The concept to create this report was introduced at the 2006 Lake Tahoe meeting of the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF); it was subsequently adopted into its Western Water Resources Committee work plan. The CWSF is a separate 501(c)3 non-profit and the state component of the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC), representing the 17 western state forestry directors and six territorial forestry agency directors in the Pacific.

Objectives
The objective of this report is to provide an overview of forestry BMP implementation and effectiveness monitoring for states represented by Western Water Resources Committee of the Council of Western State Foresters. Specifically, this paper lists the western states which have active, organized BMP monitoring programs that gather information regarding (1) whether BMPs are being implemented and (2) if BMPs are effectively limiting non-point source pollution from forestry operations. An overview of forestry BMP programs for each state and territory are discussed and a summary of each state’s efforts is then presented in Table 1. Forestry BMP monitoring activities for the southern and northeastern regions of the U.S. are also discussed for comparison points. Broad observations of forestry BMP monitoring efforts are then summarized in the concluding section. This report illustrates the progress that western states have made in ensuring forestry activities are practiced in such a way that they maintain the highest levels of water quality. Every effort was made to gather the most current data; however, more current data for some states could have been created since the last data call used to inform this report.

Background
Since the 1970s, non-regulatory forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the western U.S. have provided guidance as minimum water quality protection standards for forestry operations. In 1987, Congress amended the Clean Water Act and added Section 319 to address non-point sources of pollution. Section 319 directed all States to develop non-point source pollution plans to address pollution of this nature; however, silvicultural activities were exempt from needing BMP permits for usage and reporting. This directive led western states to develop forestry BMP programs administered within the respective regulatory and non-regulatory frameworks of each state (see Table 1). Additionally, this directive allowed western states to develop their own unique forestry BMP programs. Most western states have initiated forestry BMP implementation and effectiveness monitoring efforts, while a few have not (see Table 1).

Please open the PDF below to read the complete text

Forestry Best Management Practices for Western States