Regulations on the Sanitary Minimum in the Forests establishes sanitary felling as compulsory. This applies to all felling in the forests and aims at the removal of trees liable to lead to population increases in harmful insects or the development of fungus diseases, and also aims at lessening forest fire hazards. Likewise, one of the regulations forbids leaving unbarked timber in the forests over the summer. Timber accumulated in the spring-summer period must be shipped out of the forest no later than three weeks after felling, or otherwise also be barked or given appropriate preservative treatment. In the past, the absence of proper sanitary methods in the forests has often created conditions favoring the mass increase of harmful insects and the spread of plant diseases, and therefore the application of these sanitary measures in the forests is now given exceptional significance.
Healthy forests are naturally resistant to big attacks.
One of the preventive measures particularly widely encouraged is the protection of useful birds and attraction of insectivorous birds to the forests by erecting nesting-boxes. This latter work is made a supplementary assignment of the Forestry Department with the participation of the collective organizations and particularly schools. The organized fight against harmful insects and forest diseases is based on systematic inspection for the appearance of symptoms or the spread of insects and diseases, timely notice of the outbreak of infection centers, and their correct diagnosis. Systematic field survey and initial notice of the appearance of one or another insect or disease are the duty of the government forest wardens. Such cases of damage must be immediately reported.