FOR-70
All those involved in timber harvesting operations, including landowners and loggers, are responsible for water quality protection. One of the most effective methods of providing this protection is to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) specifically designed for timber harvesting operations. BMPs are guidelines and techniques that, when used properly, can eliminate or help reduce water pollution. Specifically, timber harvesting BMPs are designed to reduce “nonpoint source pollutants.” Timber harvesting operations can generate nonpoint source pollutants, such as muddy runoff, tree tops and debris left in streams, excessive sunlight, and vehicle fluids. Each of these can noticeably degrade water quality and affect animals and plants that live in the water.
One of the first steps in protecting water quality during a timber harvesting operation is to select the correct BMPs for that specific operation. The selection of BMPs is based on the design of the timber harvesting operation, topography, and the type of water or drainage features present. Both loggers and landowners need to know how to determine which BMPs should be used. Most landowners in Kentucky who are conducting a timber harvesting operation on their property are required by law to have a written Agriculture Water Quality Plan. This plan indicates which silvicultural BMPs are to be used in timber harvesting operations on their properties. Silviculture means growing forest trees and, in this instance, includes timber harvesting operations. While landowners have the legal obligation of maintaining a written plan specifying which BMPs are to be used, loggers are responsible for implementing the BMPs. In some instances, loggers may also need to assist landowners with writing the plans. This training manual will help loggers become familiar with “writing” Kentucky Agricultural Water Quality Plans and provide an opportunity to become familiar with the BMPs commonly used in timber harvesting operations in Kentucky. These timber harvesting BMPs are contained in the technical manual FOR-67, Kentucky Forest Practices for Water Quality Management (1997). This manual is the reference document for silviculture BMPs contained in the State Agriculture Water Quality Plan and serves as the reference document for all field guides for forestry and timber harvesting BMPs in Kentucky. See Appendix A for a general description of the BMPs.
No one is exempt from protecting the waters of the commonwealth. However, not all landowners are required to have a plan. You can use the following questions to determine if a landowner is required to have an Agricultural Water Quality Plan. It is important to remember that the term silviculture, used a number of times in agriculture water quality information, includes timber harvesting operations.
This manual contains four Timber Harvesting Exercises, one for each region of the state. Each of these exercises includes:
As part of any timber harvesting and/or silvicultural operation, will you or the logger need to construct, use, and/or maintain roads, skid trails, and/or log landings on your property?
Yes
No
If yes: BMPs No. 1 and No. 5
Does the area where the silvicultural operation is to occur contain perennial or intermittent streams, or other bodies of water?
(Helpful Hint: Perennial streams flow all year round. Intermittent streams flow only during the wet portions of the year and directly after rainfall in dry summer months.)
Yes
No
If yes: BMPs No. 3 and No. 5
Does the boundary or tract where the silvicultural operation is to occur contain sinkholes?
Yes
No
If yes: BMPs No. 4 and No. 5
In conjunction with your silvicultural operation, are there disturbed or otherwise bare areas (including roads, trails, and landings) that need to be revegetated to prevent and/or control soil erosion?
(Helpful Hint: Generally, the only time a road, trail, or landing would not need revegetating is when it is covered with gravel or otherwise armored.)
Yes
No
If yes: BMP No. 2
Will you conduct any silvicultural activities in areas classified as wetlands by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?
(Helpful Hint: Although it is sometimes difficult for an untrained individual to determine if an area is a wetland, it would be wise to consider as a wetland any area having soils that are wet throughout most of the year, until officially told otherwise. Check with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, County Cooperative Extension Agent, or the Kentucky Division of Forestry for help in determining a wetland area.)
Yes
No
If yes: BMP No. 10
Will you, an operator, or a vendor working for you engage in site preparation activities prior to, or as part of, reforestation practices on your property?
(Helpful Hint: Site preparation activities are forestry practices used to help establish the next crop of trees. Although loggers are concerned with future tree growth, these practices are not normally a part of timber harvesting operations and, this question is normally answered “no.”)
Yes
No
If yes: BMPs No. 6 and No. 9
Will you, an operator, or a vendor working for you be applying pesticides, including herbicides or fertilizers, in connection with your silvicultural activities?
