01- 669 C.M.R. ch. 20, § 2

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 669-20-2 - DEFINITIONS

A. For the purpose of 12 M.R.S., Chapter 805, sub-chapter 3-A and for these rules, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context otherwise requires:

1.Acceptable growing stock means live trees of commercially valuable species that are not culls, are capable of developing into trees suitable for producing merchantable products, and which:

A. Have survived at least two full growing seasons (April 1 through October 1);

B. Do not lean more than 30 degrees from vertical;

C. Do not have a broken, dead, or missing main stem;

D. For trees 8 inches DBH or larger, have not suffered scrapes from timber harvesting that penetrate the cambium on more than one half of the stem circumference at any point on the tree ;

E. For trees less than 8 inches DBH, have not suffered scrapes from timber harvesting that penetrate the cambium on more than one third of the stem circumference at any point on the tree; and

F. Have not suffered visible severing, mutilation, or exposure from timber harvesting of more than one third of the root spread.

2.Basal area means the area of cross-section of a tree stem at Diameter Breast Height (4.5 feet above the ground) and includes bark.

3.Bureau means the Bureau of Forestry, Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry.

4.Change of Land Use means that following timber harvesting the subsequent use for a particular area does not include growing forest products. Change of land use may include, but is not limited to, conversion to farm pasture, site for growing agricultural crops, residential dwelling unit, development site, or gra vel pit. The division of forest land into smaller units does not by itself automatically constitute a change of land use.

5.Clearcut means any timber harvesting on a forested site greater than 5 acres in size that results in a residual basal area of acceptable growing stock trees over 4.5 inches DBH of less than 30 square feet per acre unless the following condition exists: after harvesting, the site has a well-distributed stand of acceptable growing stock as defined in these rules of at least 3 feet in height for softwood trees and 5 feet in height for hardwood trees.

6.Commercially Valuable Species means any tree species capable of growing as a tree in Maine, and which is not listed below:

Acer pensylvanicum	striped maple, moosewood
Acer spicatum	mountain maple
Salix spp.	willow
Cornus florida	flowering dogwood
Betula populifolia	grey birch
Prunus pennsylvanica	pin cherry, fire cherry

7.Coniferous (Softwood) Type means a forest type of which pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, cedar, larch and other softwood species, singularly or in combination, comprise 75% or more of the stocking.

8.Cord means a unit of measure of wood products 4 feet wide, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, or its equivalent, containing 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stacked. Any voids that will accommodate a stick, log or bolt of average dimensions to those in that pile shall be deducted from the measured volume.

9.Cull means a tree where 50% or more by volume fails to meet pulpwood grades.

10.Development Site means the ground area where any significant earth moving, grading, dredging, filling, building, construction, mining operation, or deposition of refuse, solid or liquid waste oth er than agricultural waste will occur. It does not include forest land areas where bioash or sludge are spread as a soil additive or fertilizer.

11.Designated Agent means a person, company or other entity that is authorized by the landowner to act on the landowner's behalf for timber harvesting and related activities on the landowner's property.

12.Diameter Breast Height (DBH) means the diameter of a standing tree measured 4.5 feet from ground level.

13.Director means the Director of the Bureau of Forestry.

14.Essential Wildlife Habitat means areas identified by the Commissioner, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in accordance with the provisions of 12 M.R.S., Chapter 925, subchapter 3, and any Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife rules implementing that subchapter.

15.Forest Land means land primarily covered with trees, and where commercial timber harvesting is not precluded by legal requirement.

16.Forest Management Activities include cruising and other forest resource evaluation activities, pesticide or fertilizer application, timber stand improvement, pruning, timber harvesting and other forest harvesting, regeneration of forest stands, and other similar or associated activities, but not the construction, creation, or maintenance of land management roads.

17.Forest Plantation: See "Plantation."

18.Forest Management Plan: See "Harvest Plan."

19.Forest Products means logs, pulpwood, veneer, boltwood, wood chips, stud wood, poles, pilings, biomass fuel wood, fuel wood or other products commonly known as forest products. It does not include Christmas trees, maple syrup, nursery products used for ornamental purposes, wreaths, bough material , cones or other seed crops.

20.Forest Stand means a contiguous group of trees sufficiently uniform in age class, distribution, composition, and structure, and growing on a site of sufficiently uniform quality, to be a distinguishable unit.

21.Forest Type means a stand of trees characterized by the predominance of one or more groups of key species which make up 75 percent or more of the sawlog volume of sawlog stands, or cordwood in pole timber stands, or of the number of trees in seedling and sapling stands.

22.Forested Wetland means a freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that is at least 20 feet tall.

23.Freshwater Wetland means ponds, freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas that are:

A. Inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under no rmal circumstances do support, a prevalence of wetland vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils; and,

B. Not part of a Great Pond, coastal wetland, stream, or river.

24.Great Pond means any inland body of water which in a natural state has a surface area in excess of 10 acres, and any inland body of water artificially formed or increased which has a surface area in excess of 30 acres.

