Forestry BMPs

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Forestry BMPs

• OUR GOAL
• To Protect Our Waters and Site Productivity
  Through the Proper Use and Application of Best
  Management Practices. (BMPs)

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What are BMPs?
BMPs are techniques to conserve and protect our
waters from being polluted by surface water
runoff as well as protect site productivity.
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Most of the BMPs shown in this presentation are
taken from this manual. Copies are available
online at http//www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153
-30301_31154_31261---,00.html
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Specify silvicultural techniques and logging
equipment in Operations Inventory and timber
sale contract specifications that are appropriate
to slope, erosion hazard or soil stability and
that minimize soil disturbance.
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Proper Road Planning

• Minimize the number and length of roads and skid
  trails
• Minimize or eliminate constructing new stream
  crossings
• Minimize site impacts

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Planning

• Identification of soil types and their
  limitations
• Identification of slopes gt 10
• Flag and buffer wetlands and riparian management
  zones
• Harvest in appropriate season

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Buffer Strips/Riparian Management Zones
Buffer Strips, also known as Riparian Management
Zones, are areas along permanent and
intermittent streams and other open water bodies
that function in the following ways to protect
water quality
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Buffer Strips/RMZs

• Trapping sediment, nutrients and chemicals
• Shading of Streams

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Buffer Strips/RMZs

• Source of large woody debris and organic matter
  for maintaining quality aquatic habitat

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Timber Harvesting can be conducted in the Buffer
Strip/RMZ but activities must be carefully
carried out to insure the Buffer Strip/RMZ can
always protect the integrity of the stream or
other water body
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Specifications which maintain the water quality
function

• 100 Feet from top of bank with width increasing
  as slope increases
• Slope () Width (feet)
• 0-10 100
• 10-20 115
• 20-30 135
• 30-40 155
• 40-50 175
• gt50 No activity

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Water Quality Function, cont.

• Sufficient trees left to provide shade and large
  woody debris

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Water Quality Function, cont.

• Less than 10 of soil exposed within zone
• No haul roads, landings or equipment
  storage/maintenance sites within the zone

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Additional Buffer Strip Specs

• No wheeled equipment use when soils are saturated
  to avoid soil compaction
• Where significant soil disturbance occurs,
  stabilize immediately

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• Where hauls roads and primary skid trails do
  occur, use drainage devices outside of the RMZ.
• On steep slopes and unstable soils, keep wheeled
  or tracked equipment out
• Do not move slash into the RMZ

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Appropriate Equipment
This harvester is an example of the type of
logging equipment that is buffer friendly,
allowing removal of timber while not disturbing
the soil within the buffer strip
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Forest Roads
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Forest Roads
Nationwide, EPA estimates that over 90 of the
sediment entering forested streams comes from
forest roads Good planning, design,
construction and maintenance of forest roads
will significantly reduce the amount of sediment
entering a stream.
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Forest Roads
Goal Reduce the volume and velocity of water and
sediment occurring on roads during and after a
rain event by providing for proper drainage of
water runoff
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Forest Roads
KEY POINTS TO INCLUDE IN DESIGN, LAYOUT OF FOREST
ROADS

• Use existing roads whenever possible provided
  they are properly designed

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Forest Roads

• Roads follow contour with grades between 2 -10
  percent

• Grades gt10 are less than 300' in length.

• Roads having unstable soils have grade lt 8.
  Grades up to 12 lt 150'.

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Forest Roads

• Roads crowned for proper drainage, where
  slope is less than 2

• Roads outsloped where gradient permits (2-10
  grade) Where insloped, adequate cross drainage
  provided

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Forest Roads
This figure illustrates that the choice of
cross-section for a road or section of a road
depends on the drainage needs, soil stability,
slope and expected traffic volume
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Forest Roads
Diversion ditches, broad base dips or culverts
used at appropriate intervals Roads/trails
should avoid gullies, seeps, springs, wetlands
and poor drainage areas.
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Diversion Ditches
Install diversion ditches to drain water into a
vegetated area Be sure to drain water before
reaching the buffer strip
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Cross Drainage Culverts
Cross drainage culverts properly installed and
free of debris
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Forest Roads
No hauling of timber during spring breakup, the
time when forest roads are saturated with water
and prone to rutting
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Road Closure
Closing Roads after their use is part of a good
strategy to prevent erosion Use Road signs,
gates or other obstructions, such as stumps, to
keep motorized traffic off!
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Water Bars and Closure of Roads

• Construct Water Bars on closed roads. Seed
  and mulch where road slope is greater than 4.