(Helpful Hint: Normally, timber harvesting operations do not use pesticides. However, fertilizers might be used to help ensure successful revegetation of roads, trails, or landings. If this is the case, use only BMP No. 7, which is the fertilizer BMP. BMP No. 8 is for pesticide use.)
Yes
No
If yes: BMPs No. 7 and No. 8
Do you allow livestock to have access to your forested areas or to forested areas in streamside corridors or around lakes or ponds?
Yes
No
If “yes,” refer to the appropriate BMP in the “Livestock Section” of the Agriculture Water Quality Authority Producer Workbook.
Will low water stream crossings be constructed, or will gravel or logjams be removed from a stream?
If “yes,” refer to the “Streams and Other Waters Section” of the Agriculture Water Quality Authority Producer Workbook (Appendix C).
A timber harvesting operation is being planned along an intermittent stream in Perry County. A dozer will be used to open two primary skid trails, and wheeled skidders will be used to move logs from the stump to the landing. Several ephemeral channels will have to be crossed. However, there is no sign of sinkholes or wetlands. The land along the intermittent stream has a 35 percent slope. The property has two access points, one next to a state highway where the intermittent stream has to be crossed, and a second on the ridge where a surface mine road is open and leads to the property.
The landowner would like to ensure that the landing and primary skid trails are well covered with a temporary cover species and a permanent grass and legume mix. You have agreed that you will do everything you can to get the grass growing well, including mulching with straw and fertilizing. The harvesting operation will be completed outside the recommended seeding dates. The majority of the skid trails are relatively steep (greater than 10 percent slope) and will receive full sunlight after the harvest. Answer the Silviculture BMP Questions on page 3 and fill in the table below.
What revegetation Tables and Mixes from BMP No. 2 would you use for each of the following disturbed ground areas? Specify which permanent seeding tables should be used and which seeding mixes are recommended primarily for ease of establishment and erosion management.
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A timber harvesting operation is being planned along the Barren River in Warren County, near Bowling Green. It is a large perennial, warm water aquatic habitat. The land along the river is a flat, well-drained floodplain extending 300 feet back from the river bank. Sinkholes are present in the timber boundary. Only one primary skid trail will be used for wheeled skidders, and it has a slope of less than 10 percent. The majority of the wheeled skidding will be done with secondary skid trails. The cut will be heavy, and the primary skid trail will get direct sunlight. However, there will be no cutting along the haul road leading to the harvest boundary, and the road will remain in the shade. The haul road has an average grade of 5 percent and can get muddy. It enters directly onto a paved state highway. Answer the Silviculture BMP Questions on page 3 and fill in the table below.
What revegetation Tables and Mixes from BMP No. 2 would you use for each of the following disturbed ground areas? Specify which permanent seed tables should be used and which seeding mixes would be best for ease of establishment and erosion management.
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Extra Questions:
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A timber harvesting operation is being planned for a boundary adjacent to the Ohio River in Henderson County. The tract is relatively flat, and approximately 35 acres of this boundary contains soils that are wet most of the year. A warm water perennial stream flows through the area of wet soils as it meanders to the Ohio River. The rest of the boundary has soils that are dry throughout the summer and fall. A natural levee is located on the bank of the Ohio River. The property is close to a pulp and paper facility, and both pulp and sawtimber sized trees will be harvested. The skid trails will be in full sunlight after the harvest. Answer the Silviculture BMP Questions on page 3 and fill in the table below.
What revegetation Tables and Mixes from BMP No. 2 would you use for each of the following disturbed ground areas? Specify which permanent seeding tables should be used and which seeding mixes would be best for ease of establishment and erosion management.
In the area with the wet soils:
Extra Questions:
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A timber harvesting operation is being planned for a 17-acre farm woodlot. A wheeled skidder will be used during the selective harvest planned for the property. The majority of the skidding will be done along two old woods roads with a maximum grade of 5 percent. The woodlot, which is being grazed, is on a hillside with a 15 percent slope. At the bottom of the hill is the Licking River, which has just come through the dam of Cave Run Lake. The water is cool and can hold trout. The timber boundary has two access points. At the top of the hill is a pasture with a farm road leading to tobacco and feed barns next to a county road. This farm road runs through an ephemeral channel that drains a 4-acre area and contains running water only after a rainfall. A second old woods road runs next to the river. Either road could carry skidders or log trucks; however, the owner is concerned about the use of the pasture as a haul road. Answer the Silviculture BMP Questions on page 3 and fill in the table below.
