Inspecting for and Monitoring Water Quality
In Virginia, loggers are required to protect water quality during a timber harvest. The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) created Best Management Practices (BMPs) as guidelines for proper timber harvesting. To ensure voluntary compliance with these guidelines, the VDOF began conducting Best Management Practice Field Audits in 1993. The field audits provide a useful tool in gauging the status of Virginia's water resource.
Summary reports of the field audits are available below in PDF format.
Best Management Practice (BMP) Effort, Implementation, and Effectiveness Field Audit
- Silvicultural Best Management Practices: Implementation Monitoring for Virginia 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2007-2008.
- Read the Audit Reports (from 2000-2007).
The field audit serves these purposes:
- to identify current levels of BMP implementation as compared to the technical BMP implementation standards documented in the VDOF BMP manual.
- to identify effectiveness levels for BMPs that have been implemented to VDOF standards.
- to monitor harvested tracts for water quality problems due to recent silivicultural operations.
Forest Reference Streams
- Learn how the Virginia Department of Forestry is pioneering the use of these undisturbed waterways.
Last modified: Tuesday, 24-Apr-2012 12:03:34 EDT
