ontana's water quality protection

program as it applies to forest management/timber harvest in volves both a regulatory and a voluntary approach. Since the 1970's, non

- regulatory Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) have provided guidance on water quality protection

standards for harvest and other types of operations. At the same time, concern over impacts of forest manag ement on Montana's watersheds prompted the 1987 Montana Legislature to pass House Joint Resolution 49.

This resolution directed the Montana Environmental Quality Council (EQC) to study "how current forest management practices are affecting watersheds in M ontana." The EQC established a Forestry BMP technical committee that developed Montana's first statewide forestry BMPs in 1987. In 1989 an interdisciplinary working group released the revised Forestry Best Management Practices we still use today

.

That same year, the Montana Legislature

enacted th e BMP Notification Law (76

- 13

- 13 1 MCA), which requires private landowners to notify the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation ( DNRC ) prior to harvesting timber. DNRC foresters provide

in formation and private landowner technical

assistance on proper harvest techniques a nd BMP implementation. Forest p ractices & harvesting are administered by the DNRC

within a non

- regulatory framework ; public education is a main goal

. Since October 1991 the Streams ide Management Zone (SMZ) Law h as regulated forest practices along streams. This law implements suitable s treamside management practices while providing for exceptions to the law if properly applied and approved by

DNRC. The law also prohibits certain forest practices along streams

. Additionally, t he SMZ Rules became effective March 15, 1993

, and were update d in 2006

. They define and clarify t he SMZ law and enforcement policies

.

h is BMP F ield R eview process has been developed to evaluate whether BMPs are effectively limiting non

- point source pollution resulting from timber harvest operations in

Montana. MT DNRC evaluates forest practices

for BMP implementation every two years and reports the findings to the EQC . This report 

# MONTANA

Forestry Best Management Practice (BMP)

20 1 4 Monitoring Report


# Executive Summary



# M

T Montana’s Best Ma nagement Practices (BMPs) aim to protect watersheds and water quality.summarizes the findings of the M T DNRC

201 4 Forestry BMP F ield R eview cycle

.



### THE FIELD REVIEW PROCESS

n 201 4 , three interdisciplinary teams were formed to conduct the reviews , covering the northwestern, the west, and the central/east region s of the state. Each team has up to eight

members: fisheries biologist, forester, hydrologist, conservation organization , road engineer, soil scienti st, non

- industrial private

forest landowner and/ or loggi ng professional.

A dditional observers always welcome. T he

landowner / logger being reviewed were both encouraged to attend. DNRC used established

site selection c riteria to select forty

- two (4 2 )

new timber ha rvest sites harvested since

20 1 1 . The teams evaluated a maximum of forty

- nine ( 49 ) BMPs at each site, rating the application and effectiveness for each BMP on

a five

- point scale.



### A PPLICATION & EFFECTIVENESS

ll 4 2 review sit es were evaluated for BMP application. Results showed that across all ownerships, BMPs were properly applied

9 7 % of the time. Although many harvest sites

had at least one instance where a BMP was inadequately applied, a majority of the departures were minor and did not cause

erosion or d eliver material to a stream. Of all
sites, 5 % had one or more major BMP departu res in application. In the 20 1 2

reviews

, 7 % had major BMP departures in application. The appl ication of eight high risk BMPs were evaluated separately because these are among the most important for protectin g soil and

water resourc es. In 201 4

, these high risk BMPs were properly applied 9 2 % of the time

.

The field review teams also evaluated the

same 4 2 sites for BMP effectiveness

. R esults showed that across all ownerships, BMPs were effective in protecting soil and water

resources 9 8 % of the time. Of the 4 2 sites

, 31 % had one or more minor departures in

BMP effec tiveness. This compares with 48 %

in 20 1 2 . Minor departures in effectiveness produce minor impacts to soil and water resources; for example: eroded material reaches a draw, but not a stream. Major departures for BM P effectiveness were found

on 7 % of the sites

, compared to 12% in 2012

. H igh risk BMPs were effective in providing adequate protection to soil and water

resourc es 9 4 % of the time

.

As with previous cycles, t he greatest frequency of departures from BMPs, and the most impacts, were associated with road

maintenance and road surf ace drainage.

The field review teams also evaluated application and effectiveness of the Montana Streamside Management (SMZ) Law. Teams

found 6 departures out of 26 4 ratings for application with 50 % rated minor and 3 out of

26 4 ratings for effectiveness with 100 % being

rated minor.

Table 1 : S ummary of the 201 4 BMP/SMZ Application and Effectiveness by Ownership Group.

Practice DNRC Federal Industry NIPF Totals

BMP Application 99 % 9 4 % 98% 9 8 % 9 7 %

BMP

Effectiveness 99% 9 6 % 9 8 % 99% 9 8 %

SMZ Application 96 % 100 % 100 % 9 5 % 9 8 %

SMZ

Effectiveness 98 % 100 % 100 % 99 % 9 9 % 

# I

A BMP Field Review Team members evaluate a site.

