AGENDA ITEM 2

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# Forest Practices Implementation and Effectiveness

Monitoring Update

This report summarizes work completed by ODF Privat e Forests Monitoring Unit personnel since the last Board of Forestry (Board) update in September 2013.

2015 Legislative Outcomes

Funding for the program was maintained at the curre nt level. The Department submitted a Water Quality Policy Option Package (POP) for a manager o f the Monitoring Unit, in addition to a Geotechnical Specialist, Road Engineer, and an addi tional fraction of an FTE of a Forest Management Technician. While this POP was advanced as part of the Governor’s Recommended Budget, the legislature did not carry it forward.

Implementation Monitoring

Forest Practices Act (FPA) Compliance Audit

Background The Board was introduced to the Compliance Audit pr ogram in the September 2012 Monitoring Unit update 1 . As per a 2011 Legislative Budget note, the department utilizes pr ivate contractors to

collect audit data and uses that data to determine apparent compliance. The compliance audit provides statistically valid rates of compliance of the FPA for forestlands from which timber was harvested during the previous two years. The protoc ol and sampling process allows for reporting results at the statewide and FPA regional levels, b y industrial, private non-industrial and other (e.g

., county, state) ownerships, and by rule division. Th e department reports on FPA compliance as an annual Key Performance Measure for the Agency. The department presented the 2013 compliance audit report to the Board at the September 3, 2014 meeting 2 . The department has compiled results from the 2014 audit and is finalizing the annual re port. This update provides high-level results for 2014 as compared to 2013.

FPA Compliance Audit Process The compliance audit evaluates a subset of rules ba sed on information provided from field measurements made by contractors. The audited rules include road construction and maintenance, timber harvesting, some riparian management area me asures, measures for other wetlands, and rules

1 Oregon Department of Forestry. September 2012 Boa rd of Forestry Meeting. Forest Practices Effective ness Monitoring and Compliance Audit Update. Agenda Ite m 3. http://www.oregon.gov/odf/Pages/board/BOF_090512_Me eting.aspx

2 Oregon Department of Forestry, September 2014 Boar d of Forestry Meeting. Forest Practices Act Complia nce Audit Results. Agenda Item 7. http://www.oregon.gov/odf/BOARD/docs/2014_Sept/BOFS R_20140903_07.pdfAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 2 of 10 for operations near waters of the state. The 2014 C ompliance Audit used the same protocols as the 2013 audit only differing in the sample-size of 100 notifications vs. 200 in 2013.

The sampling design randomly selects notifications from the three FPA regions (Northwest, Eastern, and Southern Oregon Areas) and three lando wner types (private industrial, private nonindustrial, and other, which includes municipally o wned, county and State Forests lands). Sampling is proportional to the number of notifications indi cating some type of timber harvest. Table 1 indicates the distribution of sample sites in 2014.

Table 1. Number of notification units sampled in 20 14 by area and landowner class, private industrial (PI), private non-industrial (PNI), othe r (includes municipally owned, county and State Forests lands).

Area Total Units Units by Landowner Class

PI PNI Other Eastern Oregon 18 9 8 1 Northwest Oregon 45 30 14 1 Southern Oregon 37 19 13 5

Total 100 58 35 7

FPA Compliance Audit Results Results of the 2014 FPA Compliance Audit are simila r to those of the 2013 audit. The 2014 compliance audit resulted in an overall rule-level compliance rate of 96 percent (95% confidence interval = 95% - 97%). Table 2 also shows that the rates per region are comparable to 2013 results.

Table 2. Rule-level Compliance Statewide and by Fo rest Practices Act (FPA) Regions for 2013 and

2014.
Percent compliant

2013 2014

Statewide 96% (96% – 97%) 96% (95% – 97%)

FPA Area Eastern Oregon Area 96% 94% Northwest Oregon Area 98% 96% Southern Oregon Area 95% 97%

Overall rule-level compliance rate by ownership was high, between 96 and 98 percent (Table 3).

