77-5-204. Sale of timber -- fee for forest improvement. (1) The board may sell timber on state lands, at a price per 1,000 board feet, when appropriate, that, in the board's judgment, is in the best interest of the state, provided that live timber is not sold for less than full market value.
(2) Timber sold or cut from state lands must be cut and removed under rules that may be prescribed by the board for standing timber preservation and fire prevention. In all cases, the board shall require the person cutting the timber to pile and burn or otherwise dispose of the brush and slash in the manner that may be prescribed by the board.
(3) Before the sale of timber is granted, the value of the timber must be appraised under the direction of the department, upon the request and subject to the approval of the board. An appraisal must show as nearly as possible the value per 1,000 board feet, when appropriate, of all merchantable timber.
(4) In addition to the price of the timber established under subsection (1), the board may require a timber purchaser to pay a fee for forest improvement. Revenue from the fee must be deposited in the state special revenue fund to the credit of the department and, as appropriated by the legislature, may be used only for:
(a) disposing of logging slash;
(b) acquiring access and maintaining roads necessary for timber harvesting on state lands;
(c) reforesting, thinning, and otherwise improving the condition and income potential of forested state lands; and
(d) complying with legal requirements for timber harvesting.
History: En. Sec. 3560, p. 193, L. 1897; re-en. Sec. 2213, Rev. C. 1907; amd. Sec. 53, Ch. 147, L. 1909; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 118, L. 1911; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 26, L. 1919; re-en. Sec. 1872, R.C.M. 1921; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 132, L. 1933; re-en. Sec. 1872, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 219, Ch. 147, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 82, Ch. 428, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 81-1601; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 529, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 277, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 446, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 157, L. 1995.