### FIELD REVIEW OBJECTIVES

he BMP field reviews have been conducted every two ye ars beginning in
1990; 201 4 represents the thirteenth cycle. As with previous reviews, the 2014 objectives

were to:

1. Determine if BMPs are being applied on timber harvest operations.

2. Evaluate the general effectiveness of BMPs in protecting soil and water

resources.

3. Provide information on the implementation of the SMZ law and

rules and assess general effectiveness in terms of protecting water quality.

4. Provide information to focus future educational or study efforts by identifying subjects and geographic

areas in need of further attention or investigation.

5. Provide information on the need to

re vise, clarify, or strengthen BMPs.



### SAMPLE SIZE & DISTRIBUTION

he targeted 4 2 field review sites are distributed across the state by geographical region and land ownership group. The review process recognizes four ownership types : State of Montana lands

, Federal lands , private industrial lands (Industry) and non

- industrial private forest

lands (NIPF). The basis for site distribution is the proportion of the total statewide harvest volume that is harvested within each region by each ownership group for the latest year complete records are available.



### SITE INSPECTIONS

T he teams conducted the 201 4 field reviews from late June through late August. During

the on

- site review, team members and landowner representatives meet at a central location prior to inspection . Teams and

observers then travel to the site. When in the general area of the site, but before actually entering the road system to access the harve st area or the harvest area itself, the group stops to discuss the specifics of the review . The team leader provides maps and field review forms. There may be a landowner briefing to the team giving background information such as silvicultural prescripti on, season of operation, and associated practices. The final

decisions as to which roads and harvest units

will be reviewed are then made by the team. All decisions regarding what to review

-- which roads, SMZs, new culvert installations

and harvest unit s

-- are determined before

the team enters the area. Once on site, team members walk the site as a group and review BMP practices conducted in the predetermined areas. Teams typically spend about two hours inspecting each site. Before leaving the site, t he team gathers to determine

the official BMP ratings. 

# T

T Across all ownerships, for 2014, BMPs were effective in protecting soil and water resources 98% of the time. 

## A total of 42 sites were reviewed during the 2014 BMP cycle. 11 (26%) were industry sites, 8 (19%) were State sites, 10 (24% were federal sites, and 13 (31%) were NIPF sites.

### RESULTS

hown below are the results of the 201 4

F ield R eview s for proper Application and

for Effectiveness

. Streamside Management Zones (SMZ) were also rated in terms of application and effectiveness.

Application of BMPs : The application rating measures whether the BMP was applied, whether it was applied to the correct standards, the appropriate number of times and in the proper locations. Field r eview teams rated a total of 1, 267 practices to

assess how landow ners and oper ators applied BMPs. They found 3 7 departures, 30

of which were given a rating of “3” (minor or

temporary impacts ), and 7 were rated a “2” (major temporary or minor prolong ed impacts ) and 0 ratings of 1 (major prolonged impacts )

. Table 2 illustrates the application of BMPs for all rated practices

.

Table 2: Application of BMPs to All Rated Practices by Ownership Group and Rating Category.

Percentage (%) of Practices Rated As
Ownership Group # Practices

Rated Meet or

Exceed Minor

Departures Major

Departures Gross

Neglect

State 269 9 8. 5 % 1

. 5 % 0% 0%

Federal 359 9 4.3 % 3.9 % 1.9 % 0%

Industry 337 9 7.9 % 2.1 % 0% 0%

NIPF 300 9 8.3 % 1.7 % 0% 0%

All Sites 1, 267 97 .6 % 2 .1 % 0.3 % 0%

Effectiveness of BMPs: The effectiveness rating evaluates how well the applied BMP protected soil and water r esources. In terms of impacts: of the 1, 267 practices evaluated,

there were 24 departures with impacts. These departures break down as 1 6 ratings of

3 (minor temporary impacts) and 8 ratings of 2 (major temporary or minor prolonged impacts) , and 0 ratings of 1 ( major prolonged impacts ) as illustrated in Table 3. Table 3: Effectiveness of BMPs for All Rated Practices by Ownership Group and Rating Category

Streamside Management Zones : The SMZ rating form used in 201 4 rated the same 11

BMPs us ed in previous review cycle s . The SMZ law and rules were applicable to 3 1 sites. SMZ rules were applied correctly 9 8 % of the

time. Teams found 6 departures out of 264 ratings for application with 50 % rated minor

and 3 out of 264 ratings for effectiveness with

100% of those being r ated minor. 

# S

Ownership Group #

Practices

Rated Percentage (%) of Practices Rated As

Meet or

Exceed Minor

Departures Major

Departures Gross

Neglect

State 269 99 .3 % 0 .7 % 0 % 0%

Federal 359 9 6.4 % 1.7 % 1.9 % 0 %

Industry 337 9 8.2 % 1.5 % 0.3 % 0%

NIPF 300 9 9.0 % 1.0 % 0 % 0%

All Sites 1, 267 98 .1 % 1.3 % 0.6 % 0 %

A review team member inspects a culvert.Table 4 illustrates SMZ departures by

ownership group.

