BMP Trivia Question

Wing ditches collect and direct road surface runoff from one or both sides of the road away from the roadway and into undisturbed areas adjacent to the road. According to the BMP handbook, there are three types of wing ditch outlets that can be used. Can you list them?

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January BMP Q&A

By: Shane Harrington, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:  I heard that the Texas Forest Service has recently released a revised version of the BMP Handbook, is this true?  If so, how can I get a copy of the revised handbook? 

A:  The Texas Forest Service along with the Texas Forestry Association’s BMP Task Force recently evaluated and made revisions to the current BMP guidelines.  These revisions were made in an effort to continue to improve and enhance the ability of forest landowners, loggers, and other forestry professionals to effectively protect water quality before, during, and after silvicultural operations.

           

BMPs were developed in 1989, and have undergone three major revisions over the past 15 years.  It is important to review and update these guidelines periodically to ensure that they are still effective in protecting water quality.  BMPs prevent almost 12,000 tons of dirt from entering East Texas streams annually and over 96,000 tons of dirt from eroding off East Texas forestlands.  This is enough dirt to cover a football field, endzone to endzone, 30 feet high.

To make the new books distinguishable from past versions the color was changed from light blue to dark blue.  Also new terms were added to the glossary, statistical data was updated, and some guidelines were clarified.  

Two sections were added to the handbook that address stream classification and basal area.  The “Stream Classification” section, found under the Recommended Specifications for Streamside Management Zones (SMZs), lists characteristics that can be used in the field to distinguish between perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams.  This is important because ephemeral streams do not require leaving an SMZ along both sides.  The other section, entitled “How to Calculate Basal Area” and located in the Appendix, was added to aid loggers, foresters, and landowners in properly calculating basal area to ensure that 50 square feet of basal area is left inside SMZs.  This section gives step-by-step instructions on how to calculate basal area. 

A summary of all revisions made to the BMP guidelines has been placed at the beginning of the new BMP Handbook.  By reviewing all of the revisions and familiarizing yourself with the changes you can ensure that BMPs are being implemented properly.  To obtain a copy of the new BMP Handbook, please visit the Texas Forest Service website at http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/water or contact the Texas Forest Service BMP Project Office at (936) 639-8180.  If you have any questions about BMPs or any of the revisions made to the BMP Handbook please contact Shane Harrington at the TFS BMP Project Office.  

* This article was published in the January 2005 issue of the Texas Logger

BMP Trivia Question

According to the BMP handbook, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) uses three main criteria when delineating jurisdictional wetlands. Can you list the three criteria?

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BMP Informer - December 2004

December Issue of the BMP Informer Now Available

• Remember BMPs When Planting
• Seedlings On-line!
• Improving My Land - Permanent Stream Crossings
• How Do I Know What Size Culvert I Should Use?
• BMP Implementation Monitoring Program
• Forestry Acronyms

November BMP Q&A

By: Shane Harrington, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:  I know that the Texas Forest Service conducts evaluations on how well we are using BMPs, is there any news on how well we are doing?

A:  The Best Management Practices (BMP) Implementation Monitoring Program was started in 1991 in order to measure the degree of implementation with BMP guidelines by the forestry community, or in other words, measure how well BMPs are being used properly in the field. Every two years 150 sites are randomly chosen, and “normal silvicultural” operations are evaluated for the presence, when applicable, of BMPs and whether or not they are functioning properly.  “Normal silviculture” refers to sites that are being managed on a sustainable basis for timber production and does not include sites that are being cleared or converted for other uses.  Operations that are selected for evaluation include public, private, and forest industry lands where landowner consent is obtained. 

The BMP program has been a very successful voluntary, non-regulatory program.  The level of BMP implementation from the last round of evaluations is 91.5% its highest level since we began evaluating in 1991. The Texas Forest Service has completed five BMP implementation reports and they can be found on the Texas Forest Service website at http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/water. 

Currently the Texas Forest Service is working on the sixth BMP implementation report, which will be complete in the fall of 2005.  To date, the Texas Forest Service has evaluated 52 operations throughout East Texas and so far the overall BMP implementation rate is 89.9%. This basically states that at any given time almost 9 out of 10 operations on private forestlands are complying with BMP guidelines   However, this is only an early look at the implementation rate and the final number may change slightly upon the completion of all 150 site evaluations. 

Landownership in East Texas is constantly changing and today most landowners are classified into one of four categories.  The first category is the private or NIPF landowner and this is the primary owner of forestland in East Texas.  Private landowners account for about 61% of the forestland in the 43 counties in East Texas.  So far 23 operations on private forestlands have been evaluated in 13 counties with an overall BMP implementation rate of 83.3% with Liberty County having the highest implementation rate at 97.5%.  This basically state that at any given time roughly 8 out of 10 operations on private forestlands is complying with BMP guidelines.

