History

The Interwar Period

Shortly after Poland regained independence in 1918, the first steps were taken to establish a national forest administration. In 1920, four regional administrations of state forests were created in Warsaw, Radom, Siedlce and Lwów (now Lviv), under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property.

In 1924, the enterprise Polish State Forests was established and entrusted by President Stanisław Wojciechowski with the management of Poland’s forests. This was made possible through two presidential decrees:

• the Decree of June 28, 1924 on the Statute of the Polish State Forests,
• the Decree of December 30, 1924 on the Organisation and Administration of State Forests.

Over the following years, the legal and economic model of Polish forestry took shape. During the 1930s, Adam Loret, the first Director of the State Forests, developed a vision for the organisation based on the principle that forests perform many different functions and that timber production is only one of them.

In 1934, on Loret’s initiative, the State Forests underwent a major modernisation. The number of regional directorates was reduced/streamlined to nine, while the number of forest districts stood at 434. At that time, state forests covered more than 3.3 million hectares.

World War II

The outbreak of the Second World War abruptly halted the dynamic development of the State Forests. The occupying powers immediately imposed their own forest administrations. Forests suffered extensive damage as a result of military operations, while forestry practices in territories occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union became purely exploitative.

Many foresters lost their lives during the war. It is estimated that approximately 11,000 foresters served on various fronts of the conflict. Among them, 171 were murdered in Katyń, Kharkiv, Mednoye and Bykivnia. Adam Loret was arrested on September 19, 1939 and subsequently disappeared.

Throughout the war, foresters supported partisan units that found refuge in the woods. Entire foresters’ families sometimes paid the ultimate price for this assistance. Numerous burial sites scattered throughout Poland’s forests commemorate these events. Today, foresters continue to care for these memorial sites to preserve the memory of the struggle for a free Poland.

The Communist Era (1945–1989)

After the war, the state nationalised forests as well as sawmills and wood-processing facilities. As a result, the area of state-owned forests increased to more than 6 million hectares.

As of January 1, 1948, there were 917 forest districts, including three national parks, operating within 16 directorates of the State Forests.

Subsequent decades brought further modifications to the forest management system. In the 1950s, the 16 directorates were replaced by a two-tier structure consisting of 17 regional boards and 137 district boards. In 1975, seven regional boards were abolished, though  the original number was gradually restored in later years, albeit with significant changes to their boundaries and coverage areas. .

The communist period was characterised by centrally imposed production targets and rigid timber harvesting quotas, which often conflicted with the principles of sound forest management. Nevertheless, despite these structural and economic challenges, foresters consistently sought to to prioritize the long-term health and well-being of the forests.

The Third Polish Republic 

Another major turning point came in the 1990s following Poland’s political and economic transformation.

Forest management was comprehensively regulated by the Forest Act of 1991, which remains the cornerstone legal document governing the State Forests National Forest Holding. The Act/ This legislation shifted the organisation’s focus towards the long-term preservation of forests and the sustainable continuation of their multiple functions for both present and future generations.

The entry into force of the Act brought significant organisational changes. The Central Board of the State Forests was transformed into the Directorate-General of the State Forests, while the former regional boards became Regional Directorates of the State Forests. The responsibilities of individual organisational units were redefined, and in 1994 the State Forests received a new Statute.

The Forest Act also formally established the Forest Service, strengthening the professional framework of forestry administration and management in Poland.