The Department of Natural Resources is
reminding domestic wood cutters to familiarize
themselves with the Forestry Act and laws
governing the cutting of timber for personal use after
investigations by provincial conservation officers
resulted in convictions of four Baie Verte Peninsula
residents.
The four individuals appeared in
Provincial Court in Baie Verte on June 17, 2009. All
four plead guilty to breaches of the Cutting of Timber
Regulations under the Forestry
Act.
"Regulations under the Forestry Act
protect the forest resource for all residents of
Newfoundland and Labrador," said the Honourable Kathy
Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister
Responsible for the Foresty and Agrfioods Agency.
"Government is committed to sustaining the resource for
current and future social and economic reasons. Our
conservation officers ensure people adhere to the
regulations of sustainable harvesting practices."
Conservation officers with the
department�s Springdale and Baie Verte offices observed
domestic wood cutters failing to utilize all parts of
harvested trees as specified under the Cutting of Timber
Regulations. The individuals took only the largest part
of the trees, failing to abide by the conditions of
their domestic cutting permits. In one case, an
individual was also cutting timber in a stream buffer
which is also against timber cutting regulations.
Convictions for these offences
resulted in fines ranging from $500 to $1,500 against
four individuals. A total of 650 logs were forfeited to
the Crown.
The department encourages the public
to report any information on illegal activity harmful to
the province�s natural resources to Crime Stoppers at
1-800-363-TIPS (8477).
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Media contact:
Tracy Barron
Director of Communications
Department of Natural Resources
709-729-5282, 690-8241
tracybarron@gov.nl.ca
2009 08 14
10:45 a.m.