As mandated by the Act, a nonpoint source pollution control program must be developed and implemented through a coordinated federal, state and local partnership. The Nation's forests play a vital role in the provision of clean water on a sustained basis. Forest management practices, if properly planned and implemented, can enhance this important role. Negative impacts can be minimized and made to occur for a relatively short period of time. The Voluntary approach is generally more politically acceptable.
People are more favorably disposed towards training and education, rather than regulation.
The voluntary approach is easier to comply with, as it offers greater flexibility to tailor stand management to site as opposed to blanket regulatory and bureaucratic prescriptions. A voluntary program will often be less expensive even if identical Best Management Practices are used, since generally no plans, permits, or notification times and expenses are involved. Regulation is generally expensive and generally provides for little site specific flexibility for landowners, resource managers, and operators. With the regulatory approach, there is a need to have a minimum of conflicting regulations, which is often not an attainable objective in major bureaucracies. This may be especially true with water issues where a number of different agencies can have major, and overlapping water protection and management responsibilities.