User:Ditch Fisher/sandbox/Canad-United States international border vista

The Canada-United States international border vista is a man-made track of deforestation that demarcates portions of the border between the two nations.

Description
Colloquially known as "the Slash," the vista is a 20-foot wide man-made cut-through of forestland that occurs along areas of the border with dense forestation. There are many different sections of the vista, and the total length can vary depending on cycles of maintenance and upkeep, but a length of 1349 miles has been reported.

From a bird's eye perspective, the vista appears as a "line" running through the wilderness, and can be clearly seen on satellite imagery. From the ground, one would observe that the vista follows a series of man-made monuments that were intended to mark the border along the northern 49th and 45th parallels, as well as the Alaska/Canada border, but due to inaccurate measurements made by surveyors in the 19th century, the vista strays from the exact parallel coordinates by hundreds of feet in some places where older monuments still exist. However the vista is accepted by both nations as the physical representation of the border when it comes to enforcement. It is illegal to cross the vista without official permission.

History
The vista was the result of a larger border maintenance plan officially agreed upon by the two nations in treaties signed in 1908 and 1925 (the vista had existed, unofficially, since the 1800's). The International Boundary Commission was created by the treaties, comprised of members from both nations, and tasked, in part, to clearly demarcate the international border. In more populous, less forested areas, this was accomplished largely with signs, physical barriers, and service roads; but the mountain terrain and wilderness conditions in certain areas made that approach unpractical, thus the 20-foot wide track of deforestation was adopted as a solution.

Maintenance
Each country is responsible for funding the maintenance of 10-feet on either side of the center-line. Every six years the vista undergoes a cut-back of any encroaching wilderness.