reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 1 - Entry of the Commonwealth Into the Compact; Violations

Section 1. The commissioner of fish and game, in consultation with and through written agreement with the director of fisheries and wildlife and the director of marine fisheries, shall enter into an interstate wildlife violator compact on behalf of the commonwealth with any other jurisdiction legally joining the compact in a form substantially set forth in sections 2 to 11, inclusive.
Notwithstanding any general or special law or provision of the compact manual to the contrary, upon entry of the commonwealth into the compact, a violation resulting in a citation, conviction or suspension within another participating jurisdiction shall also constitute a violation of section 90A of chapter 131 or chapter 131A, as determined by the director of fisheries and wildlife, or a violation of chapter 130, as determined by the director of marine fisheries, in order for the applicable division to take a reciprocal action in the commonwealth to suspend, deny or deny renewal of a license pursuant to section 5.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 4 - Citations; Personal Recognizance; Report of Conviction or Noncompliance

Section 4. (a) When issuing a citation for a wildlife violation, a wildlife officer shall issue a citation to a person whose primary residence is in a participating state in the same manner as though the person were a resident of the issuing state and shall not require that person to post collateral to secure appearance, subject to exceptions pursuant to subsection (b), if the officer receives personal recognizance that the person will comply with the terms of the citation.
(b) Personal recognizance shall be acceptable if:
(i) it is not prohibited by state law, policy, procedure or regulation of the issuing agency or by the compact manual; and
(ii) the violator provides adequate proof of identification to the wildlife officer.
(c) Upon conviction or failure of a person to comply with the terms of a wildlife citation, the appropriate official shall report the conviction or failure to comply to the licensing authority of the participating state in which the wildlife citation was issued. The report shall be made pursuant to procedures specified by the issuing state and shall contain information as specified in the compact manual as minimum requirements for effective processing by the home state.
(d) Upon receipt of the report of conviction or noncompliance under subsection (c), the licensing authority of the issuing state shall transmit to the licensing authority of the home state of the violator the information in the form and content prescribed in the compact manual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 5 - Home State's Treatment of Receipt of Violation From Issuing State

Section 5. (a) Upon receipt of a report of a failure of a violator to comply with the terms of a citation from the licensing authority of the issuing state, the licensing authority of the home state shall notify the violator, initiate a suspension action in accordance with the home state's suspension procedures and suspend the violator's license privileges until satisfactory evidence of compliance with the terms of the wildlife citation has been furnished by the issuing state to the home state licensing authority; provided, however, that the violation shall have been a violation of law under the licensing authority of the home state. Due process safeguards shall be accorded.
(b) Upon receipt of a report of conviction from the licensing authority of the issuing state, the licensing authority of the home state shall enter such conviction in its records and shall treat such conviction as though it occurred in the home state for the purposes of suspension of license privileges; provided, however, that the violation resulting in the conviction in the issuing state would have also have been a violation of law under the licensing authority of the home state.
(c) The licensing authority of the home state of a violator shall maintain a record of actions taken against violators and shall make reports to issuing states pursuant to the compact manual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 6 - Suspension of License When Violation Is Not Recognized in Home State; Communication of Suspension Information

Section 6. (a) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 5, each participating home state may recognize the suspension of a person's license privileges by another participating issuing state even if the violation resulting in the suspension would not have been a violation of the participating home state.
(b) Each participating state shall communicate suspension information to other participating states in the form and content contained in the compact manual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 7 - Agreements or Cooperative Arrangements Between Participating State and Nonparticipating State

Section 7. Except as expressly required by the interstate wildlife violator compact, the compact shall not affect the right of any participating state to apply its laws relating to license privileges to a person or circumstance or to invalidate or prevent an agreement or other cooperative arrangement between a participating state and a nonparticipating state concerning the enforcement of wildlife laws.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 8 - Board of Administrators; Voting; Annual Election of Chair and Vice Chair; By-Laws; Donations and Grants; Procedures and Forms

