June BMP Q&A

By: Chris Duncan, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:   I have recently purchased a tract of land for timber investment which was clear-cut by the previous owner last February.  My forester suggested we mechanically “site prep” the land to get ready for planting early next year.  Are there any precautions we should take in relation to forestry best management practices?

A:   The major problems associated with site preparation involve soil erosion and potential sedimentation from runoff.  The primary factors contributing to erosion from runoff are percent of area with exposed soil, degree of slope, and soil type.  Remember the following points in order to protect your stream and roads during the site prep operation:

In General:

Conduct earth moving activities along the contour of the land

• The boundaries of all streamside management zones (SMZs) should be clearly defined before beginning site prep activities.
• Plan ahead to minimize disturbance from equipment within the SMZ.
• Avoid intensive preparation on steep slopes and on this or highly erodible soils.
• Ripping, shearing, windrowing, and mechanical planting should follow the contour of the land.
• Provide water outlets on bedded or furrowed areas at locations that will minimize soil movement. Discharge water onto a vegetated surface.
• All reasonable attempts should be made to stabilize and repair erosion resulting from site preparation operations.
• All reasonable attempts should be made to avoid damaging existing water control devices such as culverts, waterbars, and wing ditches. Damage to any existing water control structures should be repaired immediately.

If you are planning chemical preparation:

• Always read and follow all guidelines on the manufacturer’s label before applying silvicultural chemicals.
• Carefully plan the application to avoid direct and indirect entry of chemicals into streams and impoundments.
• Avoid applying chemicals to vegetation protecting eroded slopes, gullies, drainages, and other fragile areas subject to erosion.
• Use a spray device capable of immediate shutoff.
• Should a spill occur, shovel a dike around the spill.  Use an absorbent material to soak up the spill.  Keep all spill fluids from flowing into streams or other water bodies.  Some spills will require notifying appropriate authorities.
• Before disposal, containers should be rinsed three times and rinsate should be applied in spray form to the treatment area. All containers should be disposed of in accordance with Manufacturer’s recommendations.

If you have any questions about site preparation BMPs or BMP’s in general please feel free to call me at (903) 297-3910 or email me at cduncan@tfs.tamu.edu.

* This article was published in the June 2010 issue of the Texas Logger

The Texas Water Source - May 2010

May Issue of the Texas Water Source Now Available

• What is a Wetland?
• BMPs for Forested Wetlands
• Agency Spotlight: River Authorities in Texas
• River Authorities in Texas
• Wetlands Reserve Program 
• Contact Information

May BMP Q&A

By: Chris Duncan, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:   The Texas Forest Service over the last several years has released several reports documenting how well BMP’s are being used on forestry operations here in East Texas.  I would like to know if the Texas Forest Service will be conducting any more of these surveys in the future and are the past reports available anywhere.

A:   Since 1991 the Texas Forest Service has conducted six rounds of BMP implementation monitoring.  During each round a minimum of 150 randomly chosen tracts are inspected for the implementation of BMP’s with the cooperation of the landowner.  Once all the tracts have been inspected the data that was collected is used to produce a report which shows how well BMP’s are being used. 

In December 2008 the Texas Forest Service released its seventh BMP implementation report.  The overall implementation rate for the sites selected in round seven was 91.5%.  Family forest owners had an implementation rate of 88.7%, forest industry had an implementation rate of 91.1%, public lands (national and state forestlands) had an implementation rate of 100%, and corporate (our newest category of landowners) had an implementation rate of 95.7%. 

During round seven improvements were seen in several areas such as a decrease in the number of significant risks to water quality, higher BMP implementation on avoiding or minimizing the number of temporary stream crossings, and higher overall BMP implementation on site preparation and wetlands.  Although improvements were seen there were also major deficiencies seen. These deficiencies were failure to restore and stabilize stream crossings on temporary roads and leaving inadequate SMZ widths along intermittent and perennial streams. 

Starting in May 2010 the Texas Forest Service will begin its eighth round of BMP implementation monitoring.  Over the next 12-14 months, the Texas Forest Service will randomly select a minimum of 150 tracts and with the cooperation of the landowner evaluate them for the implementation of BMP’s.  In 2011 the eighth report will be released showing the overall findings of these inspections.  Hopefully we will continue to see an increase in the implementation rates and see a decrease in the number of deficiencies.

All previous reports can be found on the Texas Forest Service website at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/water.  You can look at each report and see how far we have come over the years in the implementation of BMP’s but also see the areas in which we still need to improve.  If you have any questions about the BMP implementation reports or BMP’s in general please feel free to call me at (903) 297-3910.

BMP Trivia Question

Can you match the definitions with the correct terms?

1. A cross drainage diversion ditch and/or hump in a trail or road for the purpose of diverting surface water runoff into roadside vegetation, duff, ditch or dispersion area to minimize the volume and velocity which can cause soil movement and erosion. ____

2. In forest areas, that portion of precipitation that flows from a drainage area on the land surface or in open channels. ____

3. A drainage depression or ditch built across the top of a slope to divert surface water from that slope. ____

A. Water Body
B. Runoff
C. Waterbar
D. Diversion Ditch
E. Rolling Dip


Click on "comments" below and post your answers.

