Logging roads are regulated to protect water, fish

Logging roads are regulated to protect water, fish
The Oregonian

Published: Saturday, August 18, 2012, 5:00 AM

 By Guest Columnist 

View full sizeJeff Barnard/Associated PressA helicopter ferries a log to a landing in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest near Selma, Ore., on Sept. 20, 2006.

By Bob Luoto 

I am an Oregon logger, and so were my dad and grandfather. My son is, too. 

My college degree is in political science, but in the end, I decided to keep up the family tradition and run my own business offering services to forest landowners who harvest timber from their private lands. That includes landowners who own as few as 50 acres or as many as 50,000. It doesn't matter whose land it is; we follow the law and take pride in doing it right. 

I was relieved when the U.S. Supreme Court said in June that it would review an earlier ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a lawsuit brought against the state of Oregon by an environmental group. By accepting the case, the high court will likely settle the issue of whether logging roads will be regulated as a point source of pollution, the same as factories or sewage treatment plants, or as a nonpoint source under current regulations, which have been in effect for 35 years. These practices are outlined in the Oregon Forest Practices Act. 

Good water quality is paramount. In Oregon, the water from our forests is cleaner than from any other land use. Had the 9th Circuit's decision stood unchallenged, it could have created an entirely new set of unnecessary and costly regulatory requirements to fix something that isn't broken. 

Today's forestry isn't the same as that practiced by my grandfather, or even my dad. Since their day, there have been many changes in regulations involving forest practices. In the past, poorly constructed roads and improper maintenance delivered sediment to streams. Today, modern road siting, engineering, construction methods and drainage control have greatly reduced the problems from new roads. And landowners are going back to older roads to upgrade stream-crossing structures, replace culverts and even decommission unused roads. 

Oregon's best management practices cover nearly every aspect of road construction and use. They've changed over time as new science became available. Landowners must maintain fish passage, design stream crossings to pass 50-year storm events and stop operating during extremely wet weather. New roads must be sited away from streams and waterways, generally up to midslope or ridgetop areas. Ditches must intercept water running off forest roads and divert it to the forest floor, where it can be filtered by the soil. At harvest, logs must be hoisted over streams. Landowners must leave forested buffers alongside fish-bearing streams and those used for domestic water supply. They must replant. 

The laws and rules have changed, and are changing, for the better. But at some point, more laws, more rules -- and especially more process -- don't help. They just cost more money. 

Because I drive over these roads practically every day, I know logging roads, and I know how much they've changed. Oregon has a good system -- one of the best -- and it has proved its ability to adapt over time. Let's hope the Supreme Court overturns the lower court's decision. 

Bob Luoto is the co-owner of Cross & Crown Logging, Trucking and Cutting in Carlton and is the board chairman for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.