25.Hardwood Type means a forest type in which maple, birch, beech, oak, elm, basswood, poplar, ash or other broadleaf species of trees, singularly or in combination, comprise 75% or more of the stocking.

26.Harvest Area means an area of forest land where timber harvesting has occurred or is occurring.

27.Harvester means a person, company, or other entity who harvests, or contracts to harvest, a forest product.

28.Harvest Plan means a site specific document signed by a Licensed Forester outlining proposed activities to ensure compliance with performance standards and regeneration requirements of 12 M.R.S. c. 805, sub-c. 3-A and this rule.

29.Landing: See "Yard."

30.Landowner means a person, company, or other legal entity which holds title to land, including as a joint ownership or as tenants in common. Where the ownership of the timber located on the land is different than the fee ownership of the land itself, the owners of the timber are deemed a landowner and are jointly and severally responsible with the fee landowner to comply with this rule. Where a corporate landowner is a wholly owned subsidiary of another corporation, both parent and subsidiary are deemed the same landowner.

31.Land Management Road means a route or track consisting of a bed of exposed mineral soil, gravel, or oth er surfacing materials constructed for, or created by, the passage of motorized vehicles and used primarily for timber harvesting and related activities, including associated log yards, but not including skid trails or skid roads.

32.Licensed Forester means a forester licensed under 32 M.R.S. c.76.

33.Management Plan: see "Harvest Plan."

34.Mixedwood Type means a forest type in which neither hardwoods nor softwood comprise 75% or more of the stocking.

35.Overstory Removal means a timber harvest that is not a clearcut, that removes the overstory component of a stand, leaving a stand of advanced regeneration that is stocked with at least 450 trees per acre, well distributed on the harvest area, that meet the acceptable growing stock standards, as defined in these rules, and which are at least 3 feet in height for softwood trees and 5 feet in height for ha rdwood trees.

36.Parcel means a contiguous tract or plot of forest land owned by a landowner. Multiple contiguous tracts, plots or parcels of forest land owned by the same landowner are considered a single parcel. Contiguous tracts completely separated by a public road or roadway are considered to be separate parcels under these rules. Tracts of land joined only at a single point are not contiguous.

37.Pesticide means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pests, and any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant.

38.Plantation means a stand of commercially valuable tree species predominately artificially seeded or planted. It does not include supplemental or "fill" plantings within an otherwise natural stand unless the artificially established trees total 50% or more of the stand.

39.Poletimber means a live tree of commercially valuable species meeting regional specifications of soundness and form and at least 4.5 inches DBH, but smaller than a sawtimber tree.

40.Precommercial Silvicultural Activities means chemical or mechanical thinning treatments, planting, stand conversion or timber stand improvement activities provided that no forest products are removed.

41.Public Road or Roadway means any roadway that is owned or leased by a governmental unit or public entity.

42.Regeneration means the renewal of a tree crop of acceptable growing stock, whether by natural or artificial means.

43.Residential Dwelling Unit means a room or group of rooms designed and equipped exclusively to use as permanent, seasonal, or temporary living quarters for one or more families. It in cludes mobile homes, but not recreational vehicles.

44.Residual Basal Area means the average of the basal area of trees remaining on a harvested area.

45.Residual Stand means a stand of trees remaining in the forest following timber harvesting and related activities.

46.Sapling means a live tree of commercially valuable species between 1.0 and 4.4 inches DBH.

47.Sawtimber means a live tree of commercially valuable species, suitable in size and quality for yielding sawlogs under current mill specifications.

48.Seedling means a live tree of commercially valuable species less than 1.0 inch DBH and at least 6 inches tall.

49.Separation Zone means an area that immediately surrounds a clearcut and separates it from any other clearcut. A separation zone must consist of forest land, and must meet the standards and requirements of this rule. The separation zone may include forested wetlands, and skid roads or skid trails, provided these skid roads or skid trails are not immediately adjacent to a clearcut. A separation zone does not include other non-forest areas such as non-forested wetlands, public and private roads, land management roads, winter haul roads, driveways, utility lines, development sites, pipelines or railroad rights-of-way.

50.Significant wildlife habitat is defined by 38 M.R.S., chapter 3, article 5-A.

51.Skid Road or Skid Trail means a route repeatedly used by forwarding machinery or animal to haul or drag forest products from the stump to the yard or landing, the construction of which requires minimal excavation.

52.Softwood Type means a forest type in which pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, cedar and larch, singly or in combination, compr ise 75% or more of the stocking.

53.Stand: see "Forest Stand."

54.Timber harvesting means the cutting or removing of timber for the primary purpose of selling or processing forest products.

55.Winter Haul Road means a route or track across frozen ground or compacted snow and ice used primarily for access to a yard or landing. It does not include a road with a gravel surface.

56.Wood means the severed but unprocessed fibrous derivative of trees, or the chipped fibrous derivative of trees, regardless of quality or grade.

57.Yard, Log Yard, Landing means the area where forest products are hauled by forwarding machinery or animals for deposition or storage before transfer to trucks or other means of conveyance.

01- 669 C.M.R. ch. 20, § 2