The first record of attention to the woods as a special property dates
from Michael, the founder, and Alexis, the second of the house of
Romanoff, the former becoming Czar in 1613, the latter in 1645. He it
was who began to introduce Western civilization. He confined himself,
however, to regulating property rights, which up to that time had
remained somewhat undefined, the forest, as elsewhere, being considered
more or less public property. He issued deeds of ownership, or at least
granted exclusive rights to the use of forests, somewhat similar as was
done in the banforests. Soldiers alone were permitted to help
themselves, even in private forests, to the wood they required.
Protection against theft and fire was also provided.
The peasants, being serfs, were bound to the glebe, and had, of course,
no property rights, being maintained by the bounty of the seigneurs.
Alexis’ successor, the far-seeing Peter the Great, who in his travels in
Germany and other European countries had, no doubt, been imbued with
ideas of conservatism, inaugurated in the end of the 17th and beginning
of the 18th century a far-reaching restrictive policy, which had two
objects in view, namely economic use of wood, which he had learned to
appreciate while playing carpenter in Amsterdam, and preservation of
ship timber, which his desire to build up a navy dictated. All forests
for 35 miles alongside of rivers were declared in ban, and placed under
the supervision of the newly organized Administration of Crown forests.
In these banforests, the felling of timbers fit for ship building was
forbidden. Minute regulations as to the proper use of wood for the
purposes for which it was most fit were prescribed, and the use of the
saw instead of the axe was ordered. These rules were to prevail in all
forests, with a few exceptions, and penalties were to be exacted for
contraventions.
This good beginning experienced a short setback under Catherine I
(1725), Peter’s wife, who, influenced by her minister, Menshikoff,
abolished the forest administration and the penalties, and reduced the
number and size of banforests. But the entire legislation was re-enacted
within three years after Catherine’s death (1727) under Anna Ivanovna’s
reign, and many new prescriptions for the proper use of wood were added
and additional penalties enforced.
At this time, under the influence of a German “forest expert,” _Fokel_,
the increase of forest area by sowing oak, etc., in the poorly wooded
districts, was also inaugurated; and this planting was made obligatory,
not only on the administration of crown forests, but also upon private
owners, who in case of default were to lose their land and have it
reforested by the forest administration. To Fokel’s initiative is also
to be credited the celebrated larch forest on the Gulf of Finland.
These restrictions of private rights and the tutelage exercised by the
forest administration were abolished _in toto_ by Catherine II, in 1788,
and although it was reported by the admiralty, concerned in the supply
of shipbuilding materials, that as a consequence the cutting,
especially of oak timber, was proceeding rapidly, no new restrictive,
but rather an ameliorative policy was attempted, such as, for instance,
the offering of prizes for plantations in certain localities by the
provincial governors.
Upon the abolishment of the serfdom of the peasants, under Alexander II,
in 1863, lands, both farm and woodlands, were allotted to them, and in
this partition, in some parts as much as 25 to 50% of this forest
property was handed over to them. Immediately a general slaughtering,
both by peasants and by the private owners, who had suffered by losing
the services of the serfs, was inaugurated, leading to wholesale
devastation.
Servitudes or rights of user also prevailed in some districts and proved
extremely destructive.
By 1864, complaints in regard to forest devastation had become so
frequent that a movement for reform was begun by the Czar, which led to
the promulgation of a law in 1867, followed by a number of others during
the next decade, designed to remedy the evils. This was to be done by
restricting the acreage that might be felled, by forbidding clearings,
and by giving premiums for good management and plantations. Finally, in
1875, a special commission was charged with the elaboration of a general
order which, after years of hearing of testimony and of deliberation,
was promulgated in 1888, a comprehensive law for the conservation of
forests, private and otherwise, which in many respects resembles the
French, in other respects the Swedish conservation laws.
The devastation and its evil consequences on waterflow and soil
conditions had been especially felt in the southern districts adjoining
the steppe, and these experiences were the immediate cause for the
enactment of the law, which, however, was framed to apply conditionally
to the entire European Russia.
The law makes an interesting distinction between “protective,”
“protected” and non-protective, or unprotected forests, as well as
between different ownership classes, and it makes distinction of four
regions as to the extent of its application. In the far northern
governments, densely forested (60%) and thinly populated, only the
protective forests are under the operations of the law. In the Caucasus
also, none of the restrictions of private property except in protective
and communal peasant forests are to apply, perhaps because the forest
area (averaging not over 17%) is there largely owned by members of the
imperial house and by nobles. In certain districts adjoining the
northern zone (with 37% forest) also only the last two classes of
forest, namely protective and communal properties, with institute
forests added, are subject to the provisions of the law. The rest, a
territory of over one million square miles with only 12% in forest, is
subject to all the provisions of the law, which is remarkably democratic
in treating State, imperial and private forests alike.
This law declares as “protective forests,” to be managed under special
plans prescribed by the Crown forest department, those forest areas
which protect shifting sands and dunes, the shores of rivers, canals
and other waters; and those on the slopes of mountains, where they serve
to prevent erosion, landslides and avalanches.
Conversion of these protective forests to farm use is forbidden, and the
use of a clearing system in forest management, as well as pasturage and
other uses supposed to be detrimental, may be interdicted, and the
method of management may be prescribed. An instruction regarding the
execution of the law promulgated in 1889 prohibited clear cutting in
conifer forests, permitting only selection forest, and in especially
endangered localities only the use of the dry wood and such trees as
interfere with natural reproduction.
“Protected” forests are those which are located at the head waters and
upper reaches of streams and their affluents. Here the rules as regards
clearing, mismanagement, reforestation and pasture applicable to the
non-protective forests, prevail, except that clearing may be prohibited
or permitted, if the committee deems it not dangerous owing to the small
size of the clearing.
