Why are these seed use requirements described as chief forester standards and not as regulations or guidelines?
A. The tree seed used to establish new forests has a significant influence on the health and productivity of those forests. Inappropriate use of seed can result in the reduced growth, increased susceptibility to insects, disease, frost or snow press, or the death of the trees. Collecting, identifying, storing and transferring seed requires a specialized knowledge of the biology and genetics of the tree species. Detailed scientific and technical information is not usually found in regulation. Guidelines do not provide for a strong compliance and enforcement regime. Government therefore conferred responsibility to the chief forester, as the provinces pre-eminent forester and steward of Crowns tree gene resources, to establish those standards that he deems necessary and appropriate to regulate the use of seed.
