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logging steep country anti erosion practices, who can help?

Started by amberwood, September 16, 2008, 04:14:00 AM

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amberwood

Evening all. A trick one. The better half has a project on at work and is struggling to get good info.  What anti-erosion practices are in use out there for steep country? Anything?

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Maineloggerkid

Water bars seem like a good place to start. Skid road placement so as to minimize spinning the tires, and staying away from anywhere water runs down hill.
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OneWithWood

Amberwood,
Would you provide us with some details about the terrain?
How steep are the slopes?
What is the vegetative cover currently?
Are we talking ridges or mountainsides?
Are there existing roads or skidder trails?
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Black_Bear


aspenclark

Here a canadian site which has a good handbook on some techniques we use around here.  (If the links does not work just search "FERIC" and look in the "program activites" drop down at the top, in there you will find an "erosion and sediment control" section). 

http://www.feric.ca/index.cfm?objectid=32C14A28-AD06-F3D4-69F4DCCCA1918E11&CFID=650167&CFTOKEN=71742091

amberwood

Ok more info..it is actually for mining operations, wife is a mining engineer. We thought there might be some lessons learned from logging. She has a problem with a site that has very high rainfall coupled with very steep terrain. Just looking outside the box for fresh ideas. I will ask q's tonight and see what i can fill in.
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stumper

Black_bear thanks for recomending the Maine BMP manuals.  A lot of that work is mine.

I am not sure that forestry BMP's will help much.  Stopping erosion in a mine is a lot different.

Back in the days I did did profesional training, I used to compare erosion to fire.  Like a fire triangle if you remove one of the legs you stop the erosion or the fire.

Erosion requires soil, water or wind, and velocity of the water or wind.  In your case we seem to only be worried about erosion from the water. 

That brings up the question of what leg or the triangle we eliminate or control?

Soil - tough to take that out of the picture in a mine.  On a road you can remove it by paving.  On a stock pile you can tarp it.

Water - remove the water. Not really practical to roof a mine, but we can stop surface water from entering the mine with some perimeter ditching. 

Velocity - This tend to be where everybody concentrates.  Slow the velocity to the point is will not move the soil particles.    Mulch can slow the rain water.  Vegetation (temp. seeding) can as well.  Geofabric.  Increasing particle size (need more velocity to more 8 inch riprap then a particle of sand).  Flatten the grade.

So go back to your wife and asker her what leg or legs of the triangle, she can eliminate or control.

Just remember with a wife, in order for something to work it need to be her idea. ;D

pappy19

I had a big argument with a proffessor from Oregon State on this subject a few years ago. He advocated designated skid trails...I didn't. Reason being the more you use a skid trail, the more compacted is the soil and the more vegetation is lost. That equals more water velocity and more erosion, also more time to heal. I believe "loggers choice" on skidding usually means more skid trails, but less compaction of soils and less vegetation loss. He advocated pile and burn on slash; that means more vegetation loss, bare soil and no chance for reveg for 2-3 seasons and then mostly noxious weeds come up. Another is water bars; I don't like them as they blow out the first pickup or ATV that crosses them in wet weather. I prefer water dips, where the water bar is actually inverted and on a steep enough angle to get the water(and velocity) out of the road. More good erosion "prevention" means sediment ponds, velocity abatement on culverts, and lots of rye grass seed to mother native species. Soil erosion on logging operations can be accomplished, but old time methods give me heart burn and hardly work. One must be a little creative and see what doesn't work; don't think stop-gap methods in a crisis mod will work.
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Dale Hatfield

a water bar should be cut down and built up . We shoot for 36 inch high above cut in.So it can melt down. Then still have  something left after  bikes have been through it.
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