I think this government agency is trying to sugar-coat their history a bit here. I don’t think either Canada or the US even had any ‘environmental regulatory agencies’ in 1952.
Possibly they mean something like the US Forest Service, which historically has been far closer to the logging companies than an ‘environmental’ agency.
enipla:
Interesting. I hadn’t thought about herbicide spraying. I think that many moon ago that this kind of clearing might be important for surveying. I’ve been the mule on traditional surveys in forested mountain areas. It ain’t fun. Or very accurate after a few miles.
Today, with GPS and sats, a clear line of site is not that important.
Seems kind of silly, other than it is a pure demarcation. “I didn’t know I was in Canada/USA.” I wonder if there are signs? How far they are placed apart, and what they say?
I wonder if you could hike it? If they are using dozers to help clear it, a well built 4x4 may even be able to drive most of it.
Seems silly to me. But then, a lot of things do now.
I assume the clear line of sight is so that cameras and patrollers can see people if they try and dart across.
As for hiking it and crossing it, this account is quite interesting and has some photos of what it looks like on the ground.
Doesn’t this previous post cover that?
International Boundary Commission:
a 6 metre or 20 foot cleared swath a long open vista stretching from horizon to horizon, dotted in a regular pattern with white markers.