Forest Service posts new road policy

Instead of building new roads in national forests, the forest service wants to reconstruct and better maintain the 380,000 miles of roads that it has.

By Environmental News Network staff

March 7, 2000
Web posted at: 2:18 p.m. EST (1918 GMT)

The United States Forest Service wants to adopt a new road-management policy, shifting emphasis from building new roads to maintaining and reconstructing the ones they have.

"It's clear that there will always be roads in national forests. But it is a welcome change that the forest service has put the brakes on what has been a massive road-building system," said Jay Watson of The Wilderness Society. "Any new road building will have to meet rigorous testing and that's a positive change."

The forest service's new plan promises to rely on scientific analysis and put decisions in the hands of the public.

The forest service manages more than 380,000 miles of roads in the national forest system. There are eight times more miles of roads in national forests than there are in the entire interstate highway system.

In February 1999, the forest service put a moratorium on road construction and reconstruction in certain roadless areas of national forests and grasslands. The action gave the agency 18 months to draft a new road-management policy and develop new tools for studying forests.

The new plan is not related to the Clinton administration's proposal to keep roads off undeveloped forest land.

Under the forest service proposal, managers of each of the 155 national forests and 20 grasslands would work with the public to identify heavily-used roads that require maintenance or upgrading and roads that could be decommissioned or converted to other uses. Building a new road or decommissioning an old one would be subject to scientific survey and public comment.

"Implementation of this policy at the local level will ensure safe and efficient access of public lands while protecting land health," said forest service chief Mike Dombeck. "This policy will enable us to engage local people in constructive dialogue about how they want their national forests and grasslands managed."

One of many U.S. Forest Service roads in need of repair is located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest of Wisconsin.

The revised plan pays more attention to the impact of road construction on the environment.

"Any new road has to be beneficial to the forest ecosystem rather than providing access to a stand of forest to be cut," said Watson. "The other values of the forest must balance against the quest to log all areas."

The forest service is staring at an $8.4 billion backlog in maintenance and reconstruction projects.

"The public has rightfully questioned the logic of building new roads when the forest service is inadequately funded to maintain its existing road system," said Dombeck.

The majority of forest service roads were built for use by timber operations. An estimated 1.7 million recreational vehicles per day now travel those roads. About 15,000 logging trucks and industry vehicles per day use forest roads, down from 42,000 in 1990.

A 60-day public comment period on the forest service proposal ends May 2, 2000. Send comments by mail to USDA Forest Service, CAET, Attn. Roads, P.O. Box 22300, Salt Lake City, UT 84122; by fax to (801) 517-1021; or by e-mail to the Forest Service.

Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

World Bank plants seeds for new forest policy
February 2, 2000
Forest report card from Europe
January 26, 2000
No roads where the deer roam, federal judge rules
January 11, 2000

Groups ride Forest Service to set ORV policy
Clinton wants $1.46 billion for Lands Legacy
Computer model aids forest road builders
Agreement reached on Northwest Forest Plan
Timber education subsidy disputed
Forest Service sued for constitutional violations (audio)

The Forest Service's Road Management website
The U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
The Federal Register

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.