Year in review : success stories & accomplishments

              Website: ncforestservice.gov
Year in Review 2012
North Carolina Forest Service, Nonpoint Source & Water Quality programs
Success Stories & Accomplishments
Started a New Forest
Nearly 600 new trees were planted at DuPont State Recreational
Forest along the 500-foot long segment of the Lake Julia Outfall
stream channel that was restored in 2011.
In March, blue plastic tubes were installed around each seedling to protect it from damage by wildlife.
By October, seedling growth was excellent.
Protected the Resource
The N.C. Forest Service provides portable steel bridgemats
to loggers for protecting stream crossings during logging.
Over this past year* the NCFS bridgemats were used on
35 logging jobs to protect 35 stream crossings, providing
access to more than an estimated 1,600 acres of timber.
*State Fiscal Year FY11-12
A set of NCFS bridgemats placed atop of an old,
narrow timber bridge for logging trucks
to safely cross a stream in Halifax County.
Inspected, Studied & Monitored
The results* of compliance inspections made by N.C. Forest Service personnel
statewide resulted in:
*Compliance inspection results and personnel time reported here are from state fiscal year 2011-2012.
3,506: Number of forestry sites inspected for compliance with the statewide rules known as the Forest Practices
	
Guidelines Related to Water Quality (abbreviated as FPGs; rules code 15A NCAC 01I .0100 - .0209)
111: Number of inspected sites which were not in compliance upon initial inspection
97%: Statewide FPG compliance rate
3: Number of cases that were referred to an environmental enforcement agency due to non-compliance
128: Sites that were inspected as a result of receiving a complaint
41: Number of complaint sites which were not-in-compliance upon inspection
2,560: Number of re-inspections
In the previous fiscal year*, a total of 29,741 hours were
recorded by N.C. Forest Service personnel for water quality
inspections and overall program management
Not only does the Forest Service make compliance inspections, but we are also studying the
efects that forestry operations may have on stream flow, sedimentation and nutrient loading.
With our partners at the USDA-Forest
Service, we continued water
sampling and monitoring on two
long-term watershed study sites in
Durham and Granville counties.
In addition, we established 2 stream
crossing study sites with cooperation
from forest managers at N.C. State
University and Duke University.
Water samples were collected from
each stream crossing for a prolonged
period of time, and were then
analyzed in a lab.
We will establish three more stream
crossing study sites across central
North Carolina next year.
Monitoring of stream restoration work done on NCFS properties is ongoing.
A North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ)
Biological Assessment Team sampled aquatic insects from
the restored section of the Lake Julia Outfall stream at
DuPont State Forest in Transylvania County. The photo at
left shows the team collecting and analyzing samples.
Recovering a suitable in-stream biological habitat is an
important step to supporting trout fisheries. The work by
the DWQ team is vital to our long term monitoring of the
restoration’s success.
At the end of this entire project we will report on the findings from all of our studies to determine how well for-estry
best management practices (BMP’s) are protecting our water.
Temporary stream gages are installed to calibrate the stream flow, so that precise measure-ments
of sediment in the stream can be obtained. The stream above was temporarily pumped
around this site during installation. Upon conclusion of the study, the gage structure is removed.
Trained, Educated, and Instructed
Provided BMP Technical Assistance
Forest Service personnel led, assisted, or helped to coordinate education and training for:
 30 N.C. Forest Service fire-fighting equipment operators
 69 loggers through the North Carolina ProLogger Program
 37 forestry college students from N.C. State University and Wayne Community College
 81 high school students at the Resource Conservation Workshop at Clemmons Educational State Forest
 30 water-resource professionals at a workshop of N.C. State University’s Stream Restoration Program
A team of NCFS operators watches while another team member
prepares to install a waterbar runof diversion on a trail at Gill State
Forest in Avery County
A group of water resource professionals at a stream restoration
workshop on a restored reach of Purlear Creek at Rendezvous Mountain
Educational State Forest in Wilkes County.
Examples of technical assistance we provided over the past year include:
 Providing stabilization advice on a logging road in Hoke County (photo
shown at left)
 Timber harvest and stream crossing planning on an Outstanding Resource
Waters stream in Montgomery County
 Evaluating improvements to existing roadways through a blackwater
riverine swamp in Robeson County
 Assessing proposed
silvicultural activities within
a forested wetland in
Washington County
 Ofering options for a
permanent forest road
stream crossing on water-supply
watershed lands
in Orange County (photo
shown at right)
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.
1,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $213.20 or $0.21 each. WQ-01-12.
Partners and Cooperators
Communicated
ProLogger Training Module
One of our staf specialists is featured in a 20-minute long video segment for the 2012-2013 ProLogger AnnualTraining
Module, describing the findings of our most recent BMP Implementation Survey report. This is an important feedback
loop to the loggers, who are a vital link in the adoption and use of BMPs.
River Basin Water Quality Management Plans
We provide forestry-related accomplishments and information to the N.C. Division of Water Quality each time
that they revise one of the 17 River Basin Water Quality Management Plans for our state. During this past year,
several river basin plans were revised, and below are five-year summaries of forestry facts for select basins:
Chowan
Forest Ownership:
86% private 12% industry 2% public
• 30,000 acres reforested
• 1,581 management plans
• 913 site inspections
• 98% FPG compliance
White Oak
Forest Ownership:
45% private 40% public 15% industry
• 5,300 acres reforested
• 317 management plans
• 163 site inspections
• 97% FPG compliance
Pasquotank
Forest Ownership:
46% public 44% private 10% industry
• 15,560 acres reforested
• 1,074 management plans
• 579 site inspections
• 97% FPG compliance
Hiwassee
Forest Ownership:
55% private 45% public
• 880 acres reforested
• 307 management plans
• 137 site inspections
• 85% FPG compliance
Litle Tennessee
Forest Ownership:
56% private 44% public
• 650 acres reforested
• 593 management plans
• 248 site inspections
• 90% FPG compliance
Cape Fear
Forest Ownership:
83% private 10% industry 7% public
• 109,000 acres reforested
• 8,300 management plans
• 4,148 site inspections
• 96% FPG compliance
Interacted
Personnel of the Nonpoint Source program provided outreach at the following events:
 Society of American Foresters Annual National Convention, where we served on a panel of experts to
describe forestry BMPs and associated program implementation at the state level
 Southeastern Biennual Stream Restoration Conference
 North Carolina Association of Professional Loggers Annual Meeting
 North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Annual Meeting
 Southern Farm Show; Southern Ideal Home Show; and Got To Be NC Agriculture Festival
Duke Forest