Session 9 – Protecting Waters in Forest Operations

* Presenters are indicated in bold type.
* The Society of American Foresters has approved 1.5 Category 1 CFE credits for this session.

Afternoon Session – York Room (2nd floor)

Chair: Anil Kizhakkepurakkal, School of Forest Resources, UMaine

One of the major impacts from any forest operation is related with sedimentation to water bodies. Even though this risk of sedimentation is comparatively less than other land uses, forest operations can have detrimental effects if not properly executed. Over the years, loggers and foresters have adopted several strategies (also known as Best Management Practices) to minimize these impact during the operations. This session will focus on various aspects of forest operations related to water bodies including, training programs, stream protection in Maine, and legal aspects.

1:30PM – 1:55PM

Maine’s Timber Harvesting Rules

Terri Coolong
Maine Forest Service, Old Town, ME

Harvesting operations in Maine’s forests have a relatively low impact on nonpoint source pollution, but rules, regulations, and programs are in place to limit or prevent those impacts.  These include the Forest Practices Act; Statewide Standards for Timber Harvesting and Related Activities in Shoreland Areas; the Natural Resources Protection Act; and Best Management Practices for Forestry.  The Maine Forest Service administers and enforces state rules governing timber harvesting and related activities in shoreland areas across the state (with limited exceptions).  Prevention of violations through education, outreach and interventions are at the core of MFS philosophy.

2:00PM – 2:25PM

Maine’s Progress in Logger Training and BMP Administration

Pat Sirois¹, Tom Gilbert²
1 Maine Forest Products Council, Augusta, ME
2 Maine Forest Service, Augusta, ME

Maine has generally more subdued terrain eastern areas along the Appalachians or much of the West, but its streams are highly sensitive. Even on moderate slopes, forest soils are shallow, poorly drained, and prone to erosion.  Precipitation is year-round, and the incidence of severe storms has been increasing. The challenges for managing roads and logging jobs with increasingly heavy equipment are obvious. Maine’s earliest work on BMPs dates to the late 70’s, when its BMP field brochures were even translated into French. Patient work at a number of levels, including the creation of an annual statewide BMP monitoring program, brought steady increases in use of BMPs and improvements in water quality. Widespread adoption of FSC and SFI, and ISO certification, and sustained logger training programs also helped institutionalize improved BMP effectiveness. These speakers will outline BMP monitoring in Maine, principal lessons learned and issues being faced.

2:30PM – 3:00PM

Break

3:00PM – 3:25PM

An Economic Approach to Estimating the Effectiveness of Forestry BMPs

Ariel Listo (student)¹, Adam Daigneault², Lloyd Irland³
1 UMaine School of Economics, UMaine, Orono, ME
2 UMaine School of Forest Resources, UMaine, Orono, ME
3 The Irland Group

* Please contact Adam Daigneault with questions about the presentation.

Maine has 17.6 million acres of forest land, more than 100,000 forest owners, and 32,000 miles of permanent & perennial streams. While current forest operations have relatively low environmental impacts compared to many other land uses, it is still a contributor of nonpoint source pollution in the heavily forested state, and thus forestry BMPs have been promoted since at least the 1970s to help protect water quality and habitat integrity. Recent research indicates that properly implementing BMPs can reduce nutrients and sediment from forestland by 70% or more effective compared to ‘conventional’ harvest practices, yet they are often perceived to be costly and thus can be challenging to promote with the current quasi-voluntary policy structure. This paper provides a review of the current literature on the on the economic cost and effectiveness of implementing a wide-range of forestry BMPs, the range of policy approaches used to incentivize BMP uptake, and challenges associated with promoting and implementing practices even if they are proven to be cost-effective.  We provide detailed examples on the economic benefits and costs of the most promoted practices in Maine, as well as highlight some of the key constraints and challenges for landowners. Finally, we conclude with possible policy options to enhance the uptake and proper implementation of forestry BMPs in Maine and the US.

3:30PM – 3:55PM

Stream Smart Crossings on Maine’s Forest Lands

Sarah Haggerty
Maine Audubon, Falmouth, ME

Maine’s interior is laced with thousands of miles of logging roads, which are vital to providing access to working forests across the state. Many of these roads cross rivers and streams that provide habitat to Maine’s native fish and other aquatic species. If road/stream crossings are improperly sized, constructed, or maintained, these crossings can become barriers to fish and other species that need to move up and down the stream. Stream Smart crossings allow for the natural movements of fish and wildlife as well as normal stream processes, and they can also reduce the risk of flooding, washouts, and sediment running into the stream. In this presentation, we will provide the basic rules for creating a Stream Smart crossing, show “before” and “after” views of upgraded crossings, and share information on some technical and financial assistance that may be available to help landowners improve aquatic species passage on timberlands in Maine.