Programs assessing implementation and effectiveness of state forest practice rules and BMPs in the West

Ice, George G.; Dent, Liz; Robben, Josh; Cafferata, Pete; Light, Jeff; Sugden, Brian; Cundy, Terry

doi:10.1023/b:wafo.0000012821.68577.6b

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…For example, both the pattern and level of forest practices plan compliance in Tasmania (Section 5.3.2) correspond closely to those reported by Ice et al (2004: Figure 1) over a similar period for Best Management Practice implementation in Montana, USA, where the progressive improvement in compliance to sustained high levels was also attributed to education of those engaged in forest harvesting. Ice et al (2004) also note continuing public scepticism about the results of auditing and monitoring of forest practices impacts, despite an increasing focus and expenditure on more rigorous and scientificallydefensible assessments of forest practice impacts.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

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Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Wilkinson¹,

Schofield²,

Kanowski³

2014

Forest Policy and Economics

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Tasmania's forest practices system, one of the most prescriptive globally and the most comprehensive in Australia, has evolved over the last 25 years in response to public demands for high standards of governance, accountability and transparency of forest regulation on both public and private lands. The system was developed in the context of strong contestation, in Tasmanian and Australian civil society and politics, about appropriate forest policies and practices in Tasmania. The system is governed by a Forest Practices Act, which provides for a co-regulatory approach administered by an independent statutory body, the Forest Practices Authority. All forest operations must be undertaken in accordance with a certified forest practices plan, prepared and certified by accredited Forest Practices Officers employed by forest managers. These co-regulatory components of the system are supported by independent monitoring and enforcement by the Forest Practices Authority. This paper describes the genesis and evolution of the Tasmanian forest practices system, and summarises the range of measures employed to foster high levels of compliance, with an emphasis on training and education, self-monitoring and reporting by the industry, independent monitoring by the Forest Practices Authority, and corrective actions, backed by enforcement provisions. Compliance monitoring over 27 years demonstrates rapid improvement in the decade following establishment of the system, with consistently high levels of achievement subsequently. However, larger corporate forest managers consistently achieve higher rates of compliance than do small-scale forest owners, and redressing this imbalance has been a recurrent theme in Tasmania's forest practices system. Experience of implementation of Tasmania's forest practices system suggests that well-designed and implemented co-regulatory approaches, with high levels of transparency, can be effective in delivery of good technical standards of forest practices and high levels of compliance. However, these will not in themselves mitigate public concern about forest management practices unless the policies governing those practices have broad support in civil society.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Whilst various evaluations have been reported for a number of North American forest practices systems (e.g. Cubbage, 2004;Ellefson et al, 2007;Ice et al, 2004), this has not generally been the case for Australian jurisdictions. This paper has sought to begin to address that deficiency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Wilkinson¹,

Schofield²,

Kanowski³

2014

Forest Policy and Economics

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“…Ice et al [92] reported that western states implementing BMPs under the auspices of state forest practices acts were evaluating the effectiveness of the programs by monitoring compliance with the statutes. Sugden et al [78] reported on the BMP progress made in Montana by reporting BMP compliance percentages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating Costs and Effectiveness of Upgrades in Forestry Best Management Practices for Stream Crossings

Nolan

Aust

Barrett

et al. 2015

Water

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Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are used for protection of water quality at forest stream crossings, yet effects and costs for gradients of BMPs are not well documented. We evaluated forty-two truck road and skid trail stream crossings using three surrogates of BMP adequacy: (1) potential erosion rates for stream crossing approaches; (2) adequacy of stream crossing BMPs; and (3) overall BMP rating (BMP´, BMP-standard, and BMP+). Subsequently, BMP upgrades were recommended for enhancing BMP´or BMP-standard stream crossings. Costs for BMP upgrades were estimated using an existing road and skid trail cost method. The majority of truck road stream crossings were culverts, while skid trail stream crossings were primarily portable bridges. Potential erosion estimates, BMP audit scores, and BMP ratings all indicated that skid crossings have lower BMP implementation than truck road crossings. BMP improvements commonly identified for skid trail and truck crossings included addition of cover and water control structures. Improved BMPs at skid trail crossings were less expensive than those at truck road crossings. Current BMP guidelines provide economical and effective techniques for reducing erosion, and BMP upgrades have the potential to reduce erosion rates to similar levels found in undisturbed forests.

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“…Best management practices applied to timber harvest operations and related forest management activities are the primary means of achieving state water quality standards on forestlands. These BMPs are usually defined in state regulations or voluntary guidelines for forest management activities, and specific practices vary widely among different state programs (Ice et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Washington is one of many states that have laws requiring validation of BMPs through effectiveness monitoring . Throughout the western United States, state programs for assessing the implementation and effectiveness of BMPs vary widely in their approaches, and there is an ongoing need for testing the effectiveness of a range of available management practices as BMPs evolve in response to changing resource protection objectives (Ice et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

EFFECTIVENESS OF TIMBER HARVEST PRACTICES FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT RELATED WATER QUALITY IMPACTS¹

Rashin¹,

Clishe²,

Loch³

et al. 2006

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Timber harvest best management practices (BMPs) in Washington State were evaluated to determine their effectiveness at achieving water quality standards pertaining to sediment related effects. A weight‐of‐evidence approach was used to determine BMP effectiveness based on assessment of erosion with sediment delivery to streams, physical disturbance of stream channels, and aquatic habitat conditions during the first two years following harvest. Stream buffers were effective at preventing chronic sediment delivery to streams and physical disturbance of stream channels. Practices for ground‐based harvest and cable yarding in the vicinity of small streams without buffers were ineffective or only partially effective at preventing water quality impacts. The primary operational factors influencing BMP effectiveness were: the proximity of ground disturbing activities to streams; presence or absence of designated stream buffers; the use of special timber falling and yarding practices intended to minimize physical disturbance of stream channels; and timing of harvest to occur during snow cover or frozen ground conditions. Important site factors included the density of small streams at harvest sites and the steepness of inner stream valley slopes. Recommendations are given for practices that provide a high confidence of achieving water quality standards by preventing chronic sediment delivery and avoiding direct stream channel disturbance.

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Programs assessing implementation and effectiveness of state forest practice rules and BMPs in the West

Cited by 21 publications

References 3 publications

Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Estimating Costs and Effectiveness of Upgrades in Forestry Best Management Practices for Stream Crossings

EFFECTIVENESS OF TIMBER HARVEST PRACTICES FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT RELATED WATER QUALITY IMPACTS¹

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Programs assessing implementation and effectiveness of state forest practice rules and BMPs in the West

Cited by 21 publications

References 3 publications

Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Regulating forestry — Experience with compliance and enforcement over the 25years of Tasmania's forest practices system

Estimating Costs and Effectiveness of Upgrades in Forestry Best Management Practices for Stream Crossings

EFFECTIVENESS OF TIMBER HARVEST PRACTICES FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT RELATED WATER QUALITY IMPACTS1

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EFFECTIVENESS OF TIMBER HARVEST PRACTICES FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT RELATED WATER QUALITY IMPACTS¹