Before 1849, the forest properties which the Crown or State owned in the various territories were not managed as a unit or in any uniform manner, but a number of separate provincial or territorial forest administrations existed which were often connected with mining administrations and were placed under the Minister of Finance. These, under the influence of the educated foresters issuing from the newly established forest school, had, to be sure, been much improved; nevertheless the Cameralists, as in Germany, were at the head of affairs and kept the technical development back until after the revolution of 1848, when the accession of Franz Joseph I brought many reforms and changes in methods of administration.
A ministry of Soilculture and Mining was created in that year, and, as a branch of it, a forest department, separated from the department of the Chase. To the head of this forest department was called a forester, Rudolf Feistmantel, who elaborated an organization. But, before much had been accomplished, the Ministry and its forest department were abolished (1853) and the forest domain again transferred to the Ministry of Finance.
Feistmantel returned in 1856 as Chief of the forest division in that Ministry, and his organization of the forest property of the State into forest districts under forest managers and into provincial “forest directions” was perfected.
Matters, however, did not thrive, and, only when public attention and indignation had been aroused by a policy of selling State property, a change of attitude took place in 1872 which led to the present organization. This places the State forest administration in the Department of Agriculture, with an “Oberlandforstmeister” and two assistants as superior officers, and the rest of the organization is also very nearly the same as that in vogue in most German States, each province having a directive service of “Oberforstmeister” with “Forstmeister” as inspectors, and “Oberförster” with the assistance of “Forstwarte” as executive officers. In addition a special corps of “forest engineers” and “superior forest engineers” is provided for the elaboration of working plans. Lately (1904), a re-organization of the central office provided, besides the department of administration of State and Funds forests, a department of reboisement and correction of torrents, and a department of forest policy charged with the promotion of forest culture, including the education of foresters and similar matters.
Most of the State property is located in the Alps and Carpathian mountains at an elevation above 2,000 feet, hence financial results do not make a good showing.
Since 1885 it has been the policy to add to the State forest area by purchase, and by 1898, over 350,000 acres had been added to it.
5. Progress of Forest Organization.
Since 1873, working plans according to unified principles have been prepared for most of the State property, so that, by 1898, about 82% was under regulated management.
The progress made in bringing forest areas under organized management varied greatly in the different provinces.
In northeastern Austria, the first methods of regulated management consisted, as in the neighboring territories of Germany, in a simple division into felling areas. The example of the neighbors was also followed later in the northwestern provinces, and in both regions this method was improved upon by allotment according to the propositions of Hartig and Cotta. In addition, since 1810, the method of the Austrian “Kameraltaxe” with the new and fertile idea of the “normal forest” began to be employed (see [p. 115]). The new method now largely employed is an area allotment checked by the normal forest formula.