Governmental Decree No. 371 validating the Regulation on State Forest Service and Rules on forest fire safety.

This Governmental Decree establishes that protection of forests under the authority of state forestry bodies shall be performed by the State Forest Service, its bodies, organizations and enterprises. The State Forest Service protects forests and entrusted control thereto over the state of forest protection of farms and peasant farms, including collective farms, and urban forests, protected areas and assigned forests through the state forest guard service organized within its infrastructure. The protection of forests under the jurisdiction of ministries, administrative departments, local self-government shall be performed thereby in accordance with this Governmental Decree through the forest protection service of the aforesaid ministries, administrative departments and local self-government. The main tasks of the State Forest Service shall be as follows: (a) the organization of ground and aerial protection of forests, forest fire prevention arrangements, including timely detection and control of forest fires; (b) protection of forests against unauthorized cuttings, theft of timber, destruction of forests and other infringements of forest legislation; (c) control over the compliance by loggers with the acting rules for timber extraction, haymaking, cattle grazing and other types of management of the state forest fund; (d) early warning related to the appearance of harmful insects, pests and forest diseases; (e) monitoring of compliance with the hunting rules and regulations, in particularly those related to observance of hunting period in the state forest fund; and (f) control over the organization of forest protection against fires, unauthorized timber extraction and other forest violations in collective farm forests, forests belonging to farms and peasant farms, urban forests, forests of natural national parks, state reserves and assigned (departmental) forests. In the forest fire season, that is, beginning from snow melting period, in the forest until steady rainy weather or forming of snow cover, the following activities shall be prohibited: (a) making bonfires in coniferous young growth, old burnt forest areas, damaged forest areas (windfall and windbreak), peatland, felling areas with logging residues and harvested timber, in places with dried grass, as well as under tree crowns; (b) throw burning matches, cigarette butts in the forest and throw hot ashes out of the pipes; (c) use in the forest in the process of hunting wads of flammable or smoldering materials; (d) leave cleaning material oiled or impregnated with gasoline, diesel fuel or other combustible substances outside the designated areas; (e) fueling petrol tanks of internal combustion engines in the forest during engine operation, use motor vehicles with a faulty engine power supply system, and also smoke or use open fire in the vicinity of fuel-filled vehicles.