As used in this chapter;

(1)  “Department” means the department of environmental management.

(2)  “Director” means the director of the department of environmental management, unless otherwise specified.

(3)  “Forest-based business” means the inclusion of all the activities that go into harvesting forest products and turning them into usable products. These businesses include foresters, loggers, and truckers who manage, harvest, and transport raw materials and the companies that turn these raw materials into usable products for purchase in a variety of markets.

(4)  “Forest conservation commission” or “commission” means the commission established pursuant to § 2-27-3.

(5)  “Forest fragmentation” means the breaking of large, contiguous, forested areas into smaller pieces of forest; typically, these pieces are separated by roads, utility corridors, subdivisions, or other human development.

(6)  “Forest land” means any tract or contiguous tracts of land, ten (10) acres or larger bearing a dense growth of trees, including any underbrush, and having either the quality of self-perpetuation, or being dependent upon its development by the planting and replanting of trees in stands of closely growing timber.

(7)  “Forest management” means the focus on managing vegetation, restoring ecosystems and habitat, reducing hazards, and maintaining forest health for a desired outcome.

(8)  “Fund” means the forest land conservation fund established pursuant to § 2-27-6.