Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1939, Page 218
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LE NORD
ner, was voted in 1899, but the annual grants have been gradually
increased, and for the last few years have amounted to 460,000
Kroner. In the years 1934—35 to 1937—38 extraordinary grants
to a total of 5,510,000 Kroner were voted for purposes of re-
forestation, of which total the Forest Society received 725,000
Kroner. In addition the Society has received from annual extra-
ordinary grants to useful purposes a grand total of 6,4 millions.
The Norwegian Forest Society and its branches carry on their
work on a strictly voluntary basis. It is by way of propaganda,
education and the good example that the society endeavours to
get in touch with the forest owners and to be of assistance to
them. The Society employs a staff of 40 trained provincial forest
officers with their assistants. Furthermore, as from the year 1932,
all local forest officers and rangers, appointed under the Forest
Act of that year, were placed under the Authority of these pro-
vincial forest officers. There are at present 116 parish forest of-
ficers, and, if the subordinate staff be included, the service num-
bers hundreds of people.
As the Forest Society was first and foremost established for
the purpose of carrying out reforestation work, it was natural
that its activities during the first few years should be almost
entirely devoted to tree planting.
This work is still its chief concern in the western and north-
ern provinces. On the other hand, in the well-wooded districts
of Eastern Norway and Trondelag the work of the Forest Society
was at the beginning mainly concerned with the drainage of
swampy land and bogs. However, education in general forest
practice and the blaying of timber have an ever increasing share
of the Society’s activities, so much so that this has now become
its principal work in the better stocked districts.
Besides their tree planting activities and general forestry work,
the provincial forest officers have also been active in other im-
portant matters connected with forestry. On their initiative a
number of co-operative floatage societies, forest owners’ asso-
ciations and sales organizations have been established, which have
been of great importance as an offset to the monopoly-forming
tendencies of the wood-industries, and also as tending to increase
the yield of the forests.
The local forest societies have, furthermore, in many cases
prevailed upon the local authorities, who until 1932 were charged
with the enforcement of the provisions of the Protection Forest