"Good and good for you, too," the old singing commercial said.

It's true that BMPs, or Best Management Practices, are good because they preserve the long-term health of our forests and water resources. But they're good for you, too. Use of BMPs will help preserve your right to harvest timber-without being burdened by excessive government regulations.

BMPs make your logging project appealing to the landowner because the area simply looks better.

How?

How will using BMPs do these things? In the long term, BMPs protect water quality by preventing erosion and by reducing other impacts logging may have on lakes, streams and rivers. Other BMPs preserve the health of the trees and the forest itself after logging.

Short-term use of BMPs makes your logging project more appealing to both the landowner and the general public because the area will simply look better. Paying attention to the visual impacts of logging pays off in happier landowners and good referrals to future clients.

Public Outrage Avoided

BMPs also help prevent public outrage against logging. Remember the term "excessive government regulations" from the beginning of this article? Contrary to popular belief, politicians do not always try to pass more regulations; in fact, most are quite reluctant to regulate a local industry such as forestry.

But many times a strong public outcry for politicians to "Do something!" forces them to pass laws that interfere with logging operations. This generally happens after a very visible site has been logged and left eroding and ugly.

Aesthetic Issues Becoming More Important

To someone in the business of logging, aesthetics may seem like a secondary concern. But like it or not, it is true that public opinion has an increasing effect on logging operations and on regulating those operations.

Ask any public lands forester about the impact of public opinion on forestry practices. They'll probably tell you they are very aware of public opinion and work hard to avoid a negative image. At the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane), foresters and loggers routinely follow practices designed to control the visual impact of logging, such as minimizing log landings and skid trails, and repairing, seeding and mulching these areas after use.

Planning is Key

You may be thinking that implementing BMPs sounds awfully complicated and difficult. However, there is a way to make using BMPs easier and more effective: planning. Plan the operation in advance to avoid problems-this is truly a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure--and focus your plans on harvesting efficiently while protecting water quality and keeping aesthetics in mind.

Many BMPs that protect water quality by preventing erosion do "double duty" by improving the appearance of the logged area. Planning to minimize the amount of earth disturbance and then seeding and mulching helps the look of the area and are important erosion control BMPs. Other two-for-one BMPs are:

· locating roads and skid trials where they will do the least damage

· installing water bars properly

· staying out of the woods in wet weather.

BMPs Are Worth Doing

Starting to use BMPs may be difficult at first. However, it's worth it; widespread use of BMPs by the industry will help protect water quality, preserve forest resources, and prevent unwanted government interference. That's worth doing!

 Aesthetic issues - like the look of a log landing after the job is done - are becoming more important.