&Streamside Management ZonesForest Landowners

Streamside Management ZonesForest Landowners

N

T Aerial view of stream-

side management zonesafter a harvest

The protection of water quality in Mississippi is everyone’s

responsibility. As a forest landowner, you have the ability to

ensure that any activity, such as harvesting your trees, has mini-

mal effect on the quality of Mississippi’s water supply. Forestry

experts throughout the state have developed strategies and man-

agement practices to reduce the amount of nonpoint source

pollution contributed by forest management. These practices

are called Best Management Practices and are sometimes

referred to as BMP’s.

Nonpoint source pollution (NPS) can take many forms and

often cannot be traced to a single source or point. Increased

sediment, organic matter, and temperature are just a few possi-

ble forms of NPS pollution. An effective practice that landown-

ers, foresters, and loggers can use against nonpoint source pol-

lution is the streamside management zone. Streamside manage-

ment zones are those areas of vegetation along streams and

other bodies of water that help protect water from nonpoint

source pollution associated with land-management practices.

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A well-managed perennial streamhas streamside management zones

that contain trees for shade andunderbrush for sediment control.

H O W D O S T R E A M S I D E M A N A G E M E N T Z O N E S W O R K ?

P Properly managed streamside management

zones contain trees, brush, grass, and ground

cover that help stabilize the soil next to a

stream and provide shade to the water. These

trees, brush, grass, or ground covers slow sur-

face runoff and provide a filtering system. The

streamside management zone allows non-

point source pollution to settle out before

reaching the stream.

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This stream is cloggedwith sediment because

of poor streamsidemanagement.

Intermittent Stream

Another benefit of streamside management zones is the

shade they provide for streams. Aquatic plants and ani-

mals have adapted themselves to the “natural” temper-

ature of a stream. Over time, vegetation along each

stream has regulated this temperature by restricting the

amount of sunlight reaching the stream. Forestry and

agricultural practices that expose the stream to above

normal sunlight, raise the average temperature of the

stream. This increased temperature can dramatically

affect the population of plants and animals that rely

on the stream.

M A N A G E M E N T

Using streamside management zones does not mean

that you cannot harvest any of the marketable timber

along your streams. The amount of harvest within

these areas is dictated by the stream type. Mississippi

has two basic categories of streams: perennial and

intermittent.

Perennial streams flow all or most of the year and sup-

port a large number of organisms. Nonpoint source

pollution is most detrimental to this stream type.

Intermittent streams require less protection than peren-

nial streams. Water flows only part of the year; there-

fore, temperature regulation is not as critical.

Each type of stream has a unique set of management

measures. You may harvest some or all of the timber

within a streamside management zone provided you

follow certain guidelines. These guidelines can be

found in Mississippi’s Best Management Practices

Handbook, available from the Mississippi Forestry

Commission and the Mississippi State University

Extension Service.

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Perennial Stream

Shaded Stream

P E

D D R A I N S

Drains, also known as ephemeral streams, are areas that havewater only in response to storm flow, and they are not classifiedas streams. However, protection measures are still important.Forest-management activities within drains are limited. TheMississ ippi Best Management Practices Handbook lists impor-tant restrictions that ensure storm flow will not contaminatestreams.

W H Y S H O U L D I W O R R Y ?

Even though streamside management zones are not mandatory,the protection of water quality is mandatory. Federal and Statelaws have been enacted to protect water quality. The Clean WaterAct is a Federal law enforced by the Environmental ProtectionAgency. Mississippi enacted the Air and Water Pollution ControlLaw, which is monitored by the Department of EnvironmentalQuality. People responsible for water pollution can be fined up to$25,000 a day and be required to pay for all clean-up efforts. InMississippi, that responsibility falls on the owner of the timber.

Proper use of Best Management Practices should help landowners,foresters, and loggers avoid violations of these laws. Workingtogether can help emphasize management objectives and reduceinadvertent violations of water-quality laws.

If you need assistance, please contact anyof the following organizations:

Department of ForestryMississippi State University

Extension ServiceMississippi State University

(662)325-3905

The Mississippi Department ofEnvironmental Quality

(601)961-5149

The Mississippi Forestry Commission(601)359-1386

The Mississippi State UniversityDepartment of Forestry has

an Extension Forestry Web Page!! Please visit us at

http://ext.msstate.edu/anr/forestry/

Drain or Ephemeral Stream

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By John B. Auel, Assistant Specialist, Forestry

This project is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service,U.S. Department of Agriculture, under special project number 98-EWQI-1-0369.

Mississippi State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.Publication 2233

Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture.Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. RONALD A. BROWN, Director

(10M-7-99)

www.ext.msstate.edu