Section 8. (a) For the purpose of administering the interstate wildlife violator compact and to serve as a governing body for the resolution of all matters relating to the compact, there shall be a board of compact administrators. The board shall be composed of 1 representative from each of the participating states who shall be known as a compact administrator. A compact administrator shall be appointed by the head of the licensing authority of each participating state and shall serve and be subject to removal under the laws of the state that the compact administrator represents; provided, however, that the compact administrator for the commonwealth shall be the commissioner fish and game or a designee. The compact administrator may provide for the discharge of the compact administrator's duties and the performance of such functions as a board member by an alternate. An alternate shall not serve unless written notification of the alternate's identity has been given to the board.
(b) Each member of the board of compact administrators shall be entitled to 1 vote. No action of the board of compact administrators shall be binding unless taken at a meeting at which a majority of the total number of the board's votes are cast in favor of the action. Action by the board of compact administrators shall only occur at a meeting at which a majority of the participating states are represented.
(c) The board of compact administrators shall annually elect from its membership a chair and a vice chair.
(d) The board of compact administrators shall adopt by-laws consistent with the compact or the laws of a participating state for the conduct of its business and may amend and rescind those by-laws.
(e) The board of compact administrators may accept donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials and services, conditional or otherwise, from any state, the United States or any governmental agency and may receive, use and dispose of the same in order to carry out the purposes and functions of the board under the interstate wildlife violator compact.
(f) The board of compact administrators may contract with or accept services or personnel from a governmental or intergovernmental agency, individual, firm, corporation or private, nonprofit organization or institution.
(g) The board of compact administrators shall formulate all necessary procedures and develop uniform forms and documents for administering the compact. All procedures and forms adopted by board action shall be contained in a compact manual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 9 - Entry Into Compact; Content of Resolution; Effective Date of Entry; Withdrawal From Compact

Section 9. (a) The interstate wildlife violator compact shall become effective at such time as it is adopted in substantially similar form by not less than 2 states.
(b) Entry into the compact shall be made by resolution of ratification executed by the authorized officials of the applying state and submitted to the chair of the board of compact administrators.
(c) The resolution shall be substantially in the form and content provided in the compact manual and shall include:
(i) a citation of the authority from which the state is empowered to become a party to this compact;
(ii) an agreement of compliance with the terms of the compact; and
(iii) an agreement that compact entry is with all states participating in the compact and with all additional states that may legally become a party to the compact.
(d) The effective date of entry shall be specified by the applying state but shall be not less than 60 days after notice has been given by the chair of the board of compact administrators or by a secretariat of the board to each participating state that the resolution from the applying state has been received.
(e) A participating state may withdraw from the compact by official written notice to each participating state; provided, however, that withdrawal shall not become effective until 90 days after giving notice of withdrawal. The notice shall be directed to the compact administrator of each member state. The withdrawal of any state shall not affect the validity of the compact as to the remaining participating states.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 10 - Compact Amendments; Adoption

Section 10. (a) The interstate wildlife violator compact may be amended. Amendments shall be presented in resolution form to the chair of the board of compact administrators and shall be initiated by 1 or more participating states.
(b) Adoption of an amendment shall require endorsement by all participating states and shall become effective 30 days after the date of the last endorsement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 11 - Construction and Application

Section 11. The interstate wildlife violator compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes stated herein. The provisions of the compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of the compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of a participating state or of the United States or if the applicability thereof to any government, agency, individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the validity of the remainder of the compact shall not be affected. If the compact is held contrary to the constitution of a participating state, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the participating state affected as to all severable matters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 1 - Director of the Division of Forests and Parks; Duties

