A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other CountriesFernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
History
A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other Countries
Fernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
Forests and forestry -- History
Besides the unwillingness to submit to federal authority, the lack of
technically trained foresters--their employment being a requirement of
the law--and the objection to their employment by the cantons, who
looked on them as disguised policemen, impeded the progress of the
reform. Until 1884, each canton held its own examinations for forest
officials, but in that year a standard was enacted for employment within
the federally supervised territory.
The most frequent quarrel was as to what was to be considered forest and
what pasture, so that finally as a compromise a classification between
the two, called pasture woods, was introduced.
It will be noted that the federal surveillance was to extend only to the
High Alps above a certain limiting line. This limitation was removed, in
1898, by resolution of the Council, and change of the constitution, by
which the federal exercise of water and forest police was extended over
the whole country, and a bill to carry this into effect was introduced.
Finally, in 1902, a revised law was passed establishing fully the
present Federal forest policy.
This law places the surveillance of all forest police in all forests of
Switzerland in the Bund, the private forests as well as the public,
i.e., State and communal or corporation forests. But, as there are
distinctive differences in the manner of this surveillance, a
differentiation of ownership conditions and forest conditions was to be
made by the cantons within two years.
The forests are to be divided into protection and non-protection forests
(by the cantons with sanction of the Bund), the former being such as are
located at headwaters or furnish protection against snowslides,
landslides and rockfalls, floods, and climatic damage. Most of this
segregation had already been made and mapped in consequence of the law
of 1876. In 1904, 71% of the total forest area had been classed as
protective forest; nearly 80% of the communal, and over 50% of the
private forest property.
All public forests are to be surveyed and their corners permanently
marked by the cantons according to instructions by the Bund, the latter
furnishing the needed triangulation survey, and inspecting and revising
any older surveys free of charge.
The surveyed public forests are to be fully regulated according to a
sustained yield management, under working plans made according to
instructions by the Cantons, to be sanctioned by the Bundesrath. For the
unsurveyed forest areas at least a provisional felling budget is to be
determined, as nearly as possible representing the sustained yield. In
protection forests the working plans must conform to the objects of
these forests, and clearings in these are as a rule forbidden. The
fellings are to be made under direct supervision of foresters, and,
after being cut, the wood must be measured. Sale on the stump is
forbidden, otherwise no interference in the management is intended.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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