The 2014 rates are similar to 2013 results.AGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 3 of 10 Table 3. Rule-level Compliance Rates by Ownership Class for 2013 and 2014.
Percent compliant

2013 2014
Ownership Class

Other 98% 98%

Private Industrial 96% 96%

Private Non-Industrial 94% 96%

Compliance Rates by Rule Division At a rule division basis, compliance was generally high (Table 4) in 2014. The highest compliance was found with rules dealing with vegetation retent ion along streams. High compliance was also found with rules dealing with road construction and those dealing with operations near the waters of the state. The lowest compliance rates were found with rules involving written plan requirements and rules dealing with the protection of other wetl ands. These may indicate a need for further emphasis on small wetlands, although this rule divi sion had a small sample size. The pattern of compliance by rule division is consistent with 2013 . We cannot determine if the difference reflect a trend with two years of data.

Table 4. Compliance Rates by Rule Division for 2013 and 2014. Percent Compliant Rule Division Description 2013 2013

Several Written plans 75% 83%

625 Road Construction and Maintenance 97% 98%

630 Harvesting 95% 93%

640 Vegetation Retention Along Streams 98% 99%

655 Protection for Other Wetlands 72% 83%

660 Operations Near Waters of the State 99% 98%

Scale of resource impacts The scale of resource impacts resulting in sediment delivery was mostly within the lowest damage classification ( ≤ 1 cubic yard sediment). Of the 149 locations contr ibuting sediment to Waters of the State, 68% contributed less than 1 cu bic yard of sediment. These events frequently involved trace amounts of sediment found in or adja cent to streams. Three events that contributed more than 10 cubic yards of sediment to streams were associated with roads. One event exceeding 100 cubic yards was associated with a road failure on a steep slope.

The bulk of this delivery was to small water bodies . In 97% of these cases, sediment was delivered to Small type-N streams. Delivery to wet lands >1/4 acre and those <1/4 acre

accounted for the other 3%. There were no instance s of sediment delivery recorded directly to fish bearing streams in the 2014 effort.AGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 4 of 10 FPA Compliance Audit Results: Values Created The department uses data derived from the complianc e audit process in several ways. The information serves as a good starting point for foc used training, both internally and externally. Multiple trainings done in conjunction with the Ore gon Professional Loggers program and other stakeholders, such as Regional Forests Practices Co mmittees, have been provided opportunities to review the findings and review FPA standards for in dividual topics as indicated by the results. For timberlands and mills engaged in forest certificati on processes, the audit results provide useful information during periodic review of management me asures on timber source lands.

Future Outlook

The FPA Compliance Audit provides a monitoring syst em that supports efforts for continuous improvement by the agency, industry and landowners alike. The department plans to keep the same protocol in place for the next two audits, 2015 and 2016, to evaluate variance in compliance and trends in response.

Changes in results are expected because of changes in written plan rules, notification system, and focused training efforts that result from findings in previous years. For example, lower compliance with written plans may improve in coming years beca use of the 2013 FPA rule change involving written plan requirements, as well as the implement ation of the electronic notification system.

The department plans to modify the audit based on r esults, e.g., replacing rule divisions that have consistently high results, with divisions that have not been audited. These changes will be done with input from the internal and external review co mmittees.

Leave Tree & Downed Wood Compliance Report

In 2014, the Department finalized the Technical Rep ort for the monitoring study on compliance with the leave tree and downed wood statutes (ORS 5 27.676). Results of the study were presented to the Board of Forestry in April 2014 3

.

Overall compliance with ORS 527.676 was high, about 97%. However, possible issues relating to the Department’s ability to determine compliance were identified. Compliance could not be determined for 8% of the study sample harvest units because leave tree areas were located outside of mapped unit boundaries and adjacent to s imilar stands of trees. Leave trees should be retained within the unit boundaries, thus when they are located outside of the mapped unit boundary and adjacent to similar stands, the Depart ment did not feel that they could determine

which trees were intended to be associated with the harvest unit. The Board of Forestry directed the Department to explore opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness of ORS 527.676 with the Regional Forest Practices Committees (RFPC ). This work will be scheduled as RFPC and staff workload allows. The riparian and bald ea gle rule analyses are the current priority work topics with staff and the Committees.

