[§186-5.5]  Right to harvest.  (a)  The
owner of land shall have the right to harvest new trees generated according to
a management plan approved by the department on lands within the agricultural
district as provided by section 186-2(a)(1), or on degraded forest and pasture
lands within the conservation district and zoned for commercial forest use as
provided by section 186-2(a)(2); provided that this right shall be subject to
the power of the State to protect health, safety, and welfare.



(b)  The State's liability as a result of the
right to harvest new trees shall be limited to actions taken only by the State
and shall not extend to any private property rights.



(c)  As used in this section, "degraded
forests" means areas which have had considerable disturbance, are altered
from their natural state, and contain less than twenty per cent crown canopy of
native tree species. [L 1994, c 207, §1]