Section 1. The director of the division of forests and parks, in this chapter called the forester, in the department of environmental management, in this chapter called the department, shall promote the perpetuation, extension and proper management of the public and private forest lands of the commonwealth; shall give such a course of instruction to the students of the University of Massachusetts on the art and science of forestry as may be arranged by the trustees of the university and the forester; and shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by the governor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 1a - Chief Superintendent of the Bureau of Shade Tree Management and Pest Control; Powers and Duties

Section 1A. The chief superintendent of the bureau of shade tree management and pest control shall act for the commonwealth in suppressing the pests declared in section eleven to be public nuisances, and in accordance with the provision of section thirteen of chapter twenty-one, shall perform such other duties imposed upon him by the commissioner. He shall keep a record of all expenditures made by or authorized by him, and shall prepare an annual report for the commissioner. He shall provide technical advice and consulting services to cities and towns in the development and implementation of public shade tree management plans and programs. He shall have the authority, with the approval of the commissioner and secretary of administration and finance to receive, administer and expend without further appropriation, in accordance with the provision of section sixteen, any federal funds, state funds appropriated by the general court, and private funds that may be made available for the purpose of assisting cities and towns in the maintenance, care and management of their public shade trees.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 2 - Bequests and Gifts; Forestry Trust

Section 2. The commissioner of environmental management, in this chapter called the commissioner, with the approval of the governor and council, may accept on behalf of the commonwealth bequests or gifts to be used for the purpose of advancing the forestry interest of the commonwealth, under the direction of the governor and council, or for the laying out, construction or maintenance of state trails or paths, in such manner as to carry out the terms of the bequests or gifts. Said trust properties shall be known as the Forestry Trust and shall be used and expended under the direction of the commissioner and subject to his orders. Subject to the terms of such grant, gift, devise, or bequest, the commissioner may expend such funds without further appropriation whether principal or income. The commissioner may, subject to the approval of the deed and title by the attorney general, accept on behalf of the commonwealth gifts of land to be held and managed for experiment and illustration in forest management and for reforestation in accordance with such rules and regulations as the commissioner, with the approval of the governor and council, may prescribe. A donor of such land may reserve the right to buy back the land in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by and between such donor and the commissioner; but in the absence of such reservation in his deed of gift he shall not have such right.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 3 - Forest Wardens; Payment for Investigations; Conventions

Section 3. The forester shall from the money appropriated annually for the expenses of his office recompense the forest wardens for the time spent by them in making investigations under his direction, as required by section thirty-seven of this chapter and section twenty-five of chapter forty-eight; provided, that he shall not be liable to make any such payment except upon the presentation of a duly itemized account or to pay for such investigations at a rate greater than that approved by him or in excess of the appropriation available for such payment. He may also expend such sums as are annually appropriated in making necessary arrangements for conventions of forest wardens to be held at a place within the commonwealth and in paying wholly or in part the traveling expenses to and from their towns of such forest wardens who attend these conventions; provided, that no money shall be expended in paying the traveling expenses of any one warden to or from more than one convention in one year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 4 - Annual Report of Commissioner of Natural Resources

Section 4. The commissioner shall make annual reports of the acts of the forester and of the acts of the chief superintendent, which latter report shall include a statement of all sums expended from the funds of the commonwealth for the suppression of pests declared in section eleven to be public nuisances in the several cities and towns. The report relative to the acts of the forester shall include the account of all money invested in each state forest and of the annual income and expense thereof, and the report of the state fire warden required by section twenty-eight of chapter forty-eight.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 6 - Demonstrations in Proper Forestry Practices; Distribution of Trees; Co-Operation With Federal Government; Federal Funds; Employment of Technical Foresters

Section 6. The forester may demonstrate to owners of woodland, at a fee not to exceed the actual cost of the service, the proper methods of planting, weeding, selective cutting, pruning, thinning and other silvicultural practices for the establishment, improvement or regeneration of the forests. In connection with the distribution of trees under section nine, and in the distribution of trees for reforestation in water supply lands, town forests and other publicly-owned areas, the forester may withhold sale or distribution thereof until the land to be planted has been examined by him or his agent and approved for such planting. He may co-operate with the federal government in carrying out the purposes of this section and may accept on behalf of the commonwealth, and expend for such purposes, such federal funds as may be made available therefor. He may employ temporarily such technical foresters as he deems necessary to discharge his duties under this section and the employment of such persons shall not be subject to chapter thirty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 7 - Labor on State Forests

