Scott M. Barrett

Characteristics of Virginia's Logging Businesses in a Changing Timber Market

The forest products industry is a vital component of Virginias economy, and logging businesses, as the suppliers of raw material, are an extremely important part of this industry. How they operate...

Estimating Costs and Effectiveness of Upgrades in Forestry Best Management Practices for Stream Crossings

Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) are used for protection of water quality at forest stream crossings, yet effects and costs for gradients of BMPs are not well documented. We evaluated forty-two truck road and skid trail stream crossings using three surrogates of BMP adequacy: (1) potential erosion rates for stream crossing approaches; (2) adequacy of stream crossing BMPs; and (3) overall BMP rating (BMP−, BMP-standard, and BMP+). Subsequently, BMP upgrades were recommended for enhancing BMP− or BMP-standard stream crossings. Costs for BMP upgrades were estimated using an existing road and skid trail cost method. The majority of truck road stream crossings were culverts, while skid trail stream crossings were primarily portable bridges. Potential erosion estimates, BMP audit scores, and BMP ratings all indicated that skid crossings have lower BMP implementation than truck road crossings. BMP improvements commonly identified for skid trail and truck crossings included addition of cover and water control structures. Improved BMPs at skid trail crossings were less expensive than those at truck road crossings. Current BMP guidelines provide economical and effective techniques for reducing erosion, and BMP upgrades have the potential to reduce erosion rates to similar levels found in undisturbed forests.

Characteristics of Logging Businesses that Harvest Biomass for Energy Production

Abstract Utilization of biomass from logging residues for renewable energy production depends on forest harvesting businesses. As biomass markets emerge, businesses will need to adapt to meet opera...

Perceptions of Virginia's Primary Forest Products Manufacturers regarding Forest Certification

Abstract Some forest products companies have enrolled in forest certification and chain-of-custody certification programs due to a perceived increase in demand for certified products. The results of studies on certification conflict in regard to whether certification provides a competitive advantage and enhances market access. There is a lack of information regarding forest industry perceptions of forest certification, including potential barriers and challenges. To address these shortcomings, a survey was mailed to forest products manufacturers in Virginia to study their opinions about forest certification. The majority of respondents believed there were few benefits to certification programs; in particular, a majority perceived limited to no benefit with regard to market share, exports, future demand, and gaining a competitive edge. A similar number also reported that they associate little to no environmental benefits or improvements to company image associated with certification. The top barriers to ce...

Best Management Practices for Low-Volume Forest Roads in the Piedmont Region: Summary and Implications of Research

Forest roads provide important access for forest management activities, yet those roads, skid trails, and stream crossings have repeatedly been reported as major sources of sediment. The passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 focused considerable research on the development of forestry best management practices (BMPs) for reducing sediment input from forest roads. Recent litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court has reemphasized the importance of enhancing BMPs for forest roads. This paper synthesizes and interprets two decades of applied research on BMPs for low-volume forest roads, with emphasis on research conducted on forest operations in the Virginia Piedmont region. BMP interpretations include (a) current BMP status for forest roads, skid trails, and stream crossings; (b) advantages of preharvest planning; (c) forest road design; (d) forest road closure; (e) recommended BMPs for legacy roads; (f) guidelines for minimizing area of forest roads; (g) deck and skid trail rehabilitation; (h) closure of bladed and overland skid trails; (i) alternative harvest systems; (j) permanent and temporary closure of the stream crossing; (k) selection of stream crossing types; and (l) recommendations for streamside management zones. Major conclusions from this synthesis are that forest roads, skid trails, and stream crossings continue to be ranked as problem sources of sediment, but forestry BMPs can be used to reduce sediment inputs from such areas. Problems with road and skid trails can generally be attributed to poor planning and insufficient quantity or quality of BMPs.

Evaluation of Bladed Skid Trail Closure Methods in the Ridge and Valley Region

Forest roads and skid trails with inadequate best management practices (BMPs) often contribute the majority of erosion produced from forest harvesting operations. We evaluated soil erosion rates from bladed skid trails in the mountains of Virginia after a timber harvest. The randomized complete block design included six blocks, each containing four skid trail closure BMP treatments (waterbar only [Control], slash-covered [Slash], seeded [Seed], and seeded with fertilizer and mulch [Mulch]). Control treatments resulted in an average erosion rate of 6.8 tons ac 1 yr 1 (15.1 tonnes ha 1 yr ) following installation. Seed treatments resulted in an average erosion rate of 2.6 tons ac 1 yr 1 (5.9 tonnes ha 1 yr ). Mulch treatments averaged 0.5 ton ac 1 yr 1 (1.1 tonnes ha 1 yr ), and Slash treatments averaged 0.4 ton ac 1 yr 1 (0.8 tonnes ha 1 yr ). Seed, Mulch, and Slash treatments significantly reduced soil erosion rates in comparison to Control treatments (P 0.0315), with Mulch and Slash treatments being most effective (P 0.0001). Results indicate that ground cover treatments are beneficial in addition to waterbars for effective erosion control. A cost analysis indicates that Seed treatments are the most cost-effective (

Characteristics, predicted erosion, and costs for different levels of forestry best management practices at skidder and truck stream crossings in the Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plains of Virginia, USA

2771.89/mi); however, on a basis of erosion prevented, Slash treatments were the most cost-effective (

Soil response to skidder trafficking and slash application

73.65/ton).

Characteristics of Virginia's Private Forest Landowners and Their Attitudes toward Harvesting

ABSTRACT Operational stream crossings on forest roads and skid trails are potential sediment delivery areas from timber harvests that can negatively affect water quality if best management practices (BMPs) are not sufficiently implemented. Virginia has three major physiographic regions (Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain), and the diverse topographies require some specificity of BMP guidelines for water quality protection. Furthermore, truck roads and skid trails utilize different drainage and erosion control BMPs to maintain sufficient working conditions and access to timber. As a result, differing BMP approaches and implementation levels for roads and trails inherently have different associated costs. We evaluated BMP implementation levels on 154 stream crossing approaches (3 regions × 2 road types × a minimum of 25 stream crossings). We categorized the crossings as BMP− (failed to meet recommended BMPs), BMP-standard (met recommended guidelines), or BMP+ (exceeded recommended guidelines). We estimated hypothetical costs for elevating BMP− stream crossings to BMP-standard and BMP+ and costs of elevating BMP-standard to BMP+. Average BMP implementation audit scores for stream crossings were 88% on skid trails and 82% on truck roads. To upgrade from a BMP− to BMP-standard, the cost-benefit ratio (

Productivity and costs of utilizing small-diameter stems in a biomass-only harvest

/Mg of sediment prevented) averaged