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Spacing for Water Bars
As shown in this table, spacing for water bars
depends on road grade
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Seeding Mixtures and Rates for Restoration of
Closed Roads, Landings and Skid Trails
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BROAD BASED DIPS
A broad based dip provides cross drainage on haul
roads. It can be used on roads having a gradient
of 12 or less and is a substitute for cross
drainage pipe culverts
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Spacing for Broad-Based Dips
As shown in this table, spacing ranges from 300
feet to 100 feet depending on road grade of the
haul road
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Landings
Locate away from streams and lakes. Locate on
well-drained soils and a site where slopes allow
water to drain off landing site
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Landings
Seed and mulch the landing area to prevent
erosion, as well as providing wildlife habitat
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Skid Trails

• Use waters bars at prescribed intervals
• When climbing steep slopes skidder operator
  should break grade by skidding in a zigzag
  pattern to avoid making gullies

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Water Bar Spacing for Skid Trails
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Skid Trails
Ensure that during logging operations skidder
operators avoid skidding through gullies, and
seeps and other wet areas, such as vernal ponds
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Stream Crossings
The quality of stream crossing design and
construction determines how stream friendly a
crossing is
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Stream Crossings
All newly built or renovated stream crossings
require a permit issued by the Land and Water
Management Division, MDEQ
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Stream Crossings
Best method Cross a stream using a portable
bridge creates least disturbance to the stream.
Examples railroad flatcar, wooden bridge,
portable folding metal bridge.
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Stream Crossings
Here is an example of a portable folding metal
bridge
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Stream Crossings
A portable wooden bridge..
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Stream Crossings
CULVERT INSTALLATION
This is the most common type of stream crossing
used in forestry it also has the most potential
to damage a stream as well
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Stream Crossings
In addition to meeting all MDEQ permit
requirements, the following BMPs are associated
with the proper installation of culverts for
crossing forested streams..
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Stream Crossings
Use the Hasty Method or other DEQ approved method
used to determine culvert size
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Stream Crossings
This table shows the relationship between the
square footage calculated by the Hasty Method and
the diameter of the culvert
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Stream Crossings

• Pipe extends at least 2' beyond side slope of
  road
• The diameter of the culvert should be 18" minimum
  or appropriate for calculated end area

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Stream Crossings
The alignment of the culvert pipe should match
the slope of and alignment of stream
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Stream Crossings
Fill over culvert gt 12" or gt than 1/2 diameter
of culvert (for culverts gt24" diameter)
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Use of Rock rip-rap over geotextile at inlet and
outlet of culvert
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Stream Crossings
Base and sidewall fill properly compacted to
prevent water from seeping around and under
culvert
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Stream Crossings
Road grade should be decreased before reaching 50
feet of stream bank. The point of crossing should
be higher than the approaches.
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Stream Crossings
Final design will be determined by DEQ permitting
staff and all rules and regulations pertaining to
Part 31 Water Resources Protection and Part 301
Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection Act of
1994.
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Other Areas of Concern

• FUELING AND MAINTENANCE
• Must occur outside of the riparian area

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Rutting

• Rutting occurs when soil strength is not
  sufficient to support the applied load from
  vehicle traffic

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Rutting Affects

• Aesthetics
• Biology
• Hydrology
• Site productivity

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Rutting Uplands Compared to Wetlands

• Uplands
• Compaction and rutting
• Opportunities to restrict impacts to site
  infrastructure
• Options to mitigate rutting impacts (e.g.,
  ripping, grading)

• Wetlands
• Compression (shallow and deep organics) and
  rutting
• Prevention is the key
• Few options for mitigation

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What is "Excessive" Rutting?
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Excessive Rutting

• Commonly prohibited in contracts
• Often prohibited in guidelines
• Rarely defined
• Two components
• Depth of impact
• Spatial extent of impact

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Minnesota Rutting Recommendations
Wetland Roads Rutting gt 6 deep should not
exceed contiguous distances of 300 in length or
50 of the width of the wetland in the vicinity
of the rutting, whichever is less
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Minnesota Rutting Recommendations
Skid Trails Upland Rutting gt 6 deep should
not exceed 10 of all skid trails and rutting
should not exceed 25 of any 100
section. Wetland Rutting gt 6 should not exceed
contiguous distances of 300 or lt50 of the width
of the wetland in the vicinity of rutting,
whichever is less.
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Forestry BMPs

• OUR GOAL
• To Protect Our Waters and Site Productivity
  Through the
• Proper Use and Application of
  Best Management Practices