Section 7. The forester, in the reforestation, maintenance and development of lands purchased under section thirty or thirty-three, shall, so far as practicable, obtain the labor necessary therefor under sections eighty-three and eighty-four of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 8 - Entry Upon Land to Control and Suppress Public Nuisances

Section 8. The chief superintendent, district supervisors, district superintendents and other employees and authorized agents of the bureau of shade tree management and pest control may enter upon any land within the commonwealth, and any local superintendent appointed under section thirteen and his employees and authorized agents may enter upon any land within his city or town, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, for the purpose of determining the existence, over-all area and degree of infestation or infection caused by the public nuisances named in section eleven, suppressing and controlling said public nuisances and affixing signs to and removing, or causing to be removed, trees and wood infected with the Dutch elm disease or used as a breeding place of the beetles which spread said disease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 9 - Establishment and Maintenance of Nurseries for Propagation of Forest Tree Seedlings; Distribution of Seeds and Seedlings

Section 9. The forester may establish and maintain nurseries for the propagation of forest tree seedlings upon such lands of the commonwealth at any state institution as the superintendent or trustees thereof may set apart for this purpose and upon such other lands as may be acquired under this section. Superintendents of institutions where land is set apart therefor may furnish without charge the labor of their inmates necessary to establish and maintain said nurseries. All stock grown in nurseries established under this section shall be used within the commonwealth. The forester may distribute seeds and seedlings to land owners, citizens of the commonwealth, under such conditions and restrictions as he may determine, subject to the approval of the governor and council. The forester, with the advice and consent of the governor and council, may expend from time to time such sum as is appropriated therefor by the general court in purchasing, for the establishment of nurseries provided for by this section, lands situated within the commonwealth and adapted to the propagation of forest seedlings.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 12 - Interference With Suppression or Eradication of Asian Longhorned Beetle, Oak Wilt or Any Public Nuisance; Penalties; Injunctive Relief

Section 12. Whoever knowingly resists or obstructs the commissioner, any local superintendent or employee or authorized agent of any of them, while any of those persons is engaged in suppressing or eradicating the Asian longhorned beetle, oak wilt or any public nuisance described in section 11, or whoever knowingly violates any rule, regulation, order or quarantine issued by the commissioner, in writing, relative to the suppression or eradication of public nuisances shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each violation. Each day that such violation occurs or continues shall be deemed a separate violation. The penalty may be assessed by the department, and may be recovered in an action brought on behalf of the commonwealth in the superior court. The commonwealth also may bring an action for injunctive relief in the superior court for any such violation, and the superior court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin such violation and to grant such further relief as it may deem appropriate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 12a - Suppression of Public Nuisances on Land Under Control of Commonwealth

Section 12A. All persons in charge of land under the control of the commonwealth shall take measures on lands within their charge to suppress the public nuisances named in section eleven, and shall use such lawful means of suppression as the chief superintendent, with the approval of the commissioner, may require, and shall carry out such requirements pursuant to the advice and direction of the chief superintendent, except that the bureau of shade tree management and pest control may, on the request of the agency in charge of said lands, carry out all the duties required by the chief superintendent in connection with control of the Dutch elm disease and the beetles which spread said disease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 13 - Local Superintendents of Shade Tree Management and Pest Control; Appointment; Notice; Assistants

