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1 Key Findings

· In the absence of controlling measures such as Best Management Practices (BMPs), silvicultural operations have the potential to significantly impact general water quality by generating nonpoint source pollution.

· From 1988 to 1998, an annual average of approximately 3,600 miles of rivers and streams were considered potentially impaired by pollution from silvicultural activities throughout the South.

· When compared with other land uses in the South, silvicultural activities are consistently found to be minor nonpoint sources of water-quality impacts (see Chapter AQUA-1). Silviculture was one of the lowest "leading sources" of pollution or impairment for rivers and streams between 1988 and 1998 as reported by Southern States.

· BMPs, when appropriately implemented and maintained, are very effective in controlling nonpoint sources of pollution. They are particularly important in areas with steep topography.

· Most impacts are short-term (first several years after harvest), decreasing over time as vegetation regrows.

· The major potential nonpoint-source impact resulting from silvicultural activities is sediment from roads and skid trails. Other minor nonpoint- source impacts on water quality include short-term increased peak flows during storms, short-term increased base flows, short-term increased nutrient concentrations (primarily nitrogen and phosphorous), short-term increases in herbicides, fertilizers and derivative products, and thermal pollution (increased stream temperature).

· There is very little information available on the cumulative effects of past and ongoing timber harvesting on overall watershed health.