3 Report can be found at: http://www.oregon.gov/odf/PRIVATE_FORESTS/docs/Leav e%20Tree%20Downed%20Wood %20Report%20Final%20April%202014.pdfAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 5 of 10 Voluntary Measures in the Coast Range

The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds was devel oped to help recover salmon and improve watersheds throughout the state. The Oregon Plan em phasizes the importance of voluntary

restoration efforts to benefit salmon. Since the es tablishment of the Oregon Plan, private forest landowners have voluntarily conducted thousands of restoration projects and contributed

millions of dollars to salmon and watershed restora tion. The Private Forests Monitoring Program, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OW EB), the Oregon Forest Research Institute (OFRI) and representatives of forest land owners and operators to conduct a collaborative study on reported voluntary measures on forestlands in the Oregon Coast Range.

The main of objectives of the study are to:

1) Tell the story of voluntary measures on forestlands in Oregon.

2) Identify barriers to the implementation and reporti ng of voluntary measures.

3) Describe voluntary measures that are most frequentl y implemented by forest landowners.

To accomplish objectives 1 and 3, the study will su mmarize information reported to the Oregon Watershed Restoration Inventory (OWRI) database. OW RI is the primary repository for information on voluntary projects that were done in association with the Oregon Plan. The study will also survey forestland owners on what they per ceive as barriers to implementing and reporting voluntary projects (objective 2).

The anticipated benefits of the study are:

1) Increased awareness and support of voluntary measur es by forestland owners and stakeholder groups. 2) Improved access to technical assistance, reporting opportunities, financial and other assistance to help with implementing future restora tion work by forestland owners. 3) Increased implementation and reporting of volun tary measures by forestland owners.

Effectiveness Monitoring

RipStream Project

The main objective of the Riparian Function and Str eam Temperature (RipStream) project is to evaluate the effectiveness of FPA forest practices rules and State Forests management strategies at protecting stream temperatures within and immediate ly below harvest units and promoting desired riparian structure. Most of the focus to date, inc luding the ongoing riparian rule analysis process,

has been on the effectiveness of FPA and the State Forest Northwest Forest Management Plan (NWFMP) riparian protections for stream temperature . Stream temperature analyses are essentially complete, and are in different stages of preparatio n for publication. Analyses to address riparian structure and large wood recruitment questions rema in to be completed. Completed work since the September 2013 Board meeting has largely focused on developing the stream temperatureAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 6 of 10 predictive analysis and developing estimates of pre dicted temperature and shade changes for alternative harvest strategies for the riparian rul e analysis process; however, substantial progress h as been made on downstream temperature analyses.

Accomplishments since the September 2013 presentati on to the Board include:

1) Fulfilment of a cooperative agreement with Oregon S tate University for the development of a descriptive model of the downstream temperature d ynamics and related stream characteristics observed in the RipStream data. Pri nciple Investigator: Dr. Ivan Arismendi (June 2015).

2) Completion of a contract with Oregon State Universi ty for the provision of statistical assistance in the development of the stream tempera ture predictive model. Principle Investigator: Dr. Lisa Madsen, Department of Statis tics (June 2013).

3) Submission and acceptance (pending minor revisions) of a downstream temperature manuscript for publication in Hydrological Processes . The manuscript describes a physical basis for stream temperature change downstream of h arvest, using RipStream data. Lead author - Dr. Lawrence (Mick) Davis of D3 Scientific (July 2015).

4) Development of the stream temperature predictive mo del. Model development was assisted by statisticians from OSU and forest industry, RipS tream external review team members,

scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection A gency, and others. The model was used to develop estimates of predicted temperature chang e that would result from different simulated harvest approaches (April 2015). Work has begun on writing the stream temperature predictive model analysis as a manuscri pt for publication. Principle Investigator – Dr. Jeremy Groom, OSU Dept. of Statistics (former ly Oregon Department of Forestry).

5) Progress on preparing the Numeric Criteria temperat ure analysis and the five-year postharvest analysis for publication. The Board has be en appraised of these findings at earlier meetings. Principle Investigator – Dr. Jeremy Groom (formerly Oregon Department of Forestry).

6) Peer-reviewed publication in the Federal PNW-GTR-88 0 of the case-study of large wood recruitment for a State Forests RipStream site usin g the OSU Streamwood model. Authors include Dr. Mark Meleason of ODF State Forests, Dr. Jeremy Groom (formerly Oregon Department of Forestry), and Liz Dent (Oregon Depar tment of Forestry).

7) Oral presentation of the RipStream rule analysis pr ocess as an example of the ODF/DEQ/Board of Forestry adaptive management cycle . Presenter: Dr. Jeremy Groom (formerly Oregon Department of Forestry) (Society o f American Foresters, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2014).

