ncforestservice.gov • www.buynctrees.com
Year in Review 2016
North Carolina Forest Service, Nonpoint Source & Water Quality programs
Success Stories & Accomplishments
Forests & Watersheds
Timber Harvesting Study in the Upper Neuse River Basin Demonstrates Water
Quality and Water Quantity Effects
In 2016, the N.C. Forest Service developed and published a
detailed summary report and leaflet on a paired watershed
timber harvesting research study in the upper Neuse River
basin. There is a continued interest in how timber harvesting
afects stream flow, nutrient and sediment levels, and residual
streamside vegetation. The detailed summary report and leaflet
illustrates data from technical peer-review journal articles in an
easier to read fashion with “big-picture” forest management
take-home points.
So What Did We Find?
Timber harvesting did increase streamflow and streamflow
remained greater than pre-harvest levels three years following
timber harvest. However, nutrients and sediment levels never
exceeded the state’s water quality standards. Biodiversity of the streamside vegetation increased following timber
harvests due to increase light reaching the ground. This study demonstrated that silviculture and forest management can
be compatible with water quality standards when BMPs (Best Management Practices) are implemented.
Timber Harvest Effects on Water Quantity and
Quality in the North Carolina Piedmont:
Paired Watershed Study Summary
Water Resources Branch
North Carolina Forest Service
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Raleigh, NC
www.ncforestservice.gov
Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center
Southern Research Station
USDA-Forest Service
Raleigh, NC
www.forestthreats.org
Project Leader: Bill Swartley - Forest Hydrologist, NCFS
Co-Principle Investigators: Johnny Boggs, Ge Sun, Steve McNulty, USDA-FS
Tom Gerow and David Jones, NCFS
Reviewers & Contributors Gail Bledsoe, Susan Gale, Alan Coats, A.J. Lang, NCFS
Glen Catts, NCSU College of Nat. Res. Forest Manager
Will Summer, NC Clean Water Trust Fund
David Schnake, NCDA&CS Research Station Div. Forest Manager
Timber Harvesting Effects on Water Quality and
Quantity in the Headwaters of the Neuse River Basin
A snapshot of a long-term paired watershed study results
What We Did
 The North Carolina Forest Service completed and published a non-technical summary of a 6-year
(2007-2012) paired watershed research project that evaluated the effects of timber harvesting on water
quality and quantity in two headwater stream systems of the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina.
 Timber harvesting complied with the Forest Practice Guidelines Related to Water Quality (FPG’s) and
Neuse Buffer Rule. Additionally, the timber harvest followed appropriate voluntary forestry best
management practices (BMPs) to help protect water quality.
 The non-technical summary distilled technical results into “take-home points” for forest management.
Neuse River Basin
Harvested watershed
Reference watershed
Reference watershed
Harvested watershed
Locations: North Carolina State University’s Hill
Demonstration Forest (Durham Co.) and North Carolina
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Umstead
Research Farm (Granville Co.)
 A watershed is an area of land where all of the water that drains off of it or is under it collects into the
same place (a stream).
 The bottom left photo is an onsite example of a section of the Neuse Riparian Buffer Rule Zone, which
functioned as a streamside management zone (SMZ). A SMZ is an area along both sides of a stream or
other water body where extra precaution is used in carrying out forest practices in order to protect water
quality. A SMZ is required by the N.C. FPG’s.
Streamside Management Zone
Check out our web page for more details!
(http://www.ncforestservice.gov/water_quality/pairedWatershed.htm)
Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation Assessments on Logging Sites
Left: A set of properly
installed bridgemats
protecting the stream
channel;
Below: A skid trail stabilized
with brush barriers, grass
seed, and straw mulch.
• After 3-4 years of data collection, 204 surveys were
completed across 94 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.
• Final reports and products including, leaflets, presentations,
and a self-guided story map are on schedule to be
completed in early spring 2017.
• These surveys help direct program improvement eforts
by evaluating the use of Forestry BMPs (Best Management
Practices) for maintaining water quality and conserving soil.
• These surveys also document the success as
an agency in educating forest practitioners,
landowners, and the general public.
• Learn more about these BMP surveys on the
agency’s website. http://www.ncforestservice.
gov/water_ quality/wq_bmp_studies.htm
Above: Bridgemats and logging mats
installed over a roadside ditch.
Education, Outreach & Training
Notable Outreach Events with NCFS Participation:
(Estimated number of attendees shown in parentheses)
• 	Trained 113 loggers at North Carolina ProLogger workshops.
• Instructed 41 college students on harvest planning and forestry BMPs.
• Reached 162 foresters, timber buyers, and other natural resource professionals at three refresher workshops
in Alamance, Granville, and Iredell counties. We plan for more workshops in 2017.
• Southern Farm Show (atended by thousands).
• Water Resources Research Institute, Erosion and Sediment Control Refresher Workshop (60).
• Mills River Day in Henderson county (1,000+).
• Resource Conservation Workshop for high school students (95).
