Code of Massachusetts Regulations
302 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
Title 302 CMR 16.00 - Forest Cutting Practices
Section 16.03 - Definitions
Abutters of Record on File with the Assessor means:
(a) the abutters shown on a current town property map who are within 200 feet of a cutting area; or
(b) if there is no map, the abutters noted on the current assessment card of the property being cut who are within 200 feet of a cutting area; and,
(c) abutters otherwise known to the landowner who are within 200 feet of a cutting area.
Abutters of record on file with the assessor does not mean property owners with property separated from the cutting area by a publicly maintained way.
ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern) means an area containing concentrations of highly significant environmental resources that has been formally designated by the Secretary of Environmental Affairs pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21A, § 2(7) and 301 CMR 12.00: Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.
Advance Regeneration means young trees which have become established in a forest before any special measures are undertaken to establish new growth.
Agents of the Director or Director's Agents means the trained foresters, fire wardens, regional supervisors, and other personnel, as appointed, by the Director to serve as his or her agents. The Director may cooperate with the University of Massachusetts, the United States Forest Service and any other appropriate public or private organization and may authorize their employees to serve as agents of the Director for the purpose of implementing and enforcing 302 CMR 16.00.
Agent of the Landowner or Landowner's Agent means the person appointed by the landowner as his or her agent to prepare the necessary paper work, oversee operations covered by the forest cutting plans or to act as a liaison with the Director or the Director's Agent.
At Any One Time means the time period a cutting is done so long as work is reasonably continuous and not interrupted for a period longer than 180 days, or during the period covered by an approved forest cutting plan, whichever is longer.
Basal Area means the area in square feet of the cross section of a tree taken at breast height (4.5 feet above the ground).
Best Management Practices means forestry and harvesting practices used to prevent or minimize erosion and adverse impacts to wetland resource areas as contained in the current edition of the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual which is available from DCR.
BMP Manual means the current edition of the Massachusetts Forestry Best Management Practices Manual which is available from DCR. The BMP Manual is updated periodically as information becomes available.
Bordering Vegetated Wetlands means freshwater wetlands (wet meadows, marshes, swamps, and bogs) which border on creeks, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes, as defined by 310 CMR 10.00. They are generally saturated by groundwater or covered by surface water long enough to produce hydric soil conditions and support wetland plant communities.
Buffer Strip means a forest area along roads where the intensity of cutting is restricted to maintain a forested appearance (see 302 CMR 16.05: Standards).
Certificate means the form completed and signed by the Director or the Director's Agent which is sent to the landowner or the operator along with approved forest cutting plan and which must be posted at the entrance to the harvesting site whenever work is done.
Classified Land means forest land classified under M.G.L. c. 61, the Forest Tax Law. The landowner manages classified land for the production of forest products under the terms of a forest management plan certified by the State Forester.
DBH means diameter at breast height.
DCR means the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Den Trees means dead, rough or rotten trees that provide hollows or cavities for wildlife.
Director means the Director of the Division of State Parks and Recreation in the Department of Conservation and Recreation, or his or her designee.
Employee means a person whose hours of work and specific task assignments are under the control of the operator.
Estimated Habitats of State-listed Rare Wetlands Wildlife means the approximated geographical extent of the wetland habitat used by state-listed rare wetlands vertebrate and invertebrate animal species for which a reported occurrence within the last 25 years has been accepted by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program as shown on the current edition of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Atlas.
Even-aged Stand means a stand where the difference in age between the oldest and youngest trees in the main canopy does not exceed 20% of the length of the rotation.
50% Basal Area means 1/2 the cumulative total of basal area of all live trees five inches or more in diameter breast height, before any trees were removed from a specified area.
Filter Strip means an area of land, adjoining the bank of a water body, where the cutting of trees and the disturbance of the ground are restricted in order to maintain conditions that shall help to infiltrate overland flow from precipitation into the ground and trap any sediments before they enter the water body (see: 302 CMR 16.05: Standards).
Forest Cutting Plan means a plan for the cutting of trees on forest land prepared and submitted in accordance with M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46 and 302 CMR 16.00. A forest cutting plan shall meet the requirements for a notice of intent to cut under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46.
Approved Forest Cutting Plan means a forest cutting plan which has been approved by the Director or the Director's Agent pursuant to 302 CMR 16.04 in the form it was submitted or together with amendments and requirements added by the Director or the Director's agent as conditions for approval. An approved forest cutting plan shall meet the requirement for a final work order required under M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46.
Forest Land means land with at least 15% of the area occupied by the crowns of forest trees of any size that contains at least 7.5 square feet of basal area per acre; or that is a plantation containing at least 500 trees per acre; or land recently harvested that is in the process of regeneration.
Forest Cutting Practices means the silvicultural system used on a stand, the design of cutting areas, the logging practices and road and trail development used to extract forest products from a property.
Forest Products means wood products including, but not limited to, sawlogs, cordwood and biomass.
Forestry means the science, art, and practice of managing and using for human benefit the natural resources that occur on and in association with forest lands.
High Grading means the selection of trees for cutting based solely on the economic value of individual trees which results in a residual stand dominated by poor quality trees and species.
High Priority Sites of Rare Species Habitats means the approximated geographical extent of the most important sites for rare plant and animal species in Massachusetts as determined by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and as shown in the current edition of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Atlas.
Intermediate Cut means a silvicultural practice implemented in an established stand during the period between seeding and maturity. It is done to improve the existing stand and regulate its growth without any effort directed at regeneration.
