Virginia Sustainable Forestry

The State Forester shall administer the provisions of this article, including the protection, preservation and perpetuation of forest resources by means of reforestation to allow continuous growth of timber on lands suitable therefor, and is authorized to employ personnel; purchase equipment, materials, and supplies; maintain and transport equipment; and make other expenditures and payments authorized by law, and as directed by the regulations adopted for the administration of this article. In any one fiscal year, the expenditures for salaries of administrative supervisory personnel shall not exceed ten percent of the general fund appropriation and forest products taxes collected and deposited in the Reforestation of Timberlands Fund as provided in §10.1-1174 for that particular year.

(1981, c. 371,§ 10-90.31; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.)

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§ 10.1-1171. Exceptions.

A. This article shall not apply to any tract of land in excess of 500 acres under the sole ownership of an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other business unit, device, or arrangement.

B. This article shall not apply to any acre or part of an acre on which the landowner is receiving federal financial assistance for growing timber.

(1981, c. 371, §§ 10-90.33, 10-90.34, 10-90.35; 1988, c. 891; 1996, c. 733.)

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§ 10.1-1172. Reforestation Board; regulations.

The Reforestation Board shall be appointed by the Governor and consist of the following members: three representatives of the pine pulpwood industry, three representatives of the pine lumber industry, one of whom shall be the owner of a sawmill annually producing not more than five million board feet, and three small forest landowners. The State Forester shall be a nonvoting member of the Reforestation Board and shall serve as secretary of the Board.

All members shall be appointed for three-year terms and appointed members may not serve for more than two consecutive terms.

The Reforestation Board shall annually elect a chairman and shall formulate regulations for its organization and procedure.

The Reforestation Board shall meet not less than twice each year, at such location as it may designate, to formulate recommendations to the State Forester concerning regulations and other matters applicable to this article including, but not limited to, types of equipment to be purchased, rental rates for equipment, and reforestation practices.

(1981, c. 371, § 10-90.32; 1984, c. 750; 1985, c. 448; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891; 1990, c. 196.)

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§ 10.1-1173. Authority of State Forester; reforestation options; lien

The State Forester is authorized, upon the request of a landowner, to examine timberland and make recommendations concerning reforestation. He may make available to landowners, with or without charge, use of specialized state-owned equipment and tree seedlings, tree seed, materials, and services of specialized state personnel for the purpose of preparing land for reforestation and reforesting land devoted to growing timber, in accordance with administrative regulations.

Upon the completion of each separate reforestation project in accordance with the recommendations and approval of the State Forester, the State Forester shall determine the total cost of the project including money paid or payable to a contractor for services performed on the project, for labor, and for other costs incurred by the landowner, including a standard rental rate value for use of state-owned equipment and the cost of tree seedlings, tree seed, materials, and specialized state personnel used on the project.

The following incentive to reforesting land may be utilized by the State Forester: whenever a landowner completes a reforestation project in accordance with the recommendations and approval of the State Forester, through the use of his own equipment, material and personnel, or through the employment of a contractor where no state equipment, materials or personnel are used, or are used only in part, the State Forester shall determine the total cost of the project based on current commercial rental rate for machines similar to types used, cost of material, and cost of personnel where the landowner does his own work on the project, or based on the contractor's statement of cost or paid receipts furnished by the landowner where work is done by a contractor together with and at the standard rental value for use of any state-owned specialized equipment, tree seedlings, tree seed, materials, and specialized state personnel used on the project. The State Forester, from funds appropriated for the purposes of this article, may pay to the landowner an amount not to exceed seventy-five percent of the total cost of the project, as above determined, or ninety dollars per acre, whichever is the lesser.

(1981, c. 371, § 10-90.36; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.)

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§ 10.1-1174. Reforestation of Timberlands Fund.

All moneys paid to or collected by the State Forester for rental equipment, tree seedlings, seed and material furnished, and specialized personnel services rendered to a landowner and all moneys collected or received from settlement of liens, including principal, interest and fines, authorized under this article shall be paid into the state treasury. All such moneys shall be credited by the State Comptroller as special revenues to the Reforestation of Timberlands Fund of the Department of Forestry to be expended solely for reforesting privately owned timberlands of the Commonwealth as provided in this article.

(1981, c. 371, § 10-90.37; 1984, c. 750; 1986, c. 567; 1988, c. 891.)

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§ 10.1-1175. Certain rights of landowner not limited.

This article shall not limit the right of any landowner to contract with individuals, organizations, and public bodies to provide for the utilization of the land for recreational purposes, or to grant open space easements over the land to public bodies.

(1981, c. 371, § 10-90.39; 1988, c. 891.)

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§ 10.1-1176. When provisions of article effective.

This article shall not be effective during any biennium for which the General Assembly fails to appropriate from the state general fund a sum which equals or exceeds the total revenues collected from the forest products tax for the immediately preceding two years; a report of such sum shall be submitted by the State Forester to the Governor on or before November 1 of the last year of the preceding biennium.

(1981, c. 371, § 10-90.38; 1988, c. 891; 1998, c. 420.)

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