Table 4: SMZ Departures by Ownership Group

Ownership Group Number of Sites

Evaluated Number of Sites

with Departures Total Number of

Departures

(year  ) ‘ 1 4 ‘ 1 2 ‘ 10 ‘ 1 4 ‘ 1 2 ‘ 10 ‘ 1 4 ‘ 1 2 ‘ 10

State 6 6 6 1 0 0 3 0 0

Federal 7 1 0 14 0 2 3 0 3 7

Industry 8 1 2 1 2 0 2 1 0 2 2

NIPF 9 9 5 2 3 1 6 6 1

All Sites 30 37 37 3 7 5 9 1 1 10

SMZ effective ness was rated very high at 9 9 % for all ownerships combined. Of the 264 SMZ evaluations, 261 provided adequate protection

. All 3 departures w ere rated as

“ minor ” with a score of “ 3 ” (M inor or Temporary impacts )

.

SMZ impacts : Departures covered SMZ width, equipment operation, pre

- approved alternative practices

, and reduction of leave trees below the minimum requirements.

Fish Passage: Fish passage for new culvert installations on fish streams was formally rated this year and the results inc luded in the analysis. O nly two sites qualified and of those

one was good a nd one was rated slightly deficient in application but OK in

effectiveness

.



### CONCLUSIONS

Application Ratings Across All Ownerships: Of all practices rated

, 9 7 % were properly applied according to BMP standards. This

percentage maintains the 20 1 2 overall rating showing that the BMPs are maintaining a very high level of compliance. T his high rating demonstrates the strong commitment all ownership groups have to proper forest management and to the protection of

Montana’s water and forest resources. Effectiveness Ratings Across All Ownerships: For all applied BMPs

, 98 % were

shown to be effective for all types of natural resource impacts

. This is on par with the

overall effe ctiveness from 20 1 2

. Again, a very high standard is being maintained. The most frequent departures and impacts were

associated with road maintenance and road surface drainage.

Combining applica tion and effectiveness, including the SMZ ratings, the 201 4 field

reviews rated a total of 3

, 066 practices across

all 4 2 reviewed sites. There are a combined

total of 69 ratings with either a departure or

an impact. A depar ture and/or im pact occurred approximately 2.2 % of the time all practices rated.



### COMPARISON TO BMP FIELD

REVIEW RESULTS 1990

– 20 1 4

Table 5 (back) shows conclusively that voluntary BMP implementation is working in

Montana. A steady increase in proper application and effectiveness is evident from 1990 through 2000. Since 2000, the BMP

reviews have shown a very high and sustained compliance rate. Thi s success is a tribute to

the continuing efforts of all landowners and loggers work ing in Montana’s forests.

Continuing improvements in harvesting equipment have facilitated industry ’s ability to meet or exceed the guidelines of Montana’s Best Management Practices.

### TABLE 5: COMPAR ISON OF BMP FIELD REVIEW RESULTS 1994

– 201 4

Category 2014 2012 2010 2008 2006 2004 2002 2000 1998 1996 1994

Application of practices that

meet or exceed

BMP requirements. 97% 98% 97% 97% 96% 97% 96% 96% 94% 92% 91%

Application of high risk practices that

meet or exceed

BMP requirements. 92% 93% 93% 90% 89% 89% 90% 92% 84% 81% 79%

Number of sites

with at least one major departure

in BMP application. 2 of 42

(5%) 3 of

42 (7%) 5 of

45 (11%) 8 of

42 (19%) 4 of

44 (9%) 5 of

39 (13%) 10 of

43 (23%) 4 of

42 (10%) 8 of

47 (17%) 12 of

44 (27%) 17 of

46 (37%)

Average

number of departures in

BMP application, per

site. 0.86 0.76 0.87 1.19 1.52 1.30 1.80 1.40 2.00 3.00 3.90

Percentage of practices providing adequate protection. 98% 99% 98% 97% 97% 99% 97% 98% 96% 94% 93%

Percentage of high risk practices providing adequate protection. 94% 96% 96% 91% 92% 95% 92% 93% 89% 86% 83%

Number of sites having at least one major /

temporary or
minor / prolonged impact. 3 of

42 (7%) 5 of

42 (12%) 7 of

45 (16%) 8 of

42 (19%) 7 of

44 (16%) 10 of

39 (25%) 15 of

43 (35%) 9 of

42 (21%) 12 of

47 (26%) 15 of

44 (34%) 13 of

46 (28%)

Average

number of impacts per site. 0.57 0.38 0.47 1.02 1.05 0.56 1.30 1.00 1.50 2.30 3.00

The entire 2 01 4 BMP Audit Report can be viewed online on the Montana DNRC Forest Practices website:

http://dnrc.mt.gov/forestry/assistance/practices/fpractices.asp