Extra Question:
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The Silvicultural Best Management Practices found in the Kentucky Forest Practice Guidelines for Water Quality Management were developed to guide silvicultural and timber harvesting operations in a manner that protects water quality. However, implementation of the Guidelines will also help maintain soil productivity and ecological components of riparian habitats. Each BMP section contains specific practice recommendations, as well as information on the regulatory requirements that might be mandated during the operation and the minimum requirements of the Kentucky Agricultural Statewide Water Quality Plan. The following is a brief description of each Silvicultural Best Management Practice.
General recommendations for the placement, grade, drainage, maintenance, and retirement of access roads, skid trails, and landings as part of silvicultural and timber harvesting operations are given. These recommendations were devised to minimize soil erosion and to protect nearby bodies of water from sediments. Specific information on placement relative to bodies of water and sinkholes is presented in BMPs No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Details of the revegetation component of retirement are presented in BMP No. 2.
This BMP contains species and species mix recommendations for various soil and site conditions for the revegetation of sediment-producing, erodible, or severely eroded areas, such as access roads, skid trails, and landings. These areas have the potential to produce sediment in runoff, which can affect downstream areas. Recommended seeding dates, seeding rates, cultural practices, and general fertilizer and mulching rates are also provided. These guidelines normally apply to roads, trails, and landings. Disturbed areas resulting from site preparation activities, such as shearing, raking, chopping, and prescribed burning, will be allowed to revegetate naturally or be converted directly to a forest crop. Revegetation of these areas, based on this BMP, is often not appropriate or consistent with state-of-the-art silviculture. Guidelines for site preparation, prescribed burning, and tree planting are provided in other BMPs.
Streamside Management Zones (SMZs) are areas adjacent to intermittent and perennial streams and other waters where only limited disturbance is desirable. To help minimize or eliminate sediment delivery to bodies of water, this BMP specifies the minimum distance, based on slope percent and water body type, between roads, trails, and landings and bodies of water. This BMP also provides information on the width of residual trees that should be maintained near bodies of water and the percentage of trees that can be removed within these zones during timber harvesting operations. These latter specifications are used to maintain natural stream temperature in perennial streams through shading, to maintain the integrity of the stream bank, and to reduce the amount of sediment entering the water by minimizing soil disturbance and filtering overland flow. As a general rule these guidelines do not apply to watercourses that flow only in direct response to precipitation (ephemeral channels). BMP No. 5, “Logging Debris,” also contains information concerning streams and ephemeral channels.
The purpose of this BMP is to minimize the flow of nonpoint source pollutants into sinkholes. For purposes of this BMP, sinkholes include depressional areas with or without swallets, sinking streams, caves, karst windows, and pits or vertical shafts. Silvicultural pollutants can cause degradation to groundwater, underground drainage systems, and downstream surface waters into which the underground streams flow. Sinkholes containing open swallets are of particular concern. This BMP specifies the distance between sediment-generating structures, such as roads, skid trails, and landings, and the bottom or open swallet of a sinkhole. Information concerning felled tree density and other logging debris is also given.
Logging debris consists of the noncommercial portions of trees and brush, including tops and cutoffs, or other logging operation waste products, that can clog or in some other way degrade water courses and water quality. This BMP specifies removal of debris, fill, and trash from intermittent and perennial streams and provides information for operations around ephemeral channels. It also provides guidance for equipment concerning fluid leakage.
This BMP provides recommendations for the proper planting of tree seedling stock with mechanical tree planters in order to minimize potential degradation of water quality resulting from planting slits.
This BMP concerns minimizing water quality degradation while artificially applying specific chemicals to the soil to favor increased growth of vegetation. General guidelines concerning application in Streamside Management Zones and in and around sinkholes are also given.
Pesticides include insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and nematocides. These chemicals are used to destroy, prevent, or control woody or herbaceous vegetation and forest pests on forested lands or areas being reforested. All forest chemicals are labeled with detailed use information, which must be strictly followed. This BMP has general information on cleanup, storage, and use of pesticides around Streamside Management Zones and in and around sinkholes.
The purpose of this BMP is to minimize potential water quality degradation while eliminating or suppressing undesirable vegetation that would otherwise prevent the successful establishment and growth of tree seedlings through competition for sunlight, moisture, and nutrients, and to facilitate hand- or machine-planting operations. Specifications for windrowing and other site-preparation methods using heavy equipment are given.
