|
Fiscal Year 2010-2011
Fiscal Year 2010-2011 started off
with Alabama hosting the annual
meeting of the Southern Group of
State Foresters’ Water Resources
Committee in Auburn, the last week
in October 2010. The meeting was
well attended by representatives
from 11 of the 13 southern states
and representatives from the
Southern Group of State Foresters,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Auburn University, and the Alabama
Farmers Federation.
This year some changes/modifications
to the BMP program were implemented.
These changes were a result of the
program review that took place in
August of 2010. The Water Resources
Review Team made some suggested
changes that would improve Alabama’s
program. The changes are as follows:
Program Focus: Changed from an
annual implementation survey to an
every third year implementation
survey. The two years in between
will facilitate an increase in BMP
program presence by using those
years to complete courtesy checks on
active logging jobs. This will
strengthen the education and
prevention components of the
program.
Education and Training: BMP
Coordinator taught the BMP portion
in the initial training sessions for
the Professional Logging Manager
(PLM) training as recommended by the
review team.
Institutional Arrangements: A
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the U. S. Army Corps of
Engineers is in the process of being
signed.
Funding: AFC may lose 319 Base
Funding next year - $65,000.
Accomplishments:
245 courtesy inspections completed
229 different landowners on 24,080
acres
53 other inspections completed
74 AFC internal fire lane audits
completed
31 BMP programs presented reaching
1,777 loggers, landowners, students,
foresters, and other professionals
Thirty-two water quality complaints
related to silviculture were
investigated by AFC personnel with
16 of those being valid resulting in
more action while 16 were not valid
resulting in any further action not
being needed.
NOTE: Complaints in total as well as
valid complaints for 2011 were 50%
less (32 vs. 62) than in 2010. This
may be attributed to the increase of
inspections on active sites or
strictly weather, maybe both.
BMP Coordinator continues to work
and communicate with the following
Committees:
Tree Farm Committee
Logger’s Education Committee
State Implementation Committee – SFI
Clean Water Partnership – Basin
Groups
Regulatory Agencies that we deal
with on a consistent basis:
U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers
Alabama Department of Environmental
Management
Environmental Protection Agency
Fiscal Year 2009-2010
Fiscal Year 2009-2010 set another
benchmark by the Alabama Forestry
Commission with the Best Management
Practices for Forestry Program. The
Southern Group of State Foresters
(SGSF) Water Resources Committee
conducted a Program and Technical
Assistance Review during August
2010. This review noted no
deficiencies and stated the program
had made vast improvement since the
2006 review. The Alabama Forestry
Commission is now considered to
fully adhere to the SGSF framework
for the first time in the program’s
existence.
Other accomplishments
include:
-
Published a white paper on
“Woody Biomass 101 for Alabama
Forest Owners”
-
A “Selling Your Timber” campaign
was developed that stresses the
use of BMPs. (Additional
information under the “Outreach
and Education” section)
-
Another round of BMP
implementation inspections was
completed that included 245
closed out tracts. Percent of
implementation of BMPs for
forestry was evaluated for the
following categories listed in
the table below.
|
Category |
Year |
Implementation |
# of Sites |
|
Harvesting |
09 |
96% |
246 |
| |
10 |
98% |
245 |
|
Mechanical Site Prep |
09 |
98% |
70 |
| |
10 |
98% |
50 |
|
Forest Roads |
09 |
93% |
243 |
| |
10 |
93% |
243 |
|
Stream Crossing |
09 |
96% |
125 |
| |
10 |
96% |
94 |
|
Streamside Management Zones
|
09 |
92% |
202 |
| |
10 |
97% |
207 |
|
Firebreaks |
09 |
90% |
84 |
| |
10 |
97% |
70 |
|
Chemical Application |
09 |
100% |
120 |
| |
10 |
98% |
108 |
|
Overall Implementation |
09 |
97% |
246 |
| |
10 |
97% |
245 |
Alabama’s numbers still beat the
southeast regional percent of
implementation by at least 10
percent for each category. However,
these inspections showed five tracts
to have a significant risk to water
quality as compared to only two
tracts last year. These inspections
covered 187 different landowners
representing 24,474 acres of
timberland.
