Administration of the Forest Development Transportation System

SUMMARY: The Forest Service proposes to revise the regulations

concerning the management of the National Forest System transportation

system to address changes in how the road system is developed, used,

maintained, and funded. The existing road system on National Forest

System lands was largely funded and constructed to develop areas for

timber harvesting and the development of other resources. In the last

two decades, interest in the appropriate uses of the resources of the

national forests, as well as the costs associated with resource

development, including road-building, has generated much public debate.

At the same time, resource uses on the national forests have shifted

substantially toward recreation. The agency believes this is an

appropriate time to consider changes in public opinion, public demand,

and public use of national forest resources in the context of the

accumulated body of scientific information about the benefits and

environmental impacts of roads, and to consider adjustments in the

management of the forest road system to respond to these changes and,

thus, better serve present and future management objectives in a more

efficient manner. Public comments on the scope and nature of a proposed

revision of the Forest Services road management policy are invited. The

agency will consider all comments in developing the proposed rule.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing by March 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Gerald (Skip) Coghlan, Acting

Director, Engineering Staff, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090,

Washington, D.C. 20090-6090, and also at roads/[email protected] on the

Internet.

All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are

available for public inspection and copying. Persons wishing to inspect

the comments are encouraged to call ahead (202-205-1400) to facilitate

entrance into the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald (Skip) Coghlan, Acting

Director, Engineering Staff, 202-205-1400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The road system on National Forest System lands is extensive and

diverse. It includes an estimated 373,000 miles of inventoried forest

system roads. These roads are essential for the active management of

the resources of the National Forests. They carry an estimated 9,000

Forest Service administrative vehicles daily throughout the forests to

duties as varied as wildlife habitat improvement projects, maintenance

of recreation facilities, fire suppression, law enforcement, and search

and rescue activities. National Forest System roads also carry an

estimated 15,000 vehicles daily that are associated with timber

harvesting and the development of other resources.

Roads are also essential for public use and enjoyment of the

National Forests and Grasslands. The agency estimates that 1.7 million

vehicles involved in recreation travel forest roads every day, an

increase of over 10 times since 1950.

In addition to the 373,000 miles of inventoried system roads, there

are 60,000 miles of roads which exist on National Forest System lands,

created by repeated public use, that are not managed or maintained by

the agency or considered part of the forest road system.

Public use and demands on national forest resources have shifted

considerably during the past 10 years. There has been a decrease in

timber harvesting and other commodity uses and steadily-increasing

growth in the amount and type of recreation uses. The shift in public

use and associated changes in user expectations and access needs

requires new approaches to deciding the appropriate size and

configuration of the road system. In addition, current funding

mechanisms and levels are not adequate to maintain roads to the

standards originally planned, to assure minimum ecological impacts, as

well as to ensure efficient and safe use. Thus, the agency needs to

explore new sources of dependable funding as well as ways to better

manage roads with limited resources.

The accumulation of new scientific information is increasing the

understanding of the ecological and social impacts of existing roads,

new construction of roads in roaded and roadless areas, and the impacts

of the management activities associated with maintaining and

reconstructing roads. New developments in road-building technology have

fewer negative ecological impacts; however, ecological impacts from

existing roads are more extensive than previously thought. For example,

under some conditions, existing roads may cause increased frequency of

flooding and landslides, increased stream sedimentation, and associated

reductions in fish habitat productivity. There may also be concerns

associated with the fragmentation and degradation of habitat for some

wildlife species caused by roading, as well as reductions in travel

corridors of species with large home ranges. Research also indicates

that under some circumstances, roading may begin or accelerate the

invasion of exotic plant species that ultimately displace native

species.

In addition to the impacts of road-building and roads themselves,

there are impacts associated with the increased levels of human

activities in previously-inaccessible areas provided by new roads. For

example, increases in visitor-use have associated resource impacts,

including ground and habitat disturbance, increased pressure on

wildlife species from hunters and fishers, and increased expectations

for amenities. Also, increases in human access may be associated with

increases in the frequency of person-caused fires. A more detailed

listing of facts related to the nature and scope of the National Forest

Road System, public demand, funding, and environmental impacts of roads

are published as Appendix A at the end of this notice.

Rulemaking Objectives

The shifts in resource demands and public use coupled with the need

to ensure that decisions associated with the location, design,

construction, reconstruction, upgrading, decommissioning, and

maintenance of roads are informed by current scientific information

lead the Forest Service to conclude that it must thoroughly review its

road management policy and develop a comprehensive science-based policy

for the future. This policy should allow the Forest Service to balance

scientific information, public needs and funding levels when

determining the size, purpose, and extent of the future forest road

transportation system and any specific road building activities. The

following are among the expected outcomes and key features of such a

long-range policy:

1. Roads will be removed where they are no longer needed, and

ecological values will be rehabilitated and restored in formerly-roaded

areas. These outcomes will be accomplished by aggressively

decommissioning unneeded roads to reduce adverse environmental impacts.

[[Page 4351]]

2. Roads most heavily used by the public will be safe and will

promote efficient travel. These outcomes will be accomplished by

aggressively updating roads (reconstruction, design and maintenance)

and reducing environmental impacts in these areas.

3. New roads that are determined necessary for National Forest

System management will be designed more carefully to minimize

ecological damage, and limited funds will be spent appropriately. These

outcomes will be achieved by carefully analyzing factors surrounding

the decision to build new roads in roaded areas, as well as the

decision to build new roads in roadless areas, to assure that managers

make more informed decisions and that only necessary construction is

taking place.