Wetlands are defined as areas characterized as having hydric soils and supporting a dominance of hydrophytes (plants adapted to primarily wet conditions). Such areas are transition zones between predominately dry upland sites and permanent water in streams and lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officially determines whether a forested area is a wetland, unless there is adjacent cropland, in which case the Natural Resources Conservation Service may make the determination. The requirements in this BMP are supplemental to other silvicultural BMPs and contain information and specifications for trafficking and timber harvesting around streams, sloughs, and other waters in a wetland.
Livestock management in forested areas is often necessary to maintain enough cover to protect the soil and prevent sedimentation of nearby bodies of water; to protect, maintain, or improve the quantity and quality of the plant resources; and to maintain soil productivity and to prevent soil compaction. This BMP can be applied where desired forest reproduction, soil hydrologic values, and/or existing vegetation can be seriously damaged by livestock.
A fire line is a path of varying width constructed through the litter on the forest floor down to mineral soil to restrict and control wildfire. Both hand tools and mechanized equipment can be used to construct fire lines, and this BMP contains information to minimize the sedimentation of water bodies resulting from erosion of the line after fire suppression.
Prescribed burning involves the use of fire under conditions that will assure confinement yet produce the intensity of heat and behavior required to accomplish one or more management objectives. The purpose of this BMP is to conduct those burning practices used to modify a forest stand or to reduce forest residue to some desired level that minimizes soil erosion and protects nearby bodies of water from sedimentation. Guidelines concerning fire lane placement, drainage, and retirement are also included in this BMP.
Silvicultural BMPs: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, and No. 7
Logger Questions: 1. 0 feet (it is an intermittent stream); 2. 60 feet (use the table, “Minimum Distances for Intermittent Streams...”; 3. winter wheat, grain rye, and spring oats; 4a. Mixtures for Highly Erodible Areas; 4b. mixes a and b are primary recommendations; 5a. Mixtures for Slopes Less Than 10 Percent; 5b. mixes in bold (a, b, and d) are primary recommendations; 6. 50 percent; 7. surface mine road; 8. d; 9. do not concentrate.
Silvicultural BMPs: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5
Logger Questions 1. 25 feet; 2. 50 percent; 3. 25 feet; 4. winter wheat, grain rye, and spring oats; 5a. Mixtures for Slopes Less Than 10 Percent; 5b. mixes in bold (a, b, and d) are primary recommendations; 6a. Mixtures for Highly Erodible Areas; 6b. c: creeping red fescue mix; 7. no; 8. 300 to 500 feet; 9. skidder bar; 10. water bar; Extra Questions: 11. yes; 12. gravel haul road.
Silvicultural BMPs: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, and No. 10
Logger Questions: 1. 25 feet; 2. 50 percent; 3. 25 feet; 4. Mixtures for Poorly Drained Areas; 5a. Mixtures for Slopes Less Than 10 Percent; 5b. mixes in bold (a, b, and d) are primary recommendations; 6. 50 feet; 7. 50 percent; 8. 50 feet; Extra Questions: 9. no; 10. It is high and away from drainage channels on the floodplain and in the wetlands; 11. yes.
Silvicultural BMPs: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5
Logger Questions: 1. 55 feet; 2. 60 feet; 3. 75 percent; 4. b: farm pasture road; 5. a; 6. 15 inches; Extra Question: 7. Livestock Section.
Details of these BMPs can be obtained from the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Authority Producer Workbook. The minimum requirements for each of the four Streams and Other Waters BMPs are as follows:
This includes requirements for stream bank stabilization for banks that are eroding at an accelerated rate and stream crossings that might be damaged by vehicular traffic.
Specifies requirements for clearing logjams or sediment blockage as follows:
For projects in streams where the watershed above the work is less than one square mile (640 acres):
This document was printed with specially designated funds from an Act Relating to Agricultural Chemical Usage passed by the 1990 Kentucky General Assembly.
FOR-67, Kentucky Forest Practices for Water Quality Management, was authored by Jeffrey W. Stringer and Cary Perkins. It was published jointly by the Kentucky Division of Forestry and the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky through the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Kentucky. It is available through county extension offices and on the World Wide Web.