In response to social activism and public concern regarding the impacts of forest practices beyond reforestation, leaders of the forestry sector, both private and public, began to develop the nation’s first comprehensive Forest Practices Act in the late 1960s. The Oregon Forest Practices Act of 1972 covered most forest operations and stipulated protection for soil, air, water, fish, wildlife as well as forest resources. Provisions require landowners to notify the Department of Forestry of any commercial forest activity at least 15 days before beginning.

The Forest Practices Research and Monitoring Program led a monitoring initiative between the fall of 1997 and the spring of 1999. The final report found that the Forest Practices Rules as currently written, are appropriate for protecting water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and riparian vegetation. Below is a histogram published by the Oregon Department of Forestry that shows concentrations of pesticides detected in 129 Post-Spray Samples from 26 operations. Seven out of 25 samples tested contained trace concentrations of pesticide.

Citations:
Garland, John. The Oregon Forest Practices Act: 1972 to 1994 History and Origins. Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon. Web. 9 May 2015.

Dent, Liz, Robben, Joshua. Oregon Department of Forestry: Aerial Pesticide Application Monitoring Final Report. Oregon Department of Forestry, Forest Practices Monitoring Program. March 2000. Web. 8 May 2015.

Oregon Department of Forestry, Private Forests Program. Forest Practices Research and Monitoring Program.