The Texas Water Source - March 2010

March Issue of the Texas Water Source Now Available

• Why Have a Forest Management Plan?
• Who Can Help With a Plan?
• Agency Spotlight: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• COE’s Institute for Water Resources
• Bacteria Impairments on Big Cypress Creek
• Lake O’ the Pines Contacts

March BMP Q&A

By: Chris Duncan, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:  In last month’s article I was asked if there was any truth to the fact that there are sometimes mandatory BMPs which must be followed.

A:  The short answer to this question is that there are no mandatory BMPs you are required to follow, unless you are operating in jurisdictional wetlands. As mandated by Amendments to the Clean Water Act, forest roads in jurisdictional wetlands including “waters of the United States” must be constructed and maintained in accordance with the following Best Management Practices to retain Section 404 permit exemption status:

1. Permanent roads, temporary access roads, and skid trails in waters of the U.S. should be held to the minimum feasible number, width, and total length consistent with the purpose of specific silvicultural operations and local topographic and climatic conditions.
2. All roads, temporary or permanent, should be located sufficiently far from streams or other water bodies (except portions of such roads that must cross water bodies) to minimize discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S.
3. The road fill should be bridged, culverted or otherwise designed to prevent the restriction of expected flood flows.
4. The fill should be properly stabilized and maintained to prevent erosion during and following construction.
5. Discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. to construct a road fill should be made in a manner that minimizes the encroachment of trucks, tractors, bulldozers, or other heavy equipment within waters of the U.S. (including adjacent wetlands) that lie outside the lateral boundaries of the fill itself.
6. In designing, constructing, and maintaining roads, vegetative disturbance in the waters of the U.S. should be kept to a minimum.
7. The design, construction, and maintenance of the road crossing should not disrupt the migration or other movement of those species of aquatic life inhabiting the water body.
8. Borrow material should be taken from upland sources whenever feasible.
9. The discharge should not take, or jeopardize the continued existence of, a threatened or endangered species as defined under the Endangered Species Act, or adversely modify or destroy the critical habitat of such species.
10. Discharges into breeding and nesting areas for migratory waterfowl, spawning areas, and wetlands should be avoided if practical alternatives exist.
11. The discharge should not be located in the proximity of a public water supply intake.
12. The discharge should not occur in areas of concentrated shellfish population.
13. The discharge should not occur in a component of the National Wild and Scenic River System.
14. The discharge of material should consist of suitable material free from toxic pollutants in toxic amounts.
15. All temporary fills should be removed in their entirety and the area restored to its original elevation.

For more information on mandatory forest road BMPs and other BMPs visit the Texas Forest Service webpage at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/water, contact me at (903) 297-3910.

* This article was published in the March 2010 issue of the Texas Logger

February BMP Q&A

By: Chris Duncan, BMP Forester (Ret.), Texas Forest Service

Q:  Prior to the rains, I had started installing the roads for an operation on a fairly “wet” tract. Now the tract is much too wet or flooded to push roads in.  I would consider this particular tract to be a bottomland hardwood system. I was told by a buddy that there may actually be mandatory BMPs that I need to follow when installing the road system on this tract.  Is this true?

A:  I’m sorry the rains put your operations on hold, but I am glad to hear that you decided to move off the tract when the rains came.  The bluebook defines bottomland systems as: areas which may or may not be jurisdictional wetlands; include a major water course (either a perennial or intermittent stream) and associated floodplains, tributary water courses, sloughs, and ephemeral drains. The predominant timber type is hardwood, but usually includes some pine.  If this sounds like the area you were working in than the short answer is that there are no mandatory BMPs you are required to follow.

The tricky part is determining whether or not the tract you were working on contains jurisdictional wetlands.  The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (Federal Register, 1982) and the Environmental Protection Agency (Federal Register, 1980) jointly define wetlands as:

“Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency or duration sufficient to support and, under normal circumstances, do support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.  Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.”

The three criteria used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in delineating wetlands are:

Buttonbush is an easy-to-recognize bush that grows in water or moist soil

1. hydrophytic vegetation (plants that have the ability to grow, effectively compete, reproduce, and/or persist in anaerobic soil conditions)

2. hydric soils (soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season for anaerobic conditions to develop)

3. wetland hydrology (inundation by water sufficient to support hydrophytic vegetation and develop hydric soils).

All three must be present under normal circumstances for an area to be identified as a jurisdictional wetland.  It can be very difficult to determine when the criteria of jurisdictional wetlands have been met.  If there are any questions about whether a tract contains a jurisdictional wetland, consult a hydrologist or qualified personnel from the local Natural Resource Conservation Service office.  If the tract does contain jurisdictional wetlands, there are 15 federally mandated BMPs which must be followed.

In next month’s article I will go over the 15 mandatory road BMPs.  I encourage you to attend one of our upcoming BMP Forest Roads Logger Training Workshops for more information.

For more information on mandatory forest road BMPs and other BMPs visit the Texas Forest Service webpage at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/water, contact me at (903) 297-3910.

* This article was published in the February 2010 issue of the Texas Logger