Arkansas Forestry Commission

AFC promotes forest resource health, conservation and stewardship of forests.  The governor appoints the nine-member AFC Board of Commissioners and also selects the State Forester , who oversees day to day operations.  The following partial list of AFC programs relate to silvicultural nonpoint source pollution management. 

  • Best Management Practices (BMPs).  AFC develops and maintains BMPs, a set of voluntary techniques and practices that forest managers can use to control nonpoint sources of pollution at a given site.
     
  • BMP Monitoring.  AFC collects and analyzes survey data on the implementation of recommended forestry BMPs in Arkansas' non-point water source silvicultural program.
     
  • BMP Training and Technical Assistance.  AFC collaborates with forest industry associations and the Cooperative Extension Service to provide training and technical assistance to help loggers, landowners and forest managers implement recommended silvicultural BMPs to control nonpoint sources of pollution.
     
  • Pollution Abatement.  Through a Memorandum of Understanding, ADEQ refers citizen complaints about pollution from silvicultural activities to AFC for investigation and voluntary resolution before taking enforcement action. 
     
  • Forest Management Incentives.  AFC helps landowners apply for federal cost-share assistance for improving management of their forestland, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and other related programs administered by USDA NRCS and Farm Service Agency (FSA).
     
  • The Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP) is a new cost-share program administered by the Arkansas Forestry Program with federal funds.
     
  • The Forest Stewardship Program recognizes and rewards landowners that are managing their forestlands according to a multiple-use concept. Landowners have access to resource professionals to assist them in obtaining a written forest management plan addressing multiple-use management.
     
  • The Forest Legacy Program (FLP) uses conservation easements and fee-simple acquisitions to protect environmentally important privately-owned forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. 
     
  • Forest Inventory and Analysis.  AFC, in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, is responsible for collecting scientific data from permanently established plots located all over the state. The plots, each representing 5,937 acres, are strategically located on a three-mile by three-mile grid. Natural resource managers use the data to make management decisions.  The inventory plots have been generating data since they were established in the 1950’s. The forest survey allows resource managers to monitor Arkansas’ natural resource trends through time.
     
  • The Urban and Community Forestry Program provides technical assistance and grants for urban forestry through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Forest Service.  Communities, non-federal government agencies, educational institutions, and 501(c)3 non-profit organizations may apply for these competitive grants.