Virginia's forest industry and public policymakers face challenges as increasing numbers of people seek tranquillity in the countryside. The sound of heavy logging equipment and the sight of trees being cut down was not what the 'Johnsons' had in mind when they moved from Richmond to their 5-acre farmette in rural Powhatan County. To the family's horror, their neighbor did something he and his father and his grandfather before him had done periodically: he sold some timber to a forest products company in the area. The forest products company then contracted with a local logging company to harvest the timber and deliver it to their mill. The 'devastation' of the 20-acre woodlot viewed by the Johnsons was, in fact, a normal timber harvesting operation that is a vital part of the economy for most of Virginia's rural--and urban fringe--counties (see Virginia Forest Facts).

If the Johnsons are like many newcomers to the Virginia countryside who have encountered their first logging operation 'up close and personal,' their reaction may be to appeal to their elected officials to ban logging in their area. As an alternative, they may call for severe restrictions on logging that would remove the visual impact from the public's view. Public officials in some Virginia localities are hearing this request with increasing regularity.

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

While the public's major concern with timber harvesting is usually its immediate visual impact, foresters and environmentalists are generally more concerned with logging's impact on site productivity and water quality. Improper timber harvesting, especially logging-road construction, can result in soil erosion, cause excessive soil compaction, and contribute to stream siltation. For these reasons, timber harvesting operations throughout the state are monitored by Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) personnel. Through existing legislation, the agency can suspend operations or issue fines if a logger pollutes Virginia waters. Virginia's forest and logging industry is also committed to voluntarily practicing long-term sustainable forestry (see Virginia's Sustainable Forestry Initiative). Most Virginia loggers have voluntarily completed training programs on proper timber harvesting methods, or best management practices (BMPs), during the past five years, and routine on-site inspections by the VDOF show that fewer than two of ten harvested sites have an environment-related problem that requires attention.

Currently, about 186,000 acres, or 1.2 percent, of Virginia's 15.4 million acres of forest land is harvested each year. The average harvest site is around 60 acres. It is safe to say that timber harvesting is currently not an environmental problem in the commonwealth, and most observers agree that the industry does not warrant additional regulation on that basis. In fact, the Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Board recognized Virginia's forestry and logging community in 1991 with a special commendation for exemplary statewide efforts in voluntary forest water quality protection. Moreover, as suppliers of the raw material for Virginia's largest manufacturing employer, a healthy and efficient logging industry is critical to the state's economy. Regulations that restrict logging production or increase costs, such as permitting requirements, may increase wood costs and reduce the commonwealth's current high level of competitiveness on world forest-products markets.

FOREST INDUSTRY IS CONCERNED

The logging and forest industry is well aware of the growing problem of dealing with urban-turned-rural residents who have little or no tolerance for traditional rural land-use practices like timber production and harvesting. Virginia's state forester recently convened a meeting of forest industry officials and private forest landowners to discuss the possible effects of increasing population pressure on Virginia's future timber supply and availability. The group concluded that the problem was serious and growing, and it discussed a number of possible responses, including

• Educational programs to inform the public and elected officials about the benefits of environmentally responsible timber harvesting,
• Programs to increase management and timber production on remaining available forest lands not impacted by population pressures, and
• Development of 'softer' logging systems and techniques that may minimize the visual impact of timber harvesting.

Virginia's rural landscape is changing in many areas of the state. Loggers no longer have the woods to themselves. Performing an environmentally responsible and operationally sound timber harvesting operation, followed by successful and timely reforestation, may no longer be enough to satisfy the public in some areas of the commonwealth. Virginia's elected officials must be prepared to carefully consider economic consequences and focus on actual, rather than perceived, environmental impacts when confronted with an emotional response based on short-term visual appearance.

AN APPROPRIATE PUBLIC RESPONSE?

Public officials presented with a complaint about a timber harvesting operation should carefully and thoughtfully evaluate the basis for the complaint. If a logging operation has caused damage to public property or created a public safety hazard, the response and legal remedies are obvious.

The response may be somewhat less clear when the basis of complaint is a perceived environmental problem, such as an improperly constructed logging-road stream-crossing that may cause excessive sedimentation during the next heavy rainfall. Fortunately, Virginia local governments have a resource person they can look to for expert advice to address this type of complaint: the local VDOF forester. These trained agency professionals are located in most Virginia counties, are knowledgeable in all aspects of logging and forestry, and can offer expert opinions on forestry environmental issues. They are responsible for the enforcement of Virginia's forestry water-quality law and routinely inspect logging operations for voluntary compliance with forestry best management practices. If the complaint indeed has an environmental basis, the Department of Forestry can address it and follow through to seek a remedy.

It is when the complaint is actually based on 'visual quality' issues that the proper response becomes most difficult. Here, public officials must consider private property rights as well as the public interest. A major consideration should be the purpose of the timber harvest and the landowner's future intended land use. For example, if the harvest is being conducted to regenerate a mature timberstand and the tract will be reforested and retained as forestland, then public concern should focus primarily on ensuring minimal negative environmental impact of water and soil. Trees are a 'renewable' resource and will quickly recover the site. On the other hand, if the harvest precedes a change to a non-forest land use, public officials should carefully consider the impact of such changes and use zoning laws to address this issue. Counties that have adopted forestal districts have already taken a positive step in this direction.