Section 13. The city manager and the town manager in cities and towns having such a manager, otherwise the mayor in cities and the selectmen in towns, shall appoint for a term of three years a local superintendent of shade tree management and pest control, hereinafter called the local superintendent, for the suppression of the public nuisances named in section eleven. Said local superintendent shall be qualified by training and experience to enable him to carry out efficiently the powers and duties of his position, and shall be licensed or certified to apply pesticides in accordance with the rules and regulations of the pesticide board in the department of food and agriculture. The commissioner shall be notified in writing forthwith of the said appointment, and the name and address of said local superintendent. Said local superintendent shall, pursuant to the advice and general direction of the chief superintendent, destroy said public nuisances within his city or town, including wood infected by said Dutch elm disease or infested with the beetles which spread said disease, or likely to become so infested, except on property under the control of the commonwealth. The local superintendent may appoint such assistants as appropriations are made for by a city or town, and may designate the tree warden to assist him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 14 - Reimbursement of Cities and Towns by Commonwealth for Suppression of Public Nuisances; Financial Liability; Accounts and Vouchers

Section 14. The financial liability, referred to in section eleven, of each city and town for the suppression of public nuisances named in section eleven shall be determined annually by the commissioner, who shall notify the city manager or town manager in cities and towns having such a manager, otherwise the mayor in cities and the selectmen in towns, on or before January first of his determination. The determination of liability shall be based upon the last preceding valuation of the city or town made for the purpose of apportioning the state tax, and shall set forth an amount for the control of the Dutch elm disease and the beetles which spread said disease, and an amount for the suppression or control of the other public nuisances named in section eleven, the total of which shall not exceed in any year one fifteenth of one per cent of said valuation. In determining the said financial liability, the commissioner shall consider the degree of infestation or infection, the area involved, the location of the municipality in relation to its neighbors, the number and specie of public and private shade trees and the location and size of woodland and swampland areas therein.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 15 - Certified Itemized Statements of Expenditures

Section 15. Each local superintendent shall render to the chief superintendent not later than the twenty-fifth day of each month a certified itemized statement of his expenditures during the preceding month, with vouchers showing separately the amounts expended on public lands and private lands for the suppression and control of the public nuisances named in section eleven, other than the Dutch elm disease and the beetles which spread said disease, and a similar statement of expenditures on Dutch elm disease control and the removal and destruction of elm trees then infected with the disease or infested with the beetles which spread the disease, and wood which was then or was likely to become a breeding place for said beetles.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 16 - Partial Reimbursement of Expenditures for Management of Public Shade Trees; Applications; Limitation of Assistance

Section 16. Any city or town, which has a public shade tree inventory, not more than five years old, a public shade tree management plan approved by the state forester, and is in compliance with all requirements of law as well as any rules and regulations of the chief superintendent pertaining thereto, may apply to the bureau of shade tree management and pest control, hereinafter the bureau, for partial reimbursement of total expenditures made during the calendar year for the care, control and management of their public shade trees. Compensable activities include, but are not limited to, the planting, pruning, and removal of public shade trees. Any expenditures made for suppressing public nuisances as they affect public shade trees are excluded from the above.
Application for financial assistance as provided by the bureau must be received annually by the chief superintendent. Reimbursements shall not exceed fifty per cent of the expenditures made by the city or town and shall be based on a program of evaluation as may be adopted by said chief superintendent, with the approval of the commissioner.
Any city or town which has expended during the calendar year for the suppression of said public nuisances, an amount equal to its financial liability as provided in section fourteen, and has complied with the requirements of law and the rules and regulations of said chief superintendent pertaining thereto, may apply for assistance of the bureau in taking further measures for the control of said public nuisances. The value of such assistance shall not exceed fifty per cent of the expenditures made by the said city or town in excess of its financial liability as provided for in section fourteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 25 - Suppression of Foliage-Destroying Pests Within City and Town Limits

