Maine § 8879. - Report on the state of the State's forests

§ 8879.. Report on the state of the State's forests

The director shall publish a report on the state of the State's forests every 5 years. The director must submit a copy of the report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over forestry matters by January 1st every 5 years beginning January 1, 2016.   [PL 2011, c. 532, §2 (AMD).]

1.  Content.  The report must describe the condition of the State's forests based on historical information and information collected and analyzed by the bureau for the 5-year period. The report must provide an assessment at the state level of progress in achieving the standards developed pursuant to section 8876‑A, including an assessment of designated outcome-based forestry projects authorized under section 8003, subsection 3, paragraph Q, including a recommendation to continue, change or discontinue the outcome-based forestry projects. The director shall also provide observations on differences in achieving standards by landowner class. The report must summarize importing and exporting of forest products for foreign and interstate activities. The director shall obtain public input during the preparation of the report through appropriate methods.

1-A.  Report on changes in ownership of forest land.  Using information received under Title 36, section 581‑G, the director shall monitor changes in ownership of parcels of forest land that are 1,000 acres or greater in area within the municipalities of the State and classified under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law. Using information received under Title 36, sections 581‑F and 581‑G, the director shall monitor the number of parcels classified under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law and the distribution of parcels by size. The report must include information on the number of parcels, classified by size categories, for the organized and unorganized territories of the State. The information must be presented in a manner that facilitates comparison from year to year.

In assessing changes in forest land ownership, the director shall also consider information reported pursuant to Title 36, sections 305 and 2728. The director shall provide a summary of changes in ownership of forest land in the report.  

1-B.  Report on conservation of late-successional forests and old-growth forests.  Beginning with the report due on January 1, 2031, the report must include information regarding the status of late-successional forests and old-growth forests in the State and actions that have been taken since the previous report under this section to enhance the conservation of late-successional forests and old-growth forests on public and private land statewide.

2.  Recommendations.  The report must include recommendations for state and private actions designed to address the needs identified in the assessment.

A. State action recommendations must be defined in terms of necessary policies, programs, staff and budgetary requirements to achieve specific goals.   [PL 1997, c. 720, §13 (NEW).]

B. Recommendations for actions on privately held forest lands may be developed separately for large, industrial ownerships and small, nonindustrial ownerships. These recommendations must be defined in terms of actions needed to achieve specific goals.   [PL 1997, c. 720, §13 (NEW).]