The following definitions apply to this subchapter:

(1) "Capable of producing timber that can be harvested in commercial quantity" means:

(a) forest land that can produce 25 cubic feet or more of stem-wood per acre per year in live softwood trees, 1.0 inch in diameter at breast height, at the culmination of the mean annual increment (the point of maximum wood production) for fully stocked, natural stands; and

(b) is at least 10% stocked with softwood timber of any size on an area at least 120 feet in width; or

(c) has been converted from another use and exhibits a minimum stocking rate of 300 seedlings and/or saplings per acre (12-foot average spacing) ; or

(d) meets the stocking requirement specified in (1) (b) and (c) , but has had the trees removed by man through timber harvest or by fires and other natural disasters, and has been, or will be, naturally or artificially regenerated within ten years.

(2) "Contiguous parcels of land" means separately described parcels of land under one ownership that physically touch one another or would have touched one another were the acreages not separated by deeded roads and highways, navigable rivers and streams, railroad lines, or federal or state land that is leased from the federal or state government by the taxpayer whose land is physically touching the federal or state land.

(3) "Diameter at breast height (dbh) " means the average stem diameter, outside bark, at a point 4.5 feet above the ground.

(4) "Forest site productivity class" means the range of site quality which expresses the timber production potential of a site in terms of cubic-foot volume growth per acre at culmination of mean annual increment (the point of maximum wood production) in fully stocked natural stands.

(5) "Fully stocked" means the highest degree in which a stand could fully utilize the site's capacity to grow trees.

(6) "Land use" means land placed into a certain type of service or utilization.

(7) "Mean annual increment" is a measure of the average yearly increase in volume produced on one acre. This increment can be calculated by dividing total stand volume by the total age. Mean annual growth increases as the stand matures, attains a maximum growth increment at a later age, then decreases as the growth rate decreases. Volume is expressed in cubic feet.

(8) "Natural stands" means fully stocked, even-aged softwood stands which are naturally regenerated.

(9) "Noncontiguous parcels of land" means parcels of land under one ownership that are physically separated from one another by land in a different ownership other than deeded roads and highways, navigable rivers and streams, railroad lines, or federal or state land that is leased from the federal or state government by the taxpayer whose land is physically touching the federal or state land.

(10) "Nonforest land" means land that is at least 120 feet in width and at least five acres in size which does not meet the requirements of ARM 42.20.705. Nonforest land can include rivers and streams, roads, highways, power lines, and railroads.

(11) "Ornamental trees" means trees grown commercially to ornament and decorate or for use as shade trees or windbreaks.

(12) "Owner" means that the applicant and owner of record are the same individual, corporation, or partnership.

(13) "Parcel" means a tract or plot of land distinguishable by ownership boundaries.

(14) "Producing timber" is defined as including trees removed through harvest, clear-cut or by natural disaster, such as fire.

(15) "Residence" means all conventionally constructed homes, as well as all mobile homes and manufactured housing, that may serve as living quarters for one or more individuals or a family. The occupancy of the residence shall be irrelevant.

(16) "Site" means the capacity of at least 15 contiguous acres to grow timber.

(17) "Stem-wood" means the bole or trunk of the tree, excluding the roots, branches, and needles.

(18) "Stocked" means a measure of the degree to which an area is effectively covered with living trees.

(19) "Under one ownership" means one party owns two or more parcels of land when the title is in the party's name or names; the party has received title in the parcels by a transferring instrument such as a deed, contract for deed, or judgment; and the party has the present right to possess and use the parcels.

(20) "Uninterrupted forest land" means forest land that meets the requirements of ARM 42.20.705 and is unbroken by nonforest land.