Work over the next year will include continued prog ress on temperature analysis publications and preparation for continued analysis of the riparian desired future condition and large wood recruitment analysis.

The RipStream study and the Department benefit from the long-term commitment of its external review committee. This committee is comprised of i ndividuals from the forestland owner community, forest industry representatives, Oregon State University, U.S. Forest Service, OregonAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 7 of 10 Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Department of Environmental Quality. This committee has advised the Department on RipStream since the i nception of the project and will continue to be used for scientific and technical matters relating to the riparian rule process and other analyses.

Riparian Rule Analysis

The monitoring group was charged with the remaining critical steps in the riparian rule analysis (see rule analysis process, June 2013 Board materials, C onsent Agenda Item I):

• Determine if proposed alternatives reflect availabl e scientific information.

• Review science on applicability of alternatives.

• Evaluate alternatives in terms of restrictions on p ractices; provide input on alternatives.

• Select alternative(s) to carry into rule language d evelopment and/or voluntary measure(s).

• Analyze the geographic scope of proposed rules.

This work and the compliance audit are the highest priority topics for the effectiveness and implementation monitoring personnel.

The Board’s riparian rule analysis is based on find ings of degradation concerning DEQ’s Protecting Cold Water (PCW) criterion. The Departm ent regularly met with the Regional Forest Practices Committees, Committee for Family Forestla nds, and stakeholders to develop prescriptions that met the PCW to the maximum exten t practicable. Since September 2013, the Department has interacted with the Board as follows :

• Presented results of the Systematic Review (Novembe r 2013).

• Discussed preliminary results and emerging policy i ssues (April 2014).

• Held Board Workshop on: latest science; policy and legal roles and decision spaces; stakeholder perspectives; Board discussion (June 20 14, with workshop summary presented in September 2014).

• Provided an update on the Riparian Rule Analysis an d associated adjusted timeline (November 2014).

• Presented methods for evaluating riparian prescript ions and their geographic extent (April 2015).

• Provided partial results for evaluating riparian pr escriptions (June 2015).

• Presented additional results for evaluating riparia n prescriptions, considerations for Board decisions and policy analysis framework, and prescr iption packages (July 2015).

Trask Watershed Study Road Sediment Analysis

The Department serves as a cooperator along with th e Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Service, Weyerh aeuser, and Oregon State University inAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 8 of 10 carrying out the Trask Watershed Study. The study is a multidisciplinary endeavor to examine the effects of timber harvest on the aquatic enviro nment at multiple scales. A component of the study, the Road Sediment Analysis, examines changes in turbidity and delivery of sediment to streams before harvest, after road construction/rec onstruction, and following harvest. The Road Sediment Analysis (sediment study) began in the win ter of 2010; data collection was completed during the spring of 2013 and included a winter’s w orth of data collection for each of the phases described. ODF Private Forests personnel provided technical oversight, administered grant requirements, provided field staff and coordinated other field data collection efforts.

The sediment study is an intensive data collection effort involving five stream crossings distributed across state forestland (3) and private industrial land (2). Water samples from storm and non-storm periods were collected with automated samplers above and below crossings and were analyzed for total suspended solids (sediment) and turbidity. Funding for the project was provided by the Oregon Forest Industries Council, W eyerhaeuser, and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement. Oregon Department of F orestry technicians installed and maintained the samplers and processed all samples f or turbidity and sediment.

Dr. Ivan Arismendi, of Oregon State University’s De partment of Fisheries and Wildlife, has submitted a manuscript describing this analysis and the subsequent findings to Water Resources

Research (April 2015). The study found increases in turbid ity and sediment at some road crossings. However, the level of these increases we re well below thresholds that have been found to be detrimental to any local, known organisms. T he largest increases in turbidity and sediment were found at the control crossing, and are coincid ent with the falling of an alder between the two sample stations above and below the road. The alder’s demise resulted in stream channel disturbance. One crossing, surrounded by the footp rint of a clearcut harvest without a buffer, resulted in diminished sediment and turbidity level s between the above crossing and below crossing stations, post-harvest and post-road impro vement. We anticipate publishing these results prior to the next Monitoring Update to the Board.

