Forest Practices Audits

In summer 2016, with assistance from the Idaho Department of Lands, DEQ conducted audits of 65 timber sales throughout Idaho. The audits will evaluated compliance with the Idaho Forest Practices Act and are a required part of the Idaho Nonpoint Source Management Plan. The final report was completed in January 2017.

Idaho 2016 Interagency Forest Practices Water Quality Audit

Silvicultural activities in Idaho are regulated by the Forest Practices Act (IDAPA 20.02.01). The Act applies to private, state and federal timberlands, and implements the goals and objectives of the Idaho Nonpoint Source Management Plan. The Idaho Department of Lands is responsible for implementing the Forest Practices Act, and ensuring compliance with its management prescriptions. DEQ is responsible for ensuring that the Act provides adequate protection to surface water. To this end, DEQ conducts audits of the state’s timber harvests every four years.

The audit team examined active and recently completed harvesting operations across the state on federal, state and private ownerships. The report documents compliance and also suggests modifications to a few rules that did not appear to be providing adequate protection of water quality. These recommendations will be taken up by the Forest Practices Act Advisory Committee (FPAAC) for consideration of future rule changes as provide a basis for improved training and instructional materials. This process ensures that Idaho’s BMPs and rules are based on the best available science.

Forest Practices Audits 2016 Photos

Forest Practices Audits

View of a sale near Greer.

Inspecting a skid road embankment for erosion.

This sale was clear cut. Notice the regrowth after only one year. This vegetation is a mix of leafy plants and evergreen seedlings.

Approaching a landing at a private sale near Kamiah. Landings are where the logs are piled awaiting collection by the logging truck.

Forestry Audits Week 1 (6) Inspecting a roadside ditch.

A skidder. This drags the felled trees to the landing. The pincer can carry four or five trees at once.

9.Another view of the skidder. Much logging equipment is converted from construction machines. Excavator bases are common, as are dozer units.

2.Fuel storage for a logging operation near Grangeville. Forest Practice Act rules require an impermeable storage area to prevent damaging spills.

A ‘corduroy’ log road at a sale near Headquarters, dating from the 1970s. Logs were laid in muddy patches and over streams to aid skidding. Today, forestry operations must avoid wet areas.

Overstory removal at a sale near Pierce. The hillside was heavily thinned several years ago, and a new generation of trees has revegetated the slopes. This operation removed the large seed trees left from the previous harvest.

Cedar grove along a stream in the same sale near Pierce. Forest rules restrict harvesting within 75’ of a fish-bearing stream. 1.A sale near Grangeville. A prescribed burn is visible in the background. This sale removed most of the trees, leaving a 300’ buffer to any fish-bearing stream.

1.A sale near Grangeville. A prescribed burn is visible in the background. This sale removed most of the trees, leaving a 300’ buffer to any fish-bearing stream. A small seasonal pond. This was dry at the time of the logging operation.

A small seasonal pond. This was dry at the time of the logging operation.

A decommissioned forest road. The road prism has been removed and the hillside has been recontoured. Slash is placed across the road to discourage travel and to aid soil stability. The large slash pile to the left will be burned in the fall.

A water bar on a reconstructed road. Water bars, also called cross-drains, prevent water running down a road and eroding the surface materials. By diverting the water to a stable area, gully erosion is prevented.

One of the two auditors takes a break to enjoy the scenery above Dworshak Reservoir.

IDL staff survey the scene of a clear-cut near Bovill. This operation was mostly line-skidded, which minimizes the amount of heavy equipment on the hillsides. This helps to reduce soil erosion.

IDL and DEQ auditors at a sale near Deary. The agencies work together to assess the effectiveness of the forest practices act.

DEQ auditor inspects a small wet draw at a logging operation near Elk River. Although the Idaho forest practice rules allow harvest of trees next to non-fish-bearing streams, many foresters choose to leave trees in these areas, either for wildlife value, or to comply with the requirements of a third-party certification such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Many ‘big box’ stores require this kind of certification.

Oxide daisies grow on an abandoned road at a timber sale near Harvard.

View from a sale near Potlatch. Clear-cutting is still widely practiced, but is typically limited to areas less than about 200 acres. The effect is a patchwork of different-aged timber stands.