Keeping Arkansas Natural w “We need to manage our forests because if we do not, Mother Nature will,” said Joe Fox, state forester. The best way Arkansas timber owners, foresters, loggers and companies manage their forests is through the implementation of voluntary best management practices (BMPs). The goal of BMPs is to improve water quality through proper forest harvesting and pollution-reducing techniques. In addition to water quality, BMPs can assist in minimizing damage to forest caused by wildfires, diseases and insects. “We tout the forest as being the best filter for our water that exists,” said Fox. Water quality and proper forest management are directly related. Trees are left along streamside management zones, or SMZs. This helps prevent erosion and runoff into water systems and is one of the main tenets of the best management practices, said Fox. While the program is voluntary, it is still highly effective and utilized. From landowners and than any state in the nation - approximately 50,000 people from 26 states in 1,300 workshops. Those numbers are proof that the Arkansas timber industry is continuously working to improve. “We need to manage our forests because if we do not, mother nature will.” foresters to loggers and corporations, the timber industry in Arkansas has adopted BMPs. The Arkansas Timber Producers Association (ATPA) leads training to make sure that BMPs are common practice. Since 1995 the ATPA has trained more loggers and foresters 80 ARKANSAS GROWN A survey was conducted in 2017 and 2018 to see how the Arkansas timber industry is implementing the voluntary BMPs. According to the results, BMPs implementation rate overall was 93 percent. That percentage is higher than the last survey and higher than some states that have a mandatory program. “The survey shows that we’re teaching the right thing, and we just need to keep pushing forward to get to 100 percent,” said Larry Boccarossa, executive director of the ATPA. “This industry is key to the state, and we have to keep promoting the industry as such.” The BMPs –Joe Fox implementation survey randomly selected 237 final harvest sites around the state and asked yes or no questions related to the BMPs manual to determine whether practices had been implemented, explained Doug Akin, assistant state forester. The survey is split into four sections: streamside management zones, roads, harvesting and regeneration. Regeneration had the highest rate of implementation at 98 percent, and streamside
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