A few localities in Virginia have enacted zoning ordinances that specifically restrict or prohibit logging because of visual quality complaints and concerns. The most commonly proposed restriction requires that a mandatory forest 'buffer' of specified width be maintained along roadways or other 'sensitive' areas with high public visibility. While this regulation may at first seem relatively harmless, it can actually prove quite expensive for the affected private forest landowner and should be carefully weighed. For example, a 100-foot-wide roadside forest buffer for a half-mile distance can easily cost the affected landowner $5,000 or more in lost timber revenue. If private forest landowners encounter excessive harvesting or forest management restrictions that reduce the economic return from their forest land investment, they may be more likely to develop the property or convert it to other uses rather than maintain it as forest. Most would agree that this is an undesirable result, since forestry provides a preferred land use, particularly in the urban-fringe areas of Virginia. Forests are environmentally beneficial, aesthetically pleasing--except for a short period immediately following harvest--and require minimum government services.

An alternative response for public officials in areas where logging aesthetics become an issue is to actively encourage local loggers and forest landowners to voluntarily adopt certain operating techniques when logging in areas of high public visibility that can 'soften' the visual impact of timber harvesting. These 'aesthetic logging' techniques include the following:

• Shield log landings (where trucks are loaded) from view of public highways by using topography or vegetative buffers.
• Clear log landings of all woody debris, level and smooth the ground, and stabilize the soil with grass seed.
• Minimize the amount of woody logging debris left on the ground by maximizing the utilization of each tree. Cut stumps low to the ground.
• Vary the shape and size of harvest areas and generally keep them small. Create a natural-appearing, uneven edge to harvest areas.
• Retain a visual screen or buffer of trees or vegetation along a public road corridor.
• Remove skinned-up or damaged trees from the site and fell any trees with broken tops or limbs.
• Avoid leaving any rutted logging roads or skid trails.
• In short, make the harvest site look as neat and orderly as possible.

Virginia Department of Forestry personnel can work with local governments to help make loggers and forest landowners aware of public concern about logging aesthetics and promote these mitigation techniques. The Virginia Logger's Council, an affiliate of the Virginia Forestry Association, is concerned about the public image of timber harvesting and is committed to supporting programs that can enhance that image. Virginia Tech Forestry Extension personnel are also available to assist local governments with educational programs for loggers and forest landowners.

In summary, timber harvesting is a critical part of Virginia's economy. When conducted in a responsible manner, it has few short-term and no long-term negative effects on the environment. However, a recently logged area may be unsightly and upsetting to some citizens, resulting in calls for 'regulation.' Public policy-makers must carefully examine the true basis for complaints and adopt policies that protect the traditional rights of rural landowners and businesses as well as address public concerns.

Robert M. Shaffer is an associate professor of forestry operations and a timber harvesting Extension specialist in Virginia Tech's College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources. The author of a number of journal articles and editor of a newsletter for Virginia loggers, he has conducted over 100 workshops, short courses, and Extension programs on a broad range of forestry operations. He has also served as president of both the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Society of American Foresters and the Virginia Forestry Association. In 1989 the association presented him with its Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership in Virginia's Forestry BMP Program.

• The harvesting, processing, and marketing of wood products adds $9.8 billion annually to Virginia's economy.
• Virginia's forest industry provides over 228,000 jobs, ranking first among manufacturing industries in the commonwealth.
• Non-industrial private landowners own 77 percent of Virginia's 15.4 million acres of forest land. In 1995 these landowners earned over $200 million from the sale of timber.
• Americans use an average of 749 pounds of paper products and 18 cubic feet of lumber and wood panel products per person each year.
• Virginia's forests contain nearly twice the volume of timber today than they had in 1940 and continue to grow more than is harvested each year.
• Virginia's 1,500 logging businesses employ over 6,000 workers.
• Virginia's Reforestation Law requires pine sites to be reforested--typically through replanting--promptly after harvest. Nature prolifically reforests hardwood sites through natural regeneration.

  - Robert M. Shaffer

In 1995 the American Forest & Paper Association launched the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). AF& PA, the national trade association representing the majority of U.S. forest industry firms, made complying with SFI a condition of membership. In Virginia a state task force of forest industry officials and others administer the program. These forest industry firms collectively pledged to practice 'sustainable forestry' in all of their operations and to agree to annual inspections of their operations by credible third-party auditors. Specifically, AF& PA member firms in Virginia will

• Ensure prompt reforestation of harvested sites
• Protect forest water quality
• Enhance wildlife habitat
• Minimize the visual impact of harvesting
• Protect ecologically sensitive sites
• Contribute to biodiversity
• Continue to improve wood utilization
• Continue the prudent use of chemicals to improve forest health
• Foster the practice of sustainable forestry on all forest lands, primarily through actively supporting education in sustainable forestry principles and practices for loggers and forest landowners
• Publicly report progress of the program.

To date, Virginia's SFI program has provided funding for sustainable forest-related positions with the Virginia Forestry Association and Virginia Tech Forestry Extension, conducted logger training programs across the commonwealth, formed a Forest Landowner Council to facilitate landowner education efforts, and presented first-year compliance data to AF& PA for third-party audit.

- Robert M. Shaffer

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