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OCCUPATIONAL REGISTRATION/LICENSING COMMITTEE QUESTIONNAIRE
Re: Amendments to Chapter 898 Forester Registration
3. In what ways has the public health, safety, or wetfare sustained harm or is in imminent danger of harm
because of the lack of state regulation?
Please give specific examples including names and addresses.
The public welfare is subject to economic and environmental harm, particularly on private lands, through mis-application
or even total absence of professionally acceptable forestry practices. Stream sedimentation, water
pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, erosion, misuse of herbicides, lack of regeneration following final harvest, loss
of landowner confidence in long-term forestry investment, loss of value, ad-valorum tax base loss, all are areas
of concern for harm from past mistreatment. The comments in the response to question l. A. speak to the
reasons.
The erctent of such harm or danger is difficult if not impossible to accurately assess, but it does occur. Anywhere
an owner's forest property is abused economically and/or environmentally through actions authorized by the
owner based, upon recommendations and/or advice of one the owner believed to be a forester, (professionally
qualified or not); could be considered harmful if not dangerous. lmproper forest practice or the lack of acceptable
forest practice may not reflect adverse effect immediately and in fact may be viewed by the owner favorably.
The long lerm effects of forestry practice are not perceived by many, whereas the professional forester's focus is
on the whole, be it single or multiple use, short or long rotation production, wildlife, recreation, esthetics;
whatever the owner's needs and goals might be.
The current Chapter has done much to protect the public's interest but it should be all inclusive. The amendment
to the Chapter seeks to reduce even further these harmful influences through improvement of the public
confidence in who their foresters are.
Specific names and addresses of individuals harmed are not readily available; however, minutes of the Board of
Registration for Foresters reflect situations that do occur. The failure to inform an owner of present and future
consequences of certain forest practices or failure to implement certain forestry practices can cause both short
and long term problems. For example the failure to implement Best Management Practices with silvicultural,
regeneration, and harvesting activities can impact wetlands silvicultural exemptions as well as site quality and
productive capability.
Lack of regulation in forestry is not deemed a problem but pressure for more regulation under the guise of
environmerltal crisis continues from Sierra Club, EDF, SEDF, NCDEM, NCDEHNR, Coastal Federation, CDF
and other similar groups. Some of their efforts are worthy but often push an agenda instead of addressing a
problem.
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