A REGIONAL PROTOCOL FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FORESTRY BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AT CONTROLLING EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION

Abstract: Forestry operations do not have permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act because there is a ccsilvicultural exemption " given in that law, as long as best management practices (BMPs) are used to help control non-point source pollution. However, states' monitoring of BMP effectiveness often has been sporadic and anecdotal, and the procedures used have varied widely. Consequently, there are inconsistencies in the rigor used to evaluate BMP effectiveness, and thus, the objectiveness and accuracy of those evaluations. As a result of litigation questioning the "silvicultural exemption", the US Environmental Protection Agency has expressed interest in improving the monitoring of BMP effectiveness. Since 1990, several approaches for developing consistent BMP evaluations and reporting methodologies have had varying degrees of success, utility, and acceptance. Traditionally, monitoring has focused on individual BMP practices in terms of their prescriptive guidelines, which vary by state. But this approach has created an impediment both for developing a consistent methodology and for focusing on whether BMPs are actually effective at controlling erosion and sedimentation. To improve consistency and provide a more universal method of BMP monitoring while maintaining state control of BMPs, a protocol was developed that is based on the underlyin