Land Devoted to Forest Growth means forest land.
Light-seeded Species means tree species which bear seed capable of being dispersed by the wind. This includes ash, aspen, basswood, birch, balsam fir, hemlock, larch, maple, pine, and spruce.
Marking of Trees means placing a visible paint mark on both the bole of the tree at approximately breast height, and on the stump. The tree shall be marked so as to leave the stump mark visible following harvest.
Operator means a timber harvester who is licensed pursuant to 302 CMR 16.08 working on a cutting subject to M.G.L. c. 132, §§ 40 through 46.
Outstanding Resource Waters means waters designated as sources of public water supplies and designated for protection under 314 CMR 4.00: Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards.
Parcel of Land means a single contiguous area of land in one ownership, which may be crossed by streams or traversed by public ways without thereby dividing the area into separate parcels.
Patch Cut means a clearcut of 1/4 to one-acre in size.
Physical Evidence means acceptable evidence of a land use change to cultivation or pasture such as stump clearance, plowing, fertilizing, seeding to an agricultural crop, planting, or fencing.
Principal Skid Roads means the main skid road and its primary branches which will be used repeatedly enough by harvesting equipment to potentially disturb the forest floor, make ruts, compact soil and otherwise create conditions that can cause erosion.
Rare Species means those plant and animal species officially listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife by regulations issued pursuant to M.G.L. c. 131A, the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.
Regenerate a Stand means to replace a harvested stand with regeneration within five growing seasons of the completion of the harvest. One thousand seedlings, seedling sprouts or sapling sprouts per acre shall be adequate if of tree species suited to growing on the site and well distributed over the area. Advance growth must be left in a healthy condition for growth after the cutting of the old stand is complete. If advance regeneration is critical, the landowner shall note it on the forest cutting plan.
Regeneration means seedlings, seedling sprouts or sapling sprouts of tree species which may come from advance regeneration, natural seeding, sprouts from coppice, or from planting or direct seeding.
Regeneration Cut means a cut made with the dual purposes of removing the mature stand and creating conditions favorable for the establishment of regeneration. The particular silvicultural system and regeneration method employed dictate the timing and severity of the cut.
Road and Trail Standards means the governing standards for road and trail construction, maintenance, and stabilization listed in the BMP Manual.
Rotation means the planned number of years between the formation or regeneration of a stand and its final cutting at a specified stage of maturity.
Salvage means an operation made to cut and utilize trees which have been killed, badly injured, or clearly threatened usually by natural causes. It usually has no silvicultural objective other than the harvesting of the injured or threatened trees.
Sapling means a tree greater than one-inch DBH and less than 4.9 inches DBH.
Sapling Sprout means a single dominant tree of sprout origin resulting from the cutting of a sapling.
Seedling means a young tree of seed origin, less than one-inch DBH.
Seedling Sprout means a single tree of sprout origin resulting from the cutting of a seedling.
Shade Tolerance means a relative measure of a species ability to grow and persist in various levels of light. Species which require full sunlight to grow, such as cherry or gray birch, are called intolerant. Species which persist in shaded conditions, such as hemlock or sugar maple, are called tolerant.
Silviculture means the branch of forestry concerned with the theory and practice of controlling forest establishment, composition and growth.
Stand means a contiguous group of trees sufficiently uniform in species composition, arrangement of age classes, and condition to be a homogeneous and distinguishable unit.
Standard, when used as a silvicultural term, means a healthy, well-formed tree suitable for producing sawlogs, permitted to remain after a coppice cutting.
Stocking means an indication of the number and density of overstory trees in a stand as compared to the desirable number and density for best growth and management. Stocking charts, which have been developed for the common forest types, serve as a guide to the choice of stand treatments by relating basal area per acre to trees per acre. The B-Level on these charts indicates the point where each tree has all the space it can use (the site is fully utilized). The A-Level represents 100% stocking. Stands below the C-Level are considered understocked.
Steep Slope means land with a gradient of 30% or more for a slope distance of 200 feet or more.
Stop Order means an order issued by the Director or the Director's Agent to immediately shut down a cutting operation that fails to comply with the law, 302 CMR 16.00 or an approved forest cutting plan.
Stream means a body of running water, including brooks and creeks, which moves in a defined channel due to a hydraulic gradient, and which flows within, into, or out of an area subject to protection under 310 CMR 10.00: Wetlands Protection. A portion of a stream may flow through a water control structure such as a culvert or bridge. Such a body of running water, which does not flow throughout the year (intermittent) is a stream except for the portion up-gradient from all bogs, swamps, wet meadows and marshes.
Take means as defined in M.G.L. c. 131A, the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, or 321 CMR 10.00: Massachusetts Endangered Species Act Regulations.
Uneven-aged Stands means stands containing at least three age classes intermingled on the same area.
Vernal Pool means a confined basin depression which, at least in most years, holds water for a minimum of two continuous months during the spring and/or summer, and which is free of adult fish populations. These areas provide essential breeding habitat for a variety of amphibian species such as the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and are important habitat for other wildlife species. A Certified Vernal Pool is an area that has been certified as a Vernal Pool by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
Water Body means the ocean, its estuaries, ponds, lakes, rivers, creeks and streams.
Wetland Resource Areas means those areas subject to protection under M.G.L. c. 131, § 40, as defined in 310 CMR 10.00, which include, but are not limited to: banks, freshwater wetlands and marshes which border on streams or ponds (bordering vegetated wetlands), land under waterbodies and land subject to flooding.