Left: NCFS Water Quality Forester filming a video for ProLogger; Right: NCFS Water Quality
Forester speaking at a refresher workshop
Bridgemats
N.C. Forest Service allows loggers to borrow agency-owned portable steel
bridgemats to help protect water resources. This service is provided to
loggers to demonstrate the advantages over other stream crossing methods.
During 2016, NCFS bridgemats were implemented on 38 logging jobs and
utilized on 45 stream and/or ditch crossings to access an estimated 1,932
acres of timber.
Bridgemats were also used for an emergency response purpose this past
September. NCFS delivered a set of bridgemats to an Alamance County
community cut of from a storm-induced culvert failure. This temporary fix
provided access to dozens of homes and was highlighted by local television
media. Above: NCFS bridgemats in use on a logging
job in Halifax County.
Below: NCFS bridgemats installed over road
washout as temporary access in Alamance
County
Right: View of a road washout
where NCFS bridgemats were
used as a temporary crossing in
Alamance County
Stream Restorations
Post-restoration monitoring was completed on the Lake Julia Outfall
Restoration Project, located in DuPont State Recreational Forest.
Trout appear to seasonally access the restored stream when water
temperatures drop to a trout tolerant range (fall, winter, and spring).
Streamside vegetation has begun shading parts of the stream. A
kiosk was installed as an educational tool and depicts the nature and
purpose of this stream restoration.
Lake Julia Outfall Restoration Project
Left: view of the outfall restoration project in June
2016; Right: rainbow trout caught in the restored
stream
The Water Resources Branch was awarded grant money to restore a section of the Linville River located on Gill State
Forest in Avery County. During 2016, demolition of a low-water bridge and soil stabilization following bridge removal was
completed. The restoration project planning and permitting will take place in 2017, and the river restoration construction
in 2018.
Linville River Restoration Project
The Canal Restoration Project
This restoration project located at the Claridge State
Forest Tree Nursery in Wayne County aimed to
reconstruct about 1 mile of stream. The floodplain
had been widened (increasing the floodwater storage
capacity) and the stream redirected to meander
within the floodplain (slowing down water flow). Prior
to Hurricane Mathew, this project was about 80%
complete. The extent of damage from flooding is being
evaluated by NCDOT, who is overseeing this restoration.
Left: Low-water bridge before removal; Right: Low-water bridge removed
Right: A section of restored stream after Hurricane Mathew.
Note the mudline on the vegetation in the background
showing the water level at peak flood stage.
Mudline
The North Carolina Forest Service is an equal opportunity / afirmative action employer. Its programs, activities and employment practices
are available to all people regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap or political afiliation.
500 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $154.52 or $0.03 each. WQ-04-16
Partners and Cooperators
Inspections, Customer Service, & Technical Assistance
Other BMP & Technical Assistance
Forest Practice Guidelines Related to Water Quality (FPG) Compliance Inspections
For state fiscal year July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016:
Category Description In-Compliance Out-of-Compliance Totals
Timber Harvest - Active 2,558 33 2,591
Timber Harvest - Completed 917 30 947
Reforestation & Site Prep 144 1 145
Other 	 239 1 240
Totals 3,858 65 3,923
FPG Referrals for Enforcement: 6
Citizen Complaints: 66 In-Compliance and 22 Out-of-Compliance upon initial inspection
• Provided NCFS agency comments to USEPA on the potential for forest road permiting.
• Provided NCFS agency comments to USF&WS on the efects of forest management to four aquatic-life species for the potential
of listing them as federally Threatened or Endangered.
• Compiled and contributed forestry site inspection information for NC-DWR staf to include in their update of the Watauga River
Basin Water Quality Plan.
• Assisted a landowner in Washington County with assessing the need for maintenance clean-out of drainage ditches in a manner
that adheres to state and federal rules.
• Worked with staf at the N.C. Division of Coastal Management to learn more about
coastal wetland marshes, and how silvicultural operations can occur in a way that
minimizes impacts.
• Obtained guidance from the State Dam Safety Engineer on the removal of trees
from earthen dams, in keeping with the state’s dam safety law; and shared this
guidance with forest industry stakeholders and NCFS employees.
• Provided information about forests, nutrients, and a summary of relevant forestry
research in response to an inquiry from the NC Sea Grant Program, related to
concerns about algae blooms in the Chowan River.
• Conducted an aerial reconnaissance flight over portions of the Chowan, Meherrin,
and Perquimans rivers to visually observe if timber harvesting appeared to be a
direct contributor to algal blooms.
• Provided feedback to Weyerhaeuser environmental scientists on their company
owned sites that were inspected during the BMP implementation survey.
• Issued wet-weather logging advisories for T.S. Hermine and Hurricane Mathew.
• Ofered guidance on handling “clean-up” on logging sites following Hurricane Mathew.
• Water Resources Branch staf members assisted with public information in support of
Yellowstone National Park and western North Carolina fires and Hurricane Mathew relief (photo on right).
• The Water Resources Branch became fully stafed in June 2016!
Above: Water Resources Branch staf member
presenting an update on the Party Rock fire.