This chapter applies in any county in which the county commission has approved by resolution the application of this chapter to all qualifying property within the county. The owner or agent of the owner, having any tract of contiguous forest which consists of:

1.    Natural forest cover ten acres [4.05 hectares] or larger in size; 2.    Planted forest cover five acres [2.02 hectares] or larger in size and not less than sixty feet [18.29 meters] in width; or

3.    Any combination of natural and planted forest cover ten acres [4.05 hectares] or larger in size, may file an application with the county commission of the county in which the property is located setting forth a description of property that the owner desires to place under the forest stewardship tax and on which land the owner will practice forestry. If the county commission has approved application of this chapter within the county, the county commission shall forward each application received to the state forester for a determination of whether the property qualifies under this chapter. The state forester shall prescribe the form for application blanks and make them available to all interested persons.