Section 25. The local superintendent in each city and town having charge of the suppression of the public nuisances referred to in section eleven shall have like jurisdiction over the suppression of all foliage-destroying pests within the limits of his city or town for which special appropriation is made. In the absence or disability of such local superintendent, the city manager or town manager in cities or towns having such a manager, otherwise the mayor or the selectmen, may temporarily deputize a person, who shall have the same powers as the local superintendent, to perform such duties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 26a - Removal and Destruction of Trees Infected With Dutch Elm Disease

Section 26A. If the chief superintendent or the local superintendent or their employees or authorized agents shall find on public or private property elm trees or parts thereof infested or infected with or likely to become so infected or infested with the causal fungus of the Dutch elm disease or infested with, or likely to become infested with, the beetles known or suspected to be carriers of said disease, they may remove and destroy or cause to be removed and destroyed such trees or parts thereof. Complete removal of trees may be ordered by them only upon proof by positive laboratory tests conducted by the shade tree laboratories at the University of Massachusetts that the tree has become infected with the said Dutch elm disease. The order to remove shall be subject to other applicable provisions of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 26d - County Aid to Cities or Towns in Suppression of Public Nuisances; Certification of Chief Superintendent

Section 26D. The county commissioners, subject to appropriation therefor, may grant to any city or town sums of money to aid in the suppression of the pests declared to be public nuisances in section eleven, and Dutch elm disease; provided, that no such payments shall be made unless the chief superintendent certifies that the work has been done under his direction; and said county commissioners may assist in organizing cities and towns in co-operative associations for the suppression of said public nuisances or scouting or sampling for Dutch elm diseased trees or wood.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 26e - Notice of Positive Diagnosis of Dutch Elm Disease; Condemnation of Tree

Section 26E. Notice of positive diagnosis received by the chief superintendent or a local superintendent shall imply necessary condemnation of said elm tree and complete removal of the tree and destruction of the wood by burning or other method to render it harmless as a future source of infection or infestation, unless the said tree or wood has ceased to be such a source of infection or infestation. Such trees or parts thereof shall be removed within thirty days of the receipt of the notice of positive diagnosis, except that when such notice is received during the months of September, October, November, December, January or February, removal may be delayed, if necessary, until a later date but not later than March thirty-first next following the receipt of the notice, but if the removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof cannot be accomplished within the time limits herein designated for reasons beyond the control of the local superintendent, he shall by spraying or otherwise render the said trees or parts thereof harmless as a source of the spread of the Dutch elm disease infection, or as a breeding place for the beetles which spread said disease. If any city or town shall not have removed and destroyed the said trees or parts thereof within the time limits of this section or by spraying, or otherwise rendered them harmless as a source of spreading the said disease during a delay in removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof beyond the time limits of this section, the chief superintendent may, subject to the provisions of this chapter, cause them to be so removed and destroyed or sprayed or otherwise rendered harmless as a source of the spread of said disease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 26f - Positive Diagnosis of Dutch Elm Disease on Trees on Privately Owned Land; Notice; Order of Removal and Destruction; Spraying; Appeal

Section 26F. When notice of positive diagnosis is received by a local superintendent affecting elm trees or parts thereof on privately owned land within five hundred feet of public land, he shall so mark said trees or parts thereof with a sign, and shall give written notice in hand or by certified mail of the diagnosis to the owner or person or persons in charge of the land on which such tree or parts thereof is located. Such notice shall contain an order that said owner or person or persons shall cause said tree or parts thereof to be removed and destroyed within thirty days of the date of said notice except that when such notice is received during the months of September, October, November, December, January or February, removal may be delayed, if necessary, until a later date, but not later than March thirty-first next following the receipt of the notice. If the removal and destruction of said trees or parts thereof cannot be accomplished within the time limits herein designated for reasons beyond the control of the owner or person or persons in charge of the land, he or they shall by spraying or otherwise render the said trees or parts thereof harmless as a source of the spread of the Dutch elm disease infection or as a breeding place for the beetles which spread said disease. The person or persons so notified may within ten days after receipt of said notice appeal in writing to the commissioner from the order contained therein requesting a hearing on the order, and said appeal shall stay the order until the appeal has been heard and decided by the commissioner. He may change, modify or confirm the order contained in the notice and his decision shall be final. The decision of the commissioner shall be communicated to the chief superintendent, the local superintendent and the appellant in writing, shall state the decision and the facts on which it is based, and if the original order is not thereby modified or changed, the commissioner shall direct the appellant to carry out the order within the time prescribed or by a later designated date because of the menace of the Dutch elm disease and the seasonal danger of its spread.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 26g - Removal and Destruction of Infected Trees by Local Superintendent; Cost; Suit; Apportionment of Costs; Abatement of Costs

