American foresters find special interest in the pro- 

 visions of the Forest Code dealing with fire. To light a 

 fire within 200 meters of any forest under the "regime" 

 is prohibited, except on the part of the owner or of per- 