Forest industry owns about 17% of the forestland in East Texas and with some companies divesting their land this percentage is becoming smaller.  The Texas Forest Service has evaluated 18 operations on industry lands in 9 counties and is showing a 95% BMP implementation rate with operations in Cass, Hardin, and Tyler Counties complying at a 100% BMP implementation rate.

There is a relatively new landowner in East Texas, which accounts for about 15% of the forestland.  This new landowner is a group called Timberland Investment Management Organizations or TIMOs for short.  These organizations are buying forestland and managing it for investors who want to invest their money n forestlands rather than the stock market or other types of long term investments.  So far there have been 7 evaluations on TIMO lands in 5 counties with an overall BMP implementation rate of 95.2% with operations in Liberty and Polk Counties complying at a 100% implementation rate.

The smallest landowner, owning only 7% of the forestland, is public ownership, which is made up of national and a few state forests. Public ownership in Texas is relatively small when compared to some of the other southern states. Since silvicultural operations do not occur regularly on public lands the number of evaluations is smaller when compared to the other landowners in East Texas. To date there have been 4 evaluations on public lands in 4 counties showing an overall BMP implementation rate of 95.9% with operations in Sabine and Walker Counties complying at a 100% BMP implementation rate.

Again these evaluations are voluntary and done only with the consent of the landowner. The BMP implementation reports are completed roughly every two years and are used to help keep the use of BMPs during silvicultural operations non-regulatory in the State of Texas. Hopefully in the future we can see a continued improvement of the BMP implementation rate. Remember that one way we can continue to improve is to recognize the importance of using BMPs to protect water quality by treating each site that you work as if it will be evaluated. If you have any questions regarding the BMP implementation reports or BMPs in general please call me at (936) 639-8180.

* This article was published in the November 2004 issue of the Texas Logger

BMP Informer - October 2004

October Issue of the BMP Informer Now Available

• Texas Forestry Best Management Practices Handbook Revised
• From the Editor . . .
• Improving My Land - Do Your Firelanes Measure Up?
• Certified Forest Steward
• BMP Effectiveness Monitoring
• Forestry Acronyms

October BMP Q&A

By: Shane Harrington, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:  I am a logger in Southeast Texas and for the past few weeks I have been watching the hurricanes slam the East Coast.  The possibility of a hurricane causing damage to timber here in East Texas is not too far-fetched.  Even more damage can be caused here by wildfires, wind, and Southern Pine Beetle outbreaks that could happen at anytime.  Do I still need to follow BMP guidelines during salvage operations when I am trying to get the timber out as quickly as possible?

A:  Great question.  Timber can sustain a lot of damage from events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and Southern Pine Beetle outbreaks.  Hopefully we will not have any widespread timber damage here in East Texas.  However, if you find yourself conducting a salvage operation after such an event BMPs should be implemented just as if it were a normal harvest operation. 

Generally there is a since of urgency when it comes to harvesting timber in a salvage operation because damaged trees are more susceptible to insects and disease, lowering their economic value.  It is still important to implement BMPs during these situations.  BMPs are effective in  preventing or reducing erosion, allowing your land to be managed in a sustainable manner.    Following are a few recommendations to consider while conducting a salvage operation.

Prior to the salvage operation, the ground should be inspected to ensure that it is stable enough to support heavy machinery.  Often times after an event such as a hurricane, tropical storm, or even an East Texas thunderstorm, the soil is saturated and operating heavy machinery on these soils can cause rutting.  Rutting creates channels for water flow, which can lead to widespread soil movement.  This reduces site productivity, decreases tree growth and financial returns, and impacts water quality.  Firelanes installed to control wildfires should be cleaned up and stabilized with the proper water control structures to prevent additional erosion. 

Streamside Management Zones (SMZs) should be visibly marked and all operations within the SMZ should be kept to a minimum.  It may be necessary to flag the SMZ for greater visibility, because it is sometimes difficult for machine operators to see the original painted line with the additional debris on the ground.  All roads, skid trails, decks, and firelanes should be located outside the SMZ.  Removal of any felled timber within the SMZ should be done by dispersed skidding or by cable retrieval.  This is done to prevent damaging the filtering capabilities of the SMZ and to keep the forest floor virtually undisturbed.  Remember, even in salvage operations, 50 square feet of basal area should be left in the SMZ.  Try to leave trees that have not been too severely damaged.    

Personal safety should also be stressed when conducting a salvage operation.  Treetops and limbs may be left dangling above the ground and could cause serious injury to ground personnel.  It is also important to be aware of machine operators, especially when visibility is impaired from excessive debris.

For other recommendations regarding BMPs and salvage operations please refer to the Texas Forest Service BMP Bluebook.  If you do not have a copy of the Bluebook you can obtain a copy from your local Texas Forest Service office or online at http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/water.  If you have any questions or comments regarding BMPs please call me at (936) 639-8180.

* This article was published in the October 2004 issue of the Texas Logger