Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-04-23
ERAL LAWS, RELATING TO
THE PROTECTION OF FORESTS.

1t Is hereby enacted by the General
Assembly OF the State OF Vermont:
Section /. Section 46S of the General
Laws is hereby amended 50 as to read
as follows:
Sec JOS. The board OF selcctmen Of
each town shall annually. on or before
the first day Of January. appoint town
forest tircwardcn, who. upon his accept
ancc and upon the approval of said for
ester, shall serve for the calendar year.
Said warden shall receive three dollars
day for time spent i'll the performance
of the duties OF hi, office, which shall
he paid by the town. Upon the future
Of SAID sclcctmcn to make such appoint
mcut by the first day of March i'll any
year, said forester shall appoint such
town forest tircwarden Said warden
shall, when a forest fire or fire threaten
ing forest is discovered in his town
enter Upon any premises and take meas
urcS for its prompt control and cX-
tingui,hment. and he may call upon any
person i'll the town for assistance and
said person shall be paid by the town at
the same rate per hour as is paid for
labor upon highways, y minimum OF
five hours pay shall be allowed persons
who are officially summoned to assist
i'll the cNtinguishmcnt OF forest fires.
y person who ncglccts or refuses to
assist when So called by said warden,
and not excused shall be fined not more
than ten dollars. Said warden may ar
rest without warrant any person found
in the act OF violating a provision OF
law pertaining to forest fires. A town
shall not be held liable i'll any one year
Tor an amount greater than ten per cent
Of its grand list, for the purpose of eX-
tingu9hing forest fires of which sum
not to exceed one half shall be recov-
cred by the town through special levy
OF not to exceed five cents per acre
which levy shall be assessed on a per
acre basis rs an extra item in the rcgr
or unincloscd lands or both containing
inflamnablc material, which. in the
opinion OF the state forester from facts
placed before him by the owner of such
lands or the Srlcctmcn of the town in
which the lands lie or both, have not
been provided during the previous year
by said owner with adequate protection
against fire. Failure Of an owner of
such lands to provide them with such
protection, or failure to file on or be
fore November FIRST Il statement i'll proof
thereof with said forester shall be prima
facic evidence OF the absence of such
protection. Occupancy of 4 farm bv an
owner or his tenant shall constitute
adequate protection of the timbcrlands
thereon. All sums spent by a town i'll
forest protection i'll excess of ten per
cent of its grand list shall be paid by
the state from the moneys annually avail
able for the purposes OF any unforeseen
contingency, and the auditor of accounts
shall draw an order for any such excess,
when the same is approved by the commit
tee on budget under the provisions of sec
ton b54 of the General Laws. When
ever said warden employs men in cX-
tingulshing a fire in town adjoining
his own the expense incurred shall be
paid by the town in which the work
was done. If town ncglects or re-
fuses to pay said warden or his assist
ants for their services, said forester
shall. if he finds the same to be Justly
due. certify the amounts to the auditor
of accounts, together with the names
and addresses OF the claimants, and said
auditor shall draw an order therefor
payable to such claimants, and the town
liable for such services shall reimburse
the state for the amount SO paid.
Sec = Section 100 of the General
Laws is hereby amended so as to read
as follows:
Sec 400 Said forester may appoint
forest FIRE warden for an llnorga11ized
town or gore. who shall hold office for
one year. Said wardens shall have the
same powers and duties as town forest
tlrcwardcns and shall receive three dol
lars day for the time spent i'll the per-
Torrance of the duties of his office.
Said warden may call on any person,
whether resident or not of such town
or gore. for assistance and such per-
son shall receive the same pay and be
liable to the same penalties as pre-
scribcd for persons called upon by
warden under the provisions of the pre-
ccding section. The per diem of said
warden and said persons and all expenses
incurred by said warden in extinguish-
ing forest fires shall, on the approval
provisions OF section o54 of the General
Laws be paid by the state from the
moneys annually available for the pur
poses of any unforeseen contingency, and
the auditor OF accounts shall draw
orders therefor.
Sec 3. Section All of the General
avs is hereby amended so as to read
as follows:
Sec Az. Such warden shall, dur
ing the danger season and subject to
the approval or direction of said for
ester, establish a patrol in dangerous
localities, and the expense for the same
shall be paid as expenses for fighting
fires. Said wardcns shall receive the
same pay for time spent i'll posting no.
ticcs, patrolllng or making reports that
they receive for time spent in actual
fire fighting. \ warden who fails to
perform his duties without sufficient
reason shall be fined not more than
twenty-five dollars.
Sec. T. This act shall take effect
from its passage.
Approved April 8, 1910