Water Quality
Improper logging practices can create runoff and increase soil erosion, carrying harmful sediment and nutrients into our waterways. Streams then transport this pollution throughout the watershed. In Northern Virginia, this polluted water eventually flows to the Chesapeake Bay.
Once in the Bay, algae ingest these nutrients and use them to grow rapidly on the water’s surface. This thick layer of algae steals sunlight from everything below. The lack of light kills the underwater plants that produce oxygen, which in turn suffocates sensitive aquatic life. As a result, the Chesapeake is facing terrible “dead zones,” which are areas devoid of underwater life.
Although forestry practices only contribute a tiny percentage of the Bay’s pollution, many foresters, loggers, and landowners follow best management practices (BMPs) in order to minimize their contribution to the Bay’s pollution. BMPs are techniques designed to catch overland flow of water before it reaches a waterway. Although they are voluntary in Virginia, 90% of logging jobs in the state conduct BMPs under the guidance of the Department of Forestry.
For more information about efforts to repair the Bay, check out Forestry For the Bay at: https://www.forestryforthebay.org.
Once in the Bay, algae ingest these nutrients and use them to grow rapidly on the water’s surface. This thick layer of algae steals sunlight from everything below. The lack of light kills the underwater plants that produce oxygen, which in turn suffocates sensitive aquatic life. As a result, the Chesapeake is facing terrible “dead zones,” which are areas devoid of underwater life.
Although forestry practices only contribute a tiny percentage of the Bay’s pollution, many foresters, loggers, and landowners follow best management practices (BMPs) in order to minimize their contribution to the Bay’s pollution. BMPs are techniques designed to catch overland flow of water before it reaches a waterway. Although they are voluntary in Virginia, 90% of logging jobs in the state conduct BMPs under the guidance of the Department of Forestry.
For more information about efforts to repair the Bay, check out Forestry For the Bay at: https://www.forestryforthebay.org.