forest industry, loggers, environmental groups, |lo- 
cal governments, and private landowners. In 1985, 
636 operator licenses were issued and 1,123 
harvesting plans were submitted for operations on 
40,764 acres. Only 25 stop-work orders were issued 
and one logger's license was suspended during 
that year. To date, no fines have been imposed 
(Quink, personal communication). 
Oregon Forest Practice Act 
The 1971 Oregon Forest Practice Act is consid- 
ered by most observers to be very effective in pro- 
tecting the State's forest resources. It has been par- 
ticularly successful in improving water quality and 
increasing reforestation. The law is generally sup- 
ported by the State's entire forestry community, and 
compliance with its provisions is high. 
Rules under the act's authority are promulgated 
by a 12-member State Board of Forestry. The 
Board's nine voting members include three who rep- 
resent timber production interests, and one repre- 
sentative each from small woodland owners, agri- 
culture, wildlife interests, the counties, labor 
organizations, and the public at large. There are 
also three advisory members. Forest-practice rules 
and standards are established for some activities on 
a Statewide basis; others are adopted by region. 
Regional forest-practice committees recommend 
rules appropriate to their particular regions to the 
Board. 
The law requires the filing of a notification form 
within 15 days of commencing any of the following 
acts on private or non-Federal public land: harvest- 
ing, road construction, precommercial thinning, for- 
est land conversion, slash disposal, and chemical 
application. A detailed plan may also be required 
when operations are located in areas where the 
potential for erosion is high. Harvests of minor forest 
products are exempt from the notification require- 
ment. However, the operator must still comply with 
Department rules and standards. 
An average of 11,054 notifications were filed 
annually from 1980 to 1984. Notifications are ranked 
according to their potential for environmental dam- 
age. All medium and high-risk operations are in- 
spected at least once. The Department of Forestry 
issues an average of 200 citations and 120 repair 
orders per year. Operator repair costs average $900 
(Stone, personal communication). The compliance 
rate for the act is estimated at more than 98 percent. 
The Oregon Forest Industries Council has estimat- 
ed that the cost of compliance is $12 per thousand 
board feet of cut timber. 
The Oregon law is unique in that 40 percent of 
the funding for its administration is obtained from 
the State's Forest Products Harvest Tax (Henley and 
Ellefson 1986). The act preempts county rulemak- 
ing authority on lands zoned as commercial 
forestland--a rather controversial provision, which is 
currently being challenged in court (Henley and 
Ellefson 1986). 
Voluntary Approach to Regulation 
Most States outside the South have taken a 
voluntary approach for ensuring good forest prac- 
tices on private land. With EPA approval, their Sec- 
tion 208 forestry plans have taken the form of volun- 
tary forest-practice guidelines to be implemented 
through training and educational programs. In the 
now-familiar jargon, these guidelines are better 
known as “best management practices" or “BMP's." 
In general, BMP's prescribe proper methods of har- 
vesting, road construction, site preparation, refore- 
stration, and slash disposal. Although primarily di- 
rected to protection and enhancement of water 
quality, they also are usually written so as to protect 
site productivity, increase timber production, and 
maintain fish and wildlife habitat. 
Legislation in some States exempts forest oper- 
ations from regulation, provided the operator com- 
plies with voluntary forest-management guidelines. 
For example, the Maryland Sediment Control Act 
has been used in recent years to regulate some 
Operations in that State. However, most silvicultural 
activities are exempt provided forestry BMP's are 
followed. 
In New Hampshire, owners and operators must 
file an "Intent to Cut" form under the State's yield-tax 
law prior to logging. The form contains an optional 
statement of agreement which stipulates that the 
operator will implement appropriate BMP's to pro- 
tect water quality. If the agreement is not signed and 
problems then occur, the operator will thereafter be 
required to submit formal plans for all future logging. 
Under Vermont's Water Pollution Control Act, 
forest operators must implement acceptable man- 
agement practices to ensure exemption from permit 
requirements. Should an operator fail to obtain a 
permit or adopt such practices, he will be subject to 
penalties under the law. 
Several States promote the use of BMP's by 
providing tax relief to owners who accept and follow 
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