The AFC worked with Auburn
University and the Alabama Forestry
Association to try to pinpoint what
areas need more attention during
logger education.
Twenty-eight programs were presented
that targeted private landowners,
loggers, contractors, foresters, and
students. Over 1,984 contacts were
made.
There were 61 water quality
complaints addressed by AFC staff.
Fifty-eight of those have been
resolved at the AFC level; the other
three are still being investigated.
Of the 61 complaints, 29 have been
determined to be “not valid” as a
silvicultural complaint and 32 have
been classified as “valid”
silvicultural complaints.
Seventy-two additional inspections
were made statewide on active
logging operations to promote BMPs
and our educational effort.
Seventy-three internal audits were
made on AFC installed firelanes as
well.
Federal and State agencies as well
as partnering non-government
organizations (NGOs) have been very
helpful in establishing and/or
re-establishing good working
relationships that have continued to
move this program forward.
Successful 319 funding has bolstered
the program funding and has also
helped sustain the level of activity
in this program.
Fiscal Year 2008-2009
This is the first
year the Alabama Forestry Commission
(AFC) collected Best Management
Practices (BMP) implementation data
based on the protocol set forth by
the Water Resources Committee of the
Southern Group of State Foresters.
This data will aid in the
educational efforts of the AFC and
Forest Industry when dealing with
silvicultural practices that may
affect water quality in the waters
of the state. Traditional
silvicultural practices include
logging, road building and
maintenance, reforestation, site
preparation, prescribed burning,
herbicide application,
fertilization, and any other
silvicultural activity. The Alabama
Forestry Commission, through a
Memorandum of Understanding with the
Alabama Department of Environmental
Management, monitors implementation
of BMPs for forestry on an annual
basis. This year a total of 246
sites were randomly selected for the
survey. The sites were located on
188 different landowners and
represented some type of harvest on
26,550 acres. Each site was visited
on the ground and implementation was
evaluated for the following
parameters: timber harvesting
techniques, site preparation, forest
roads, stream crossings, streamside
management zones, firebreak
stabilization, forest chemical
application, and overall
implementation of BMPs on the tract.
If we found that a needed BMP
practice was not implemented or
implemented improperly then the
significant risk to water quality
was evaluated.
Significant risk to
water quality from failure to
implement a BMP was found on three
tracts that were evaluated. Two more
tracts showing significant risk to
water quality were discovered
through inspections for technical
assistance for federal or state
cost-share practices. Educational
activities corrected the problems.
|
Parameters |
Number of
Sites |
Alabama 2009
% Implementation |
13 Southern
States
1997 - 2007
% Implementation |
|
Harvesting |
246 |
243 |
89
|
|
Site Prep |
70
|
98 |
90 |
|
Forest Roads |
243 |
93
|
86 |
|
Stream Crossings
|
125 |
96 |
85 |
|
Streamside Mgt Zones |
202 |
92 |
88 |
|
Firebreaks |
84 |
90 |
73 |
|
Chemical Application |
120 |
100 |
97 |
|
Overall |
246 |
97% |
87% |
The rate of
implementation for each category of
practice helps show where and what
kind of education is needed as well
as which audience needs addressing
whether it be the general public,
private landowners, or forest
industry. This year alone 30
training and/or public presentations
were made that dealt with BMP
education.
7 presentations
for 200 private landowner
contacts
2 presentations for 55 high
school or college students
8 presentations for 234 AFC
associates
6 presentations for 163 state or
local government officials
7 presentations for 357 forest
industry contacts
All of these
presentations were accredited for
Continuing Education and/or
Professional Logging Manager points
for attendees. There were 72
invitation and/or courtesy checks
made on active logging sites
representing another 6,731 acres
where PLM credit was awarded.
Internal AFC audits
were performed on 68 sites across
the state representing another 9,655
acres where some type of
silvicultural activity took place
and work, mainly fire lanes, was
accomplished by AFC crews.
