106-895. Powers of Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (a) The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may take such action as it may deem necessary to provide for the prevention and control of forest fires in any and all parts of this State, and it is hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with […]
106-896. Forest rangers, deputy rangers, and emergency workers. The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee may authorize as many forest rangers, deputy rangers, or emergency workers as the Commissioner deems necessary and available. For purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply: (1) "Deputy ranger" means a highly trained emergency worker hired on a temporary basis […]
106-897. Forest laws defined. The forest laws consist of all of the following: (1) G.S. 14-135 to G.S. 14-140.1. (2) Articles 74 through 84 of this Chapter. (3) G.S. 77-13 and G.S. 77-14. (4) Other statutes enacted for the protection of forests and woodlands from fire, insects, or disease and concerning obstruction of streams and […]
106-898. Duties of forest rangers; payment of expenses by State and counties. Forest rangers shall have charge of measures for controlling forest fires, protection of forests from pests and diseases, and the development and improvement of the forests for maximum production of forest products; shall post along highways and in other conspicuous places copies of […]
106-899. Powers of forest rangers and deputy rangers to prevent and extinguish fires; authority to issue citations and warning tickets. (a) Forest rangers or deputy rangers shall prevent and extinguish forest fires and shall have control and direction of all persons and equipment while engaged in the extinguishing of forest fires. During a season of […]
106-900. Powers of Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services law-enforcement officers. The Commissioner is authorized to appoint as many Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services law enforcement officers as he or she deems necessary to investigate and enforce any violation of the laws within the authority of the Department or which occur on Department property. […]
106-901. Warning tickets for violations of the forest laws. (a) To encourage the cooperation of the public in achieving the objectives of the forest laws, the Commissioner may provide for the issuance of warning tickets instead of the initiation of criminal prosecution by forest rangers and forest law-enforcement officers. Issuance of the warning tickets shall […]
106-902. Compensation of forest rangers, deputy rangers, and emergency workers. Forest rangers, deputy rangers, and emergency workers shall receive compensation from the Department at a reasonable rate to be fixed by said Department for the time actually engaged in the performance of their duties; and reasonable expenses for equipment, transportation, or food supplies incurred in […]
106-903. Overtime compensation for forest fire fighting. The Department shall, within funds appropriated to the Department, provide either monetary overtime compensation or compensatory leave at an hour-for-hour rate, at its discretion, to the employees of the North Carolina Forest Service who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and involved in fighting forest fires […]
106-904. Woodland defined. For the purposes of this Article, woodland is taken to include all forest areas, both timber and cutover land, and all second-growth stands on areas that have at one time been cultivated. (1915, c. 243, s. 11; C.S., s. 6139; 2011-145, s. 13.25(p).)
106-905. Misdemeanor to destroy posted forestry notice. Any person who shall maliciously or willfully destroy, deface, remove, or disfigure any sign, poster, or warning notice, posted by order of the Commissioner, under the provisions of this Article, or any other act which may be passed for the purpose of protecting and developing the forests in […]
106-906. Cooperation between counties and State in forest protection and development. The board of county commissioners of any county is hereby authorized and empowered to cooperate with the Department in the protection, reforestation, and promotion of forest management of their own forests within their respective counties, and to appropriate and pay out of the funds […]
106-907. Instructions on forest preservation and development. (a) It shall be the duty of all forest rangers provided for in this Chapter to distribute in all of the public schools and high schools of the county in which they are serving as such forest rangers all such tracts, books, periodicals and other literature that may, […]
106-908. Authority of Governor to close forests and woodlands to hunting, fishing and trapping. During periods of protracted drought or when other hazardous fire conditions threaten forest and water resources and appear to require extraordinary precautions, the Governor of the State, upon the joint recommendation of the Commissioner and the Executive Director of the North […]
106-909. Publication of proclamation; annulment thereof. Such proclamation shall become effective 24 hours after certified time of issue, and shall be published in such newspapers and posted in such places and in such manner as the Governor may direct. It shall be annulled in the same manner by another proclamation by the Governor when he […]
106-910. Violation of proclamation a misdemeanor. Any person, firm or corporation who enters upon any woodlands or inland waters of the State for the purpose of hunting, fishing or trapping, or who builds a campfire or burns brush, grass or other debris within 500 feet of any woodland, after a proclamation has been issued by […]
106-911. Annual report on wildfires. No later than October 1 of each year, beginning October 1, 2012, the Commissioner shall submit a written report on wildfires in the State to the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Natural, and Economic Resources, the chairs of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Agriculture and […]
106-915. B.R.I.D.G.E. Youthful Offenders Program; annual report. [Effective until January 1, 2023] (a) The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety shall give priority to the B.R.I.D.G.E. Youthful Offenders Program operated in cooperation with the North Carolina Forest Service when assigning youthful offenders from the Foothills Correctional Institution to […]
