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forestry
Watershed Forestry Program
Program Summary
Forests cover more than three-quarters of the New York City water supply
watersheds, most privately owned and managed by thousands of individual
landowners. In partnership with forest landowners, loggers and the forest
industry, DEP supports a voluntary Watershed Forestry Program. Well-managed
forests are not only a preferred open space land use for watershed protection,
they’re also a working landscape that supports the rural upstate
economy.
The Watershed Forestry Program began as a grass-roots effort during
the mid-1990s and was formally established as a voluntary pollution
prevention partnership between New York City and the upstate forestry
community in September 1997. DEP funds and administers the Forestry
Program by contracting with the locally-based Watershed Agricultural
Council (WAC) , which implements the program in tandem with the Watershed
Agricultural Program, the Whole Farm Easement Program and the City-
and federally-funded Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
Forestry also supports an economic development program to strengthen
the forest products industry and improve financial incentives for owning
private forest land. The majority of this program is funded by the USDA
Forest Service. New York City’s funding commitment to the Forestry
Program is over $4 million for the period September 1997 through June
2007. The USDA Forest Service has provided more than $3 million in matching
grants directly to WAC and another $1 million in operational funding
for State and federal technical assistance.
Program Accomplishments
WAC provides cost-sharing to watershed landowners for developing long-term
forest management plans written by qualified professional foresters.
Nearly 40 trained foresters are currently approved to write watershed
forest management plans that meet water quality protection needs, focusing
on streamside forest management. As of April 2003, these foresters completed
more than 290 plans covering more than 55,000 acres, of which 45,000
are forested.
Water quality impacts which may occur during timber harvest operations
are typically short-term in nature and can be reduced or eliminated
through the proper use of forestry BMPs. The program provides cost-sharing,
technical assistance and other incentives to watershed loggers and landowners
for implementing forestry BMPs, with particular focus on minimizing
the impacts of logging equipment, protecting water quality at stream
crossings, and reducing soil erosion from forest roads, skid trails
and log landings. The Forestry Program distributes free copies of the
"New York State Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality:
BMP Field Guide," which it developed with several State and local
organizations.
As of April 2003, the Forestry Program has supported the local purchase,
rental or temporary loan of more than 30 portable bridges and the completion
nearly 50 forest road BMP projects, which represent more than 80 miles
of properly designed, installed and stabilized forest access roads with
more than 2,400 erosion control BMPs.
An average of 225 active loggers harvest timber in the watershed for
some part of the year. The City provides cost-sharing to watershed loggers
for voluntarily participating in the New York State Trained Logger Certification
Program and other Forestry Program workshops. As of April 2003, more
than 120 workshops have been sponsored and 150 timber harvesters have
received some form of training. A full-time WAC forester actively provides
technical assistance, free BMP samples and other professional services
to more than 35 logging crews working in the watershed on a regular
basis.
The Program coordinates four educational "model
forests" ranging from 140 to 250 acres that demonstrate various
forestry practices and forestry BMPs that protect water quality. The
forests are being developed under the leadership of the SUNY College
of Environmental Science and Forestry in partnership with WAC. When
completed, each site will contain permanent forest research plots, a
demonstration forest access road with erosion control BMPs, numerous
examples of different forest management prescriptions, and dozens of
outdoor interpretive signs. Water quality research projects are integrated
into the model forests as they are developed. Three sites have stream
monitoring gages to measure the effects of forestry activities on water
quality and quantity. Click here to take a virtual "tour"
of a model forest.
The Watershed Forestry Program also offers educational programs for
forest landowners, water consumers, environmental groups and others.
Every summer since 1999, the annual Watershed Forestry Institute for
Teachers provides 20 science teachers from New York City and the watershed
with several days of interactive learning and instruction based on existing
environmental curricula. A new Green Connections education component,
which partners two upstate and two downstate teachers for the entire
school year, provides them with additional resources to enhance their
classroom activities, like growing trees, and allows more than 100 students
each year to participate in joint field trips and tree planting activities.
In 2000, WAC received the first of several matching grants from the
USDA Forest Service’s competitive Forestry Economic Development
Grants Program. Local wood-using businesses and other entrepreneurs
apply for matching grants to expand or improve their forest-based operations,
such as purchasing new equipment, developing business plans, or upgrading
their facilities. As of April 2003, 50 matching grants totaling more
than $1.6 million in USDA Forest Service funds have awarded to businesses
in watershed counties.
Related Sites
Watershed
Agricultural Council
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Watershed
Protection