Section 26G. If an order issued under section twenty-six F is not complied with within the time prescribed or if the trees or parts thereof are not rendered harmless as a source of further infection or infestation by spraying or otherwise the local superintendent shall cause the trees or parts thereof covered by the order to be removed and destroyed and he shall certify in writing to the owner the cost of such removal and destruction. Such cost shall be payable to the city or town within ninety days from the date of said certification, and if not so paid, may be recovered by suit together with costs thereon; provided, however, that, if, as the result of an appeal taken under section twenty-six F, the commissioner determines that suppression measures are necessary for the control of the Dutch elm disease or the beetles which spread said disease, and that the total cost of such suppression measures is in excess of the financial ability of the landowner to pay, the said cost may be apportioned between the owner and the city or town; and provided, further, that the cost payable by such owner shall be not less than one fourth of said total cost and that the cost to the city or town shall be includible in its accounting for the purposes of section sixteen. Any owner who has appealed from the order issued under section twenty-six F and is aggrieved by the certified cost chargeable to him may apply to the board of selectmen in a town or the city council in a city, as the case may be, for abatement thereof, and such abatement may be granted by said board or by said city council, with the approval of the mayor, but such abated cost shall not be includible in the accounting of the said city or town for the purposes of section sixteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 30 - Forest Fire Observation Towers; Erection and Operation

Section 30. The commissioner, with the approval of the stewardship council may acquire for the commonwealth, by purchase or otherwise, and hold, or, with the approval of the governor and council, may take in fee by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, any woodland or land suitable for timber cultivation within the commonwealth or any land necessary for the erection and operation of forest fire observation towers. The average cost of land so purchased, other than land purchased for the erection and operation of forest fire observation towers, shall not exceed five dollars an acre.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 31 - Control and Management of State Forests; Regulations

Section 31. Lands acquired under section thirty or thirty-three shall be known as state forests, and shall be under the control and management of the forester. Lands acquired by purchase for experiment and illustration in forest management and for reforestation under the provisions of chapter four hundred and seventy-eight of the acts of nineteen hundred and eight and amendments thereof, or of the corresponding provisions of later laws, as to which the period limited for repurchase by their original owners, or their heirs or assigns, in accordance with said provisions shall have expired without such repurchase, shall also be known as state forests and shall be under the control and management of the forester to the same extent as if acquired under section thirty. He shall reforest and develop such lands, and may, subject to the approval of the commissioner, make all reasonable regulations which in his opinion will tend to increase the public enjoyment and benefit therefrom and to protect and conserve the water supplies of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 34 - Rules and Regulations Relative to Use of State Forests; Enforcement

Section 34. The commissioner may make rules and regulations relative to hunting and fishing or other uses of any such land, provided that such rules and regulations shall be consistent with all laws in relation to the protection of fish, birds and quadrupeds. Whoever violates any provision of any such rule or regulation shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars.
In addition to the officers required by section seven of chapter one hundred and twenty-nine A to enforce throughout the commonwealth the provisions of law relating to fish, birds and mammals, the forester, state fire warden and any duly authorized forest warden or deputy forest warden shall enforce said provisions within the limits of state forests and shall enforce throughout the commonwealth the provisions of section eighty-one of chapter one hundred and thirty-one; and said forester and wardens shall enforce the provisions of all rules and regulations relating to state forests and state reservations made under authority of this chapter and chapter one hundred and thirty-two A. With respect to violations of all the provisions aforesaid, said forester and wardens shall have and exercise all the powers conferred by law upon the officers described in said section seven for the enforcement of the laws relating to fish, birds and mammals. The officers mentioned in said section seven shall take cognizance of violations of said rules and regulations and prosecute the same; and for such purpose shall have and exercise all said powers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 35 - Acquisition of Land for Forestation by Towns