Jim Jeter, Alabama’s
BMP Coordinator represented the AFC
by participating on two
subcommittees of the Southern Group
of State Forester’s Water Resources
Committee which published
information for Bottomland Hardwood
Management (Silvicultural
Operations) and Woody Biomass
Guidelines. He is active with the
State Implementation Committee of
the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI) and all 10 Clean Water
Partnerships in Alabama.
The AFC successfully
completed the first year of the 319
grant with the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management and is half
way through the second year. Two
Coastal Alabama Forestry Preharvest
Planning Workshops were held to
educate loggers, landowners and
natural resource professionals on
the benefits of Preharvest Planning
in Alabama’s Coastal Counties.
Thirty-two (32)
Alabama companies are currently SFI
members with the numbers growing
every day. BMP implementation data
continues to be in high demand for
this program and is an integral part
of SFI audits by third parties.
Complaint Resolution
through Education involved 45
complaints, statewide, 40 of which
have been resolved at the AFC level.
23 Invalid
complaints/not a forestry issue
22 Valid complaints
40 Complaints resolved at AFC
level
8 Complaints sent to ADEM for
further action
5 Complaints still being
resolved
|
|
|
Fiscal Year 2007-2008 |
|
The
Alabama Forestry Commission is proud
to be partnered with the Alabama
Clean Water Partnerships, a group
that represents the ten major river
basins in Alabama. The AFC provides
a technical forester to each basin
represented. It is vital that we
protect these waters in every way
possible. Alabama landowners have
completed some type of harvest on an
average of 812,000 acres per year
for years the 2001 to 2007. It is
imperative that silviculture is not
a significant risk to water quality
during these operations. |
Fiscal Year 2007-2008
The AFC completed 300
random ground inspections on 92
harvested sites
and 208 active sites, representing
31,051 acres. Overall implementation
rate for the 92 completed tracts was
96%, representing 6,903 acres.
|
Past research has proven
that if forestry practices are conducted
while following Alabama’s Best Management
Practices (BMPs) for Forestry (EPA approved
guidelines), water quality is protected. The
Alabama Forestry Commission’s role is to
ensure that Alabama’s BMPs are followed when
implementing forestry practices. This is
done by randomly monitoring forestry
practices for BMP compliance and
investigating BMP complaints received from
concerned citizens.
The AFC also provides
education and training to landowners and
loggers (pre-harvest consultation), and
serves as technical advisors on clean
watershed partnership committees.
The Commission is striving
to improve the BMP program by meeting the
framework set forth by the Water Resources
Committee of the Southern Group of State
Foresters (SGSF). This will allow Alabama to
have a measure of its program effectiveness
along with the other 12 southeastern states.
Education is achieved by AFC
associates talking to landowner and forest
industry groups. This year over 300
individuals received BMP training at nine
different programs around the state.
Internal training consisted
of 66 AFC employees learning how to better
serve the BMP needs of the state. Commission
personnel also participated in the
Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s
Environmental, Logger Education, Landowner
Education, and Inconsistent Practices
committees to encourage the proper
implementation and maintenance of BMPs.
This year the AFC has
responded to 46 complaints statewide. Of
those complaints, 18 were invalid, 9 did not
result from silviculture and have been sent
back to ADEM, 36 were resolved at the AFC
level through education, and 1 is still in
the process of being resolved.
The sites were then examined on the
following categories:
- Streamside Management Zones
adequate
- Stream Crossings adequate
- Forest Roads adequate
- Timber Harvesting adequate
- Reforestation/Stand Management
adequate
- Forested Wetland Management adequate
- BMP adequately implemented during
overall operation(s)
Upon the recognition of a problem in any
of these categories, the site was deemed out
of compliance and further action was taken
to achieve compliance.
Alabama's Best
Management Practices for Forestry
The BMP
Program | BMP Publication
(online)
(PDF)
|
BMP Random Monitoring Report (pdf
version)|
Additional Information:
http://www.adem.alabama.gov/
http://www.epa.gov/
http://www.aces.edu/waterquality/