Planning Saves Soil During Timber Harvest

If you sold some timber and the logging company’s poor management practices led to soil erosion and stream sedimentation, you’d probably have some choice words for the person responsible. However, you’d be talking to yourself. When woodland owners sell timber, their legal responsibility for preventing water pollution doesn’t pass to the logger harvesting the trees. Under Ohio’s Agriculture Pollution Abatement law, which addresses impacts to the “waters of the State” resulting from timber harvests, responsibility rests with the landowner.
Sometimes, erosion or sedimentation problems aren’t obvious to the landowner until after the timber harvest is finished. By then it can be difficult to get the logging company to correct problems, especially if the company has gone to another job – often in another county! That’s why it is so important to choose a logger carefully, to insist on a written contract that requires the use of best management practices (BMPs), and to file an Timber Harvest Notice of Intent (NOI) plan with the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) before starting the harvest.
NOI plans are not mandatory for timber harvests, but they can help landowners and loggers head off problems. Filing a plan signals to the logger that the landowner takes erosion control seriously and lets the SWCD know a timber harvest is planned. If the SWCD sees a problem with the plan, the plan can be revised before the harvest starts and problems occur. A plan approved by the local SWCD can also help protect a landowner from nuisance lawsuits as long as the best management practices in the plan are being followed.
Of course, just putting a plan on paper won’t ensure that best management practices are followed during a timber harvest. Unless the landowner has expertise in managing a timber harvest, it’s best to seek out professional help. Your local Guernsey County Soil and Water Conservation District can advise landowners on woodland management, including best management practices (BMPs) for timber harvest and filing NOI plans. Some landowners also rely on private consulting foresters, who can manage a timber sale and oversee the harvest.