Best Management Practices (BMPs) used to protect water quality during a timber harvest (diagram from page 12 of the Best Management Practices for Forestry: Protecting Maine’s Water Quality)
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Forest Service has launched a new statewide education program, the Adaptive BMP Cooperative (ABC), designed for all those involved in Maine’s forest products industry. ABC will make it easier for forestry and logging professionals to find recognized, quality BMP training programs and identify professionals who have participated in those training programs.
ABC endorses forestry training programs that integrate specific adult education principles and practices and meet strict training quality criteria. The program is guided by an advisory panel that includes logging contractors, professional foresters, forest products companies, non-profit organizations, and state agencies.
ABC is currently endorsing trainings on Best Management Practices (BMPs) for forestry. BMPs are voluntary, recommended measures and procedures applied in timber harvesting operations that, when used appropriately, protect water quality and related resources.
ABC does not develop or provide training. Instead, ABC endorses, upon request, training programs developed and implemented by organizations involved in Maine’s forest products industry. Training programs endorsed by ABC are assessed by two reviewers with expertise in forest or water resource management and adult education. Final endorsement by ABC requires the approval of the advisory panel and the Director of the Maine Forest Service.
The training programs currently endorsed by ABC include Stream Smart Phase One, Stream Smart Phase Two, Fundamental BMPs to Protect Water Quality on Haul Roads and Skid Trails, and Fundamentals of Road Maintenance Using Graders. Additional training programs are expected to be endorsed by ABC through 2024.
More information about this important educational program can be found on the ABC website. Visitors to the site will find a calendar of upcoming endorsed training programs, full descriptions of these trainings, and a searchable list of training program participants.