The agency invites comments and suggestions on procedures for

improving management of the national forest road system.

Agency Actions

Several research efforts are underway to examine the National

Forest road system and its uses; to synthesize scientific information

on Forest Service roads; and to analyze attitudes toward roads as

expressed in the news media. Drafts of these reports are available from

Director, Pacific Northwest Research Station, P.O. Box 3890, Portland,

OR 97208-3890, 503-808-2100 and also at pnw/[email protected] on the

Internet.

An essential element of this comprehensive overhaul of forest road

policy is to develop improved analytical tools for land managers and

resource specialists. To that end, agency researchers and specialists

are developing an improved analysis process that assures that the

ecological, social, and economic impacts of proposed construction and

reconstruction of National Forest System roads are objectively

evaluated, and that there is a full consideration of public demand on

National Forest System roads in the context of current scientific

information. This process will undergo an independent technical and

scientific peer review before adoption.

Until the effects of roads can be more rigorously assessed, the

Forest Service is also proposing to issue an interim rule to

temporarily suspend road construction and reconstruction in roadless

areas for not more than 18 months. The proposed interim rule appears in

the same separate part of today's Federal Register with a request for

public comment and notice of the initiation of scoping under the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

Suggestions on the scope and nature of a proposed revision of the

Forest Service's road management policy, as well as comments on the

agency's preliminary suggestions are invited. The agency will consider

all comments in developing the proposed rule.

Dated: January 22, 1998.

Mike Dombeck,

Chief, Forest Service.

Appendix A--Facts About the National Forest Road System

1. The National Forest Road System is extensive and diverse; it

includes an estimated 373,000 miles of forest roads.

a. One-fourth (23%) are called arterial or collector roads and

they serve all users, including passenger cars.

b. Over one-half (57%) are roads that are only passable by high-

clearance vehicles such as four-wheel drives.

c. One-fifth (20%) are closed by gates.

d. The Forest Service has identified an additional estimated

60,000 miles of ``uninventoried roads'' that were created by

repeated use but never build or maintained to any standards. The

actual number of miles of ``uninventoried roads'' is likely far

greater than this estimate. There are also additional public roads

on National Forest System lands, such as state and county roads that

are typically maintained by others.

e. There are more than 7,000 bridges on forest roads, three-

fourths of these are on the arterial and collector roads.

f. In 1996, new construction of National Forest System roads was

434 miles, or 0.1% of the total National Forest road system.

2. Roads are essential for public use and enjoyment of National

Forests and Grasslands.

a. An estimated 15,000 logging trucks and vehicles associated

with timber harvesting use National Forest roads each day, about the

same number as in 1950.

b. An estimated 1.7 million vehicles associated with recreation

activities travel forest roads each day, over 10 times more than in

1950. Recreation usage is projected to continue to increase.

c. An estimated 9,000 Forest Service administrative vehicles

travel forest roads each day, conducting duties essential to the

stewardship of forest resources, including special use

administration, wildlife habitat improvement projects, maintenance

and operation of recreation facilities, law enforcement, and fire

suppression.

3. Public use and demands on National Forest System lands have

shifted considerably during the past 10 years. The size and

composition of the National Forest System road system has not been

adjusted accordingly.

a. Recreation usage has increased from less than 250 million

Recreation Visitor Days to almost 350 million and is projected to

continue to increase.

b. Timber harvest has dropped to below 4 billion board feet from

a high of about 12 billion board feet annually.

c. The need for, and understanding of, ecological benefits that

these forest and rangelands provide has increased, such as clean

water, wildlife habitat, and habitat for endangered species.

4. While a significant portion of the 191,000,000 acres of the

National Forest System is roaded, a significant portion remains

roadless.

a. An estimated 34,000,000 acres are currently designated as

wilderness; an estimated 6,000,000 acres are designated as proposed

wilderness in forest plans.

b. An estimated 33,000,000 acres are currently unroaded in

blocks of 5,000 acres or more for which the existing forest plans

have proposed management that could include building new roads.

c. Of the 33,000,000 acres that are unroaded and available for

management activities that could include roading, an estimated

8,000,000 acres are classified as ``suitable for timber production.

5. Current funding levels are inadequate to maintain the roads

to planned standards that permit efficient and safe use and keep

ecological impacts at acceptably low levels.

a. About 40% of National Forest System roads are fully

maintained to the planned safety and environmental standards for

which they were designed.

b. The backlog of reconstruction needs on National Forest System

roads is considerable. For example, the backlog on arterial and

collector roads alone is estimated to be over $10 million, due to

their age (three-fourths are over 50 years old) and their lack of

adequate regular maintenance.

c. From 1991 to 1996, funding for decommissioning roads has only

financed a reduction of about 0.5% of National Forest System roads

per year.

6. New scientific information continues to increase our

understanding of the ecological and social impacts from existing

roads and associated management activities. In some instances,

ecological impacts from existing roads are more extensive than

previously thought. Examples of these impacts include: increased

frequency of flooding and landslides; increased stream sedimentation

and associated reduction in fish habitat productivity; increased

habitat fragmentation and degradation which reduce the travel

corridors needed by species requiring large home ranges; increased

frequency of person-caused fires as a result of access; and invasion

of exotic species that displace native species. In contrast,

recently constructed roads that are better designed and better

located than earlier roads, and result in fewer and less severe

ecological impacts.

[FR Doc. 98-1907 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-11-M