1. (a) The provisions of this chapter apply to an operation on state land, other public land, or private forest land if all of the following criteria are met:

   1. (1) the operation is on forest land as defined in AS 41.17.950;

   2. (2) the operation involves any of the following activities:

      1. (A) harvesting, including felling, bucking, yarding, decking, hauling, log dumping, log transfer, log rafting, and related road construction, reconstruction, improvement, or maintenance;

2. (B) road construction or reconstruction, material source development, and, maintenance of an existing road or bridge not within the operation area, but connected with, the harvesting operation;

   1. (C) site preparation;
   2. (D) precommercial thinning;
   3. (E) slash treatment; or
   4. (F) any other activity leading to, or connected with commercial timber harvest; and

   5. (3) a commercial operation that intersects, encompasses, or borders on surface waters or a riparian area, or that, for a single landowner or operator, equals or exceeds in the aggregate the following acreage:

      1. (A) 10 acres in Region I;
      2. (B) 40 acres in Region II; or
      3. (C) 40 acres in Region III for landowners who own more than 160 acres in total; if a landowner has a total ownership of 160 acres or less, then an operation on any of that 160 acres or less is not a commercial forest operation.
3. (b) A land use conversion involving a commercial forest operation that meets the criteria in (a) of this section must meet the requirements of 11 AAC 95.200.

(Eff. 6/10/93, Register 126)

Authority: AS 41.17.010, AS 41.17.080, AS 41.17.900, AS 41.17.055, AS 41.17.098