News Stories

Article Information

Article: 

Skokomish Watershed Cleanup Puts Locals to Work

Source: 

Public News Service

Writer: 

Chris Thomas

August 24, 2010

SHELTON, Wash. - Work is underway this month in the Skokomish watershed of northwestern Washington, as local contractors close or repair old logging roads. This area in the Olympic National Forest is known for serious annual floods, and the restoration efforts should improve conditions, not only for endangered salmon, but for tribes and farmers downstream.

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Article: 

Local Groups Remove, Repair Washington Forest Roads

Source: 

Seattle Times

Writer: 

Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

August 24, 2010

A coalition of 18 groups is pushing to restore national forest lands in Washington state through the removal and repair of forest roads left behind from decades of timber harvesting.

State and federal officials say mud and runoff from those abandoned roads pose a problem for water quality, salmon and the ailing Puget Sound. They say the roads can also block fish passage and wildlife migration.

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Article: 

Forest Road Repair Dollars, Jobs Arrive in Oregon

Source: 

Public News Service

Writer: 

Chris Thomas

February 22, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. - From Ashland to Joseph and points in between, Oregon will get one in eight of the federal dollars allocated by Congress nationally for forest road and trail repairs on public lands this year. Part of the Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation program, that $12 million represents a rare funding increase for such work and will boost employment opportunities in many small Oregon towns. Local crews will replace culverts, decommission old logging roads and stop sediment from suffocating creeks that otherwise would be good fish habitat.

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Article: 

Future gets brighter for state's aging national forest roads

Source: 

Washington Department of Ecology

Writer: 

Washington Department of Ecology

This news release from the Washington Department Ecology discusses the appropriations for 2010 Legacy Roads funding. Oregon and Washington states received $19.1 million dollars to address crumbling forest service roads. These funds will help create needed jobs and restore municipal watersheds. The 2010 allocation nearly doubles the 2008 and 2009 allocations combined.

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Article: 

A Rough Road to Repair

Source: 

High Country News

Writer: 

Francisco Tharp

HCN ONLINE - March 27, 2008,
updated April 3, 2008.

This winter’s storms hit the Northwest hard. In December, Washington’s Olympic Peninsula was thrashed for two days by 90 mph winds and saturating rains. Rivers rose up to 14 feet, twisting bridges and sweeping away roads. The storm caused $5 million of road damage in Olympic National Forest alone. While maintenance crews