(a) The commissioner may adopt regulations necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter under Alaska Stat. Chapter 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) regarding forest practices such as
forest land: means land stocked or having been stocked with forest trees of any size and not currently developed for nonforest use, regardless of whether presently available or accessible for commercial purposes, and includes any such land under state, municipal, or private ownership. See Alaska Statutes 41.17.950
operations: means timber harvesting or activates associated with timber harvesting or forest development unless exempted under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 41.17.950
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(1) road construction and maintenance, including
(A) road location, construction, maintenance, and post-operation management or removal;(B) landing location and construction;(C) drainage structures;(D) material sources and spoil disposal sites;(2) timber harvesting, including
(A) timber harvest unit planning and design;(B) felling and bucking;(C) cable yarding, shovel, tractor, and wheeled skidder systems;(D) landing clean-up;(E) slash disposal;(3) log transfer, sort yards, and storage facilities, including
(A) location, design, and construction;(B) maintenance;(C) closure;(D) log storage, rafting, and identification;(4) reforestation, including
(A) site preparation and rehabilitation;(B) prescribed burning;(C) exemptions from reforestation requirements;(5) prevention and suppression of forest insects and diseases;(6) salvage logging;(7) vegetative management; and(8) fire and flood hazard management.(b) The commissioner shall adopt regulations specifying the information to be submitted under Alaska Stat. § 41.17.090(c) in the detailed plan of operations to enable the division to determine whether the activities comply with the requirements of this chapter.(c) The commissioner may establish regions, districts, or other subdivisions of forest land in the state in which different regulations apply to reflect varying conditions in the state or to facilitate administration. In adopting regulations, the commissioner shall make appropriate distinctions between public and private land.(d) The commissioner shall adopt only those regulations necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter and shall avoid regulations that increase operating costs without yielding significant benefits to public resources.
