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VII. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 



Best Management Practices (BMP's) have been heralded as the salvation 

 of water quality, whether dictated by law or implemented on a voluntary 

 basis. They are particularly applicable as control measures for non-point 

 source water pollution. State, federal and local agencies, 208 projects, 

 and to some extent, private industry, have prepared various compilations 

 of BMP's for their particular practices. In addition, the Environmental 

 Protection Agency has added to this proliferation with the publication 

 of their own BMP's. 



The following BMP's are summarized from these previous lists with an 

 attempt to include only those that are appropriate for the Montana Statewide 

 208 Area (see Sec. X for references). The problem inherent in BMP's 

 covering an entire state is that they are too broad to cover the range 

 of conditions found at the extremes. For maximum effectiveness, BMP's 

 should be geared to local conditions reflecting limitations, hazards , 

 and potentials of the site. A statewide listing can only serve as a 

 guide for later refinement . 



Pre-operation Planning 



Planning is an important management tool that, properly utilized, can 

 prevent or at least allow for mitigation of adverse water quality impacts. 

 Planning is inherent in silviculture and a forester plans his harvest 

 method based on desired regeneration, si Ivies, stand characteristics, 

 economics, etc. Unfortunately, this planning process often ignores an 

 assessment of potential impacts of the proposed action. Federal agencies 

 (as required by NEPA), state agencies (as required by MEPA), and some 

 private corporations (internal policy), prepare environmental analysis of 



