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Forests and Parks asks legislature to reinstate long‑used 'heavy cut' rule after administrative lapse
Summary
The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation requested statutory clarification to republish a heavy‑cut permit rule that was not formally published in the code and therefore would have been repealed by a 2018 APA provision; the department said the rule has been used since 1997 and FPR seeks to avoid redoing rulemaking work.
Danielle Fitsco, Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation, told the committee that a rule governing "heavy cut" permits — in place since 1997 — was not published in the official code by a 2018 Administrative Procedure Act update and therefore could have been repealed by operation of law.
"We established those rules through emergency rule. And because we had such a robust process through the emergency rulemaking process, the legislature came back and made those rules permanent, by operation of law," Fitsco said. She explained that a separate 2016 update to the APA required rules published in the code by July 1, 2018, or they would be repealed.
FPR staff said the substantive statute authorizing heavy‑cut oversight remains in effect and that the unpublished rule mainly codifies the agency's permit application procedures and silvicultural guidance. The department asked the legislature to adopt language crafted with Legislative Counsel and LCAR support to republish the rule without reopening a full rulemaking process.
Fitsco described the program as an oversight mechanism for large harvests conducted below a defined stocking level, with roughly 40 heavy‑cut permit applications reviewed annually. She said FPR's foresters review silvicultural practices to ensure harvests meet stated objectives such as regeneration or forest health.
Committee members asked about enforcement exposure; Fitsco said the agency has statutory authority and that enforcement actions since 2018 have relied on statute rather than the unpublished rule. No final statutory action occurred during the hearing; members expressed support for a technical fix to maintain the longstanding permitting process.