Section 35. Towns may acquire by purchase, gift or bequest lands for the purpose of forestation and may reclaim and plant such lands. The said department may upon application in such form as the forester may prescribe furnish such towns with seedlings for the planting of their lands.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 37 - Duties of Local Forest Wardens

Section 37. Every local forest warden, in addition to his duties prescribed by chapter forty-eight, shall investigate the values of forest lands, the character and extent of woodcutting operations, the prevalence of insect pests injurious to forest growths, and other matters affecting the extent and condition of woodlands in his town, and shall report thereon to the forester at such times and in such form as he requires.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 38 - Laying Out, Construction and Maintenance of Trails or Paths in State Forests; Use by Owners of Adjoining Land

Section 38. The commissioner may lay out, construct and maintain trails or paths through or over lands in state forests and in public reservations and trails or paths leading to important mountains and other objects and places of special interest and beauty and he may connect such trails or paths in order to make them continuous so far as practicable. The commissioner on behalf of the commonwealth may purchase such lands or easements therein as may be necessary for the aforesaid purposes. He may post such trails or paths, erect signs thereon and construct suitable rest camps or shelters at appropriate places. He may by special permit in writing allow portions of such trails or paths to be enclosed and used by the owner of adjoining land, for any use not interfering with public passage on foot, during the whole or any part of the year upon such conditions as the commissioner may prescribe and such permits may be revoked at his pleasure. The commonwealth shall not be liable for injury or damage sustained on such trails or paths.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 38a - Construction and Maintenance of Trails for Certain Uses; Voluntary Services; Payment of Expenses

Section 38A. The department of environmental management shall construct and maintain trails for horseback riding, hiking, ski touring, snowmobiling and other uses on land within its control in accordance with a plan for each area which will minimize conflicting uses. The department is authorized to prepare and publish trail maps and other informational material to inform the public of the location and nature of such trails. To the extent practicable, the voluntary services of trail-using organizations and individuals shall be utilized in carrying out the work authorized hereunder. Expenses authorized by this section and by section thirty-eight, including the acquisition of land or easements therein, surveying and mapping, and the cost of development and construction and expenses incidental thereto, may be paid out of funds theretofore or hereafter made available for the purpose of chapter one hundred and thirty-two A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 39 - Contributions by Cities or Towns

Section 39. The mayor, selectmen or road commissioners, or the board or officer having charge of the maintenance and care of highways, if so authorized by the city council or by the town, may agree in writing, on behalf of such city or town, to contribute money, labor or materials toward the laying out or construction of any state trail or path which the commissioner may lay out and construct within such city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 132 - Forestry › Section 40 - Forest Cutting Practices; Declaration of Policy of Commonwealth

Section 40. It is hereby declared that the public welfare requires the rehabilitation, maintenance, and protection of forest lands for the purpose of conserving water, preventing floods and soil erosion, improving the conditions for wildlife and recreation, protecting and improving air and water quality, and providing a continuing and increasing supply of forest products for public consumption, farm use, and for the woodusing industries of the commonwealth.
Therefore, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth that all lands devoted to forest growth shall be kept in such condition as shall not jeopardize the public interests, and that the policy of the commonwealth shall further be one of cooperation with the landowners and other agencies interested in forestry practices for the proper and profitable management of all forest lands in the interest of the owner, the public and the users of forest products.