The Florida Senate

590.025  Control burning of wild land; authorization; conditions.--

(1)  As used in this section, "wild land" means:

(a)  Uncultivated land other than fallow. Such land may be neglected altogether or maintained for such purposes as wood or forage production, wildlife, recreation, or protective plant cover.

(b)  Land virtually uninfluenced by human activity.

(2)  At the request of the governing body of a county, the Division of Forestry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is authorized and empowered, subject to the provisions and qualifications contained in subsection (3), and provided the owner of the land does not object, to control burn any area of wild land within the county which is reasonably determined to be in danger of conflagration if any open and uncontrolled fire were to occur in the area.

(3)  No area of wild land shall be control burned under the provisions of this section unless notice of intent to control burn, describing particularly the area to be burned and the tentative date or dates of the burning, is published in a conspicuous manner in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the area of the burn not less than 10 days prior to the burn.

(4)  In addition, the Division of Forestry shall prepare, and the county tax collector shall include with the annual tax statement, a notice to be sent to all landowners in each township designated by the Division of Forestry as a high fire hazard area. Such notice shall describe particularly the area to be burned and the tentative date or dates of the burning and shall list the reasons for, and the benefits expected to result from, control burning.

History.--s. 1, ch. 77-17.