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Summarized Comments and Author Responses: AQUA-3

Comment no. 96:

The Key Finding "Most impacts are short-term, decreasing over time as vegetation regrows" needs additional detail. At the site level, this may be accurate, but not accurate at the cumulative scale when logging is occurring throughout the watershed at various points in time. This Key Finding should be rewritten to incorporate the reality of cumulative impacts over time of logging in different areas within the same watershed. -- Draft Report

Response by Stephanie Fulton and Ben West:

Bullet #5 will be rewritten to account for site-specific effects and combined with Bullet #7 to address cumulative effects. -- Final Report

Comment no. 95:

It should be explained up-front what happens when BMPs are not appropriately implemented as described briefly in Section 4 of this paper. The Key Finding should be changed as follows: "BMPs are critical to preventing water quality degradation from silviculture. When appropriately implemented and maintained, they can be very effective in controlling nonpoint sources of pollution; however, when not appropriately implemented, water quality degradation is likely to occur, especially in areas with steep topography. 1st sentence of suggested text will be added to Bullet #4. Remainder of suggested text is adequately described in Bullets #1 & #4. -- Draft Report

Response by Stephanie Fulton and Ben West:

Bullet #5 will be rewritten to account for site-specific effects and combined with Bullet #7 to address cumulative effects. -- Final Report

Comment no. 60:

The report should provide some context to the statement that 3600 miles of rivers and streams are reported as impaired by silviculture in the South. It seems like a lot until compared to other land uses. -- Draft Report

Response by Stephanie Fulton and Ben West:

This has been appropriately documented in both AQUA-3 and AQUA-1. No modification is required. -- Final Report

Comment no. 9:

Acknowledgement should be included that the miles of stream impaired by forest practices is extremely small relative to other practices. This fact has been repeatedly documented by the U.S. EPA. -- Draft Report

Response by Stephanie Fulton and Ben West:

This has been appropriately documented in both AQUA-3 and AQUA-1. No modification is required. -- Final Report

Comment no. 2:

This chapter notes fertilizer use is increasing on intensively managed pine plantations in the south (p. 19), and that while use of BMPs can restrict application of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to non-riparian zones, aerial applications are not so easily controlled (p. 20). Clearly, the role that increased aerial spraying of fertilizers in plantations plays in nutrient loading in streams and watersheds needs to be investigated further. -- Draft Report

Response by Stephanie Fulton and Ben West:

Last sentence of comment will be added to Chapter 6--Needs for Additional Research. -- Final Report

Comment no. 1:

The authors use "Vowell (in press) in the text, it should be: "Vowell, Jeffery L. 2001. Using stream bioassessment to monitor best management practice effectiveness. Forest Ecology and Management, 143, 237-244. -- Draft Report

Response by Ben West and Stephanie Fulton:

Corrected in text. -- Final Report