Water Quality Pesticide Management Team (WQPMT)

The Water Quality Pesticide Management Team (WQPMT) is comprised of state agencies responsible for water quality and natural resource management in Oregon: Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), Oregon Department of Environm ental Quality (DEQ), Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Oreg on State University, and Oregon Department of Forestry. With ODA in the lead role, the team developed a Pesticide Management Plan, which was approved by the Environm ental Protection Agency, with the main goal of reducing ground and surface water contamina tion from pesticides currently registered and used in Oregon. This approach aligns closely w ith FPA rules that direct the department to work with partners to conduct monitoring and evalua tion of the chemical and other petroleum product rules.

One of the main tools for completing this work is D EQ’s Pesticide Stewardship Partnership, or PSP. Currently there are eight PSP areas across Or egon. A ninth watershed was recently selected on the Middle Rogue, near Medford. A PSP is a non-regulatory and collaborativeAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 9 of 10 approach that works with local partners to reduce c ontamination from current use pesticides. Three of the nine PSPs represent some amount of pri vate forestland and one PSP area has a significant amount of private forests. Part of ODF ’s role in the forested areas is to provide technical information on reforestation approaches a nd connect local stewardship foresters and landowners with the WQPMT. In 2014, the team met w ith local private industrial forestland representatives from the South Yamhill PSP. The pu rpose of the meeting was to share results from past seasons of sampling efforts and engage in a dialogue that led to further refinement of the annual sampling schedule and testing for two ad ditional analytes based on input from the

landowners.

Results of water quality data are evaluated based o n the Pesticide Management Plan, which describes prioritizing education and outreach based on pesticide detection frequency and, using non-regulatory EPA benchmarks, pesticide concentrat ion relative to benchmark. Detections from forested areas are usually prioritized on the lower end of the scale with respect to detection frequency and concentration, where education and/or continued monitoring are the expected

responses.

For the 2013-2015 biennium, more than 1100 water sa mples were collected; the team presented information about the PSP program at dozens of foru ms; conducted eight waste pesticide

collection events across that state that removed ov er 145,000 pounds of unused pesticides (including older legacy pesticides such as DDT); an d provided three technical assistance grants aimed at working with local partners and pesticide users to improve water quality.

Implementation and Effectiveness Monitoring: Updati ng the Monitoring Strategy

The Private Forests’ Monitoring Strategy 4 has guided the Division’s monitoring priorities si nce it was updated in 2002. The Strategy established a pr ioritized list of monitoring questions categorized by general issues and monitoring type (effectivenes s, implementation, etc.). The questions were drawn from the previous monitoring strategy, Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Workplan, the Forest Practices Advisory Committee final repor t, and citizen and stakeholder group input in

1994 and 2000.

The Department developed a draft work plan for how to update the strategy, and the Board approved this work plan at their January 2015 meeti ng. Staff have gathered input from stakeholders and partner agencies on the suite of questions to c onsider in the strategy, and how to prioritize thes e questions. The next phase of the process consists o f working with these groups to prioritize the questions in a documented and consistent manner, an d then solicit their input on the draft strategy once we have completed it. We anticipate bringing t he strategy to the Board in spring 2016.

4 Oregon Department of Forestry - Forest Practices M onitoring Program Strategic Plan. April 2002. http://cms.oregon.gov/odf/privateforests/docs/monit oringstrategicplan.pdfAGENDA ITEM 2

Attachment 1 Page 10 of 10 Other Monitoring Information

Numerous personnel changes for the Monitoring Unit have occurred over the last two years. The Unit added a third Monitoring Specialist, Dr. Danie l Olson, and a Monitoring Technician, Michael Thompson. The Monitoring Coordinator, Dr. Jeremy Gr oom, has left ODF to enroll in graduate school. The department plans to recruit for that p osition, following an evaluation of position needs and priorities. The department plans to continue t o work with Dr. Groom to complete several RipStream stream temperature publications.

Unit personnel also:

• Developed and participated in a workshop on Departm ent principles and guidelines for working at the interface between science and values in policy-making processes.

• Represented the Department on the interagency water -monitoring group, Stream Team.

• Administered a contract for, and assisted implement ation of, State Forests’ consultant to conduct a Systematic Review of hypotheses on Marble d Murrelets.

• Gave presentations (both talks and posters) at prof essional society meetings (Society of American Foresters, American Water Resources Associ ation).