In forests, which are not protective forests, conversion into farms or
clearing with the sanction of the committee is permitted, if thereby the
estate is improved, _e.g._, if the soil is fit for orchards and
vineyards. Such clearing may also be allowed if the soil is fit for
temporary field use, but in that case the area must be eventually
reforested. Clearing is also permitted, if another formerly farmed
parcel of the same size has been reforested at least three years prior
to the proposed clearing; or if in artificial plantations the growth is
not yet 20 years old; also in a few special cases where property
boundaries are to be rounded off, roads to be located, etc. If after six
months from the time of the application the committee has not forbidden
the clearing, it is considered as permitted. It is also forbidden to
make fellings which prevent natural regeneration, and the running of
cattle in young growth is prohibited. Private owners are not required,
but are permitted, to submit working plans, and if these are accepted,
they are exempted from any other restrictions. Such plans may be
considered as accepted if the committee does not express itself within
one year. All clearings made in contravention to the committee’s
decision must be replanted within a prescribed time or may be forcibly
reforested by the committee.
The most interesting feature, because thoroughly democratic, is the
creation of the local forest protection committees, which are formed in
each province and district, composed of various representatives of the
local administration, one or two foresters included, the justice of the
peace or other justice, the county council and two elected forest
owners, in all nine to eleven members, under the presidency of the
governor.
This committee is vested with large powers. It decides, without appeal,
what areas are included in protective forests and approves of the
working plans for these as well as for the unreserved forests; it
determines what clearings may be made, and exercises wide police powers
with reference to all forest matters working in co-operation with the
Forest Administration, which latter has the duty of making working
plans free of charge for the reserved forests, and, at the expense of
the owner for the private unreserved forests. Owners of the latter are,
however, at liberty to prepare their own plans subject to approval.
Appeal from decisions of the Forest Committees lies through the
Committee to the Minister of Crown lands and Minister of the Interior.
In case the owner refuses to incur the extra expense arising from
measures imposed upon him, the domain ministry may expropriate him, but
the owner may recover within 10 years by paying costs with 6% interest
in addition to the sale price. In addition to the above cited and other
restrictive measures, some ameliorative provisions are also found. All
protective forests are free from taxes forever; those artificially
planted also for 30 years.
Some of the best forest officials are detailed to give advice
gratuitously to forest owners (forest revisor--instructors) and prizes
are given for the best results of silvicultural operations. At the
recommendation of the Forest Committees, medals or money rewards or
other distinctions are given to the forest guards and forest managers of
private as well as public forests. Plant material is distributed free or
at cost price, and working plans for protective forests are made free of
charge.
The Imperial Loan Bank advances long term loans on forests, based upon
detailed working plans made by the State, which insure a conservative
management. In 1900, over 7,000,000 acres were in this way mortgaged
under such management.
The minutest details are elaborated in the instructions for the
execution of this most comprehensive law. How far this law is really
executed and what its results so far have been, it would be difficult to
ascertain. It is, however, believed that it has worked satisfactorily.
By 1900, 1.5 million acres had been declared protection forests, nearly
2 million protected or river forests, and nearly 100 million private and
communal forests had been placed under the regime. In 1907, the total
area under the regime had grown to over 136 million acres. Of private
forests, 18 million acres in 6015 forests were being managed according
to working plans made or approved by the forest committees. In these
plans, usually, the strip system or seed tree system with natural
regeneration under 60 year rotation for conifers, and at least 30 year
rotation for broadleaf forest, is provided.
In 1903, the application of the law was extended to the Caucasus, the
Trans-caucasian and other southern provinces, but in the absence of
suitable personnel and in a half civilized country, no result for the
immediate future may be anticipated.
The surveillance of the execution of this law lies, with the assistance
of the Forest Committees, in the hands of the State Forest
Administration.
This latter, centralized in the Department of Agriculture, consists of a
Director General with two Vice-Directors and a so-called bureau of
forests with seven division chiefs, a number of vice-inspectors and
assistants. The local administration in the governments is represented
by the Direction of Crown lands with a superintendent or supervisor and
several inspectors. The crown forests, divided into some 1260
administrative units, are under the administration of superintendents,
with foresters and guards of several degrees.
The whole service comprised, in 1908, about 3790 higher officials, some
850 of whom in the central office at St. Petersburg, and over 30,000
lower officials some 20,000 of whom are educated underforesters.
Large as this force appears to be, it is small in comparison with the
acreage, and inadequate. Although the net income from the 300 million
acres of State forest which are actually worked is now close to thirty
million dollars, the expenditures being near 6 million, the pay of the
officials is such as to almost force them to find means of subsistence
at the cost of their charges. Perhaps nowhere else is there so much
machinery and so much regulation with so little execution in practice.
Nevertheless, progress is being made in gradually improving matters, and
the forest property, or at least the cut, has become more and more
valuable. While in the middle of the last century the income from the
domain forest was only $500,000, by 1892 it had grown to $10,000,000, by
1901 to $23,000,000, in 1908 to nearly $30,000,000, besides several
million dollars’ worth of free wood. In 1908, the department spent over
half a million dollars on planting and assisting natural regeneration.
Timber is sold as a rule to contractors by the tree or acre, and a
diameter limit is almost the only restriction. In 1897, however, an
arrangement was made by which the lumberman was obliged to reforest, or
at least to pay a certain tax into a planting fund, and a part payment
of $2 to $4 per acre as guarantee must be made before cutting. This
order has, however, remained mostly a dead letter, the buyer preferring
to allow his guarantee to lapse. In 1906, there stood $3,000,000 to the
credit of this planting fund, and only half of it had been applied.
Meanwhile the unplanted area increases, since natural regeneration
generally proves a failure.