2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 76. Land Resources and Use › Chapter 13. Timber Resources › Part 1. Protection of Forest Resources › 76-13-102. Definitions

76-13-102. Definitions.
Unless the context requires otherwise, in part 2 and this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Conservation" means the protection and wise use of forest, range, water, and soil resources in keeping with the common welfare of the people of this state.
(2) "Department" means the department of natural resources and conservation provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 33.
(3) "Forest land" means land that has enough timber, standing or down, slash, or brush to constitute in the judgment of the department a fire menace to life or property. Grassland and agricultural areas are included when those areas are intermingled with or contiguous to and no further than one-half mile from areas of forest land.
(4) (a) "Forest practices" means the harvesting of trees, road construction or reconstruction associated with harvesting and accessing trees, site preparation for regeneration of a timber stand, reforestation, and the management of logging slash.
(b) The term does not include activities for the purpose of:
(i) the operation of a nursery or Christmas tree farm;
(ii) the harvest of Christmas trees;
(iii) the harvest of firewood; or
(iv) the cutting of trees for personal use by an owner or operator.
(5) "Operator" means a person responsible for conducting forest practices. An operator may be the owner, the owner's agent, or a person who, through contractual agreement with the landowner, is obligated to or entitled to conduct forest practices or to carry out a timber sale.
(6) "Owner" means the person, firm, association, or corporation having the actual, beneficial ownership of forest land or timber other than an easement, right-of-way, or mineral reservation.
(7) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, or association of any kind.
(8) "Recognized agency" means an agency organized for the purpose of providing fire protection and recognized by the department as giving adequate fire protection to lands in accordance with rules adopted by the department.
(9) "Timber sale" means a series of forest practices designed to access, harvest, and regenerate trees on a defined land area.
(10) "Unmanned aerial vehicle" means an aircraft that is operated without direct human intervention from, on, or within the aircraft.
(11) "Unmanned aerial vehicle system" means the entire system used to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle, including:
(a) the unmanned aerial vehicle;
(b) communications equipment;
(c) navigation equipment;
(d) controllers;
(e) support equipment; and
(f) autopilot functionality.
(12) "Wildfire" means an unplanned, unwanted fire burning uncontrolled on wildland and consuming vegetative fuels.
(13) "Wildfire season" means the period of each year beginning May 1 and ending September 30, inclusive.
(14) "Wildfire suppression activities" means any action, response, or effort by a recognized agency to contain, extinguish, or suppress a wildfire.
(15) "Wildland" means an area in which development is essentially nonexistent, except for roads, railroads, powerlines, and similar facilities, and in which structures, if any, are widely scattered.
(16) "Wildland fire" means a fire burning uncontrolled on forest lands.
(17) "Wildland fire protection" means the work of prevention, detection, and suppression of wildland fires and includes training required to perform those functions.
(18) "Wildland fire protection district" means a definite land area, the boundaries of which are fixed and in which wildland fire protection is provided through the medium of an agency recognized by the department.
(19) "Wildland-urban interface" means the line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 128, L. 1939; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 216, L. 1955; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 93, L. 1959; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 30, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 253, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 397, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 28-103(part); amd. Secs. 1, 2, Ch. 529, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 423, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 262, Ch. 418, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 27, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 336, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 662, L. 2023.