Compliance Monitoring
   

 
Click on this storymap to learn more about DNR's Compliance Monitoring Program.
 
Understanding Statewide Forest Practices Rule Implementation Through Post-Harvest Monitoring
and Data Collection
 
The objective of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Compliance Monitoring Program (CMP) is to study whether timber harvest and road construction across all six regions of Washington state are being conducted in compliance with the Forest Practices Rules, and to explore areas that may require improvement via education, training, or updates to rules and WAC guidance. The CMP publishes a statistical study of post-harvest evaluations every two years and reports results directly to the public and the Forest Practices Board.
 

About CMP

 
The Compliance Monitoring Program (CMP) was first described in the 1999 Forest and Fish Report, and the program began collecting data following a pilot study in 2006. Our work draws heavily on compliance monitoring studies completed by the Timber Fish and Wildlife Field Implementation Committee during 1991 and 1995, which provide insight into the efficacy of our Forest Practices Rules (see publication TFW-000-98-001).
 
CMP explores compliance rates and long-term trends of compliance for harvest activities statewide. CMP collaborates with landowners, Tribal Nations and representatives, Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and DNR Forest Practices staff to perform interdisciplinary field visits to collect data. The program works closely with a contracted statistician to analyze all data and examine how recent results fit into the long-term trends using statistical modeling approaches.
 
Through this research, CMP provides a deeper understanding of how Forest Practices Rules are being implemented, whether Forest Practices Applications (FPAs) are reflective of current harvest behaviors, and devise ways to improve rule compliance through education, training, and proposed updates to rules and board manuals. The CMP studies revolve mainly around understanding harvest behaviors near fish-bearing streams, wetlands, and non-fish perennial and seasonal streams. CMP also examines road building, maintenance, and abandonment in relation to the potential for sediment delivery into streams and wetlands. 
 
The CMP maintains close relationships with Timber, Fish, and Wildlife (TFW) stakeholders, as well as with landowners, regulators, consultants, and other state agencies to guide and advise the program. The CMP is not a regulatory enforcement process, and all data is uploaded for analysis without identifying markers of landowners. CMP works closely with regulatory agencies in the Forest Regulation Division and with regional DNR staff who may pursue enforcement as part of their regional requirements. If you are a member of the public looking to reach out with concerns around current forest practices activities, please reach out to your local DNR regional office.
 
Elements
  • Collect field data at randomly selected FPA sites across all six DNR regions of the state around riparian areas, wetlands, and forest roads.
     
  • Work closely with a contracted statistician to analyze data for yearly and long-term compliance trends.
     
  • Provide public reports to the Forest Practices Board and external stakeholders on biennial findings.
     
  • Identify areas of the Forest Practices Rules that require further education and training for landowners, regulators, consultants, and operators.
     
  • Offer suggestions for revisions of Forest Practices Rules and Forest Practices Board Manual updates or clarifications of the rules in order to improve compliance rates.