No person shall hold themselves out as a forester and engage in the practice of forestry * in the commonwealth unless they are licensed in accordance with section forty-nine.
A person who violates the provisions of this section or who fraudulently obtains or attempts to obtain such license or continues to practice forestry after suspension, expiration or revocation of his license, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars for each such violation. The superior court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section and to remedy any violation thereof.
* Practice of forestry means any professional services requiring the application of forestry principles and techniques, including but not limited to:
- Forest inventory,
- Forest management planning,
- Timber appraisal,
- The responsibility for the direction and supervision of silvicultural activities,
- Use and protection of forested areas, and
- The evaluation of the economic and biological consequences of forest management activities.
On the basis of an 18 July 2001 decision by the Director of Forests and Parks, "It is hereby declared the policy of the Division of Forests and Parks that forest management plans for certification, amendment, and re-certification under Chapter 61/61A and Forest Stewardship Plans must be prepared by a Massachusetts Licensed Forester".
On the basis of a 15 May 2003 memo from the Director of the Division of Forests and Parks, the only people who may prepare Chapter 132 Forest Cutting Plans for harvest activities taking place on lands enrolled in Chapter 61, 61A, or the Forest Stewardship Program are either Massachusetts Licensed Foresters or the landowner.
"It is hereby declared the policy of the division of Forests and Parks that forest cutting plans prepared under Chapter 132 for forest land classified under Chapters 61 and 61A or certified under the Forest Stewardship Program must be prepared by a Massachusetts Licensed Forester. The exception to this policy is for a landowner, individually, and acting on his or her own behalf, who may prepare his or her own forest cutting plan for his or her forest land classified under Chapter 61, pursuant to 304 CMR 11.04(2)(a), classified under Chapter 61A, or certified under the Forest Stewardship Program. It is also the policy of the Division that forest cutting plans prepared under any other circumstances are unacceptable and shall be returned to the landowner, together with any other application materials. In that instance, the plan preparer, who is not the landowner or a licensed forester, will be subject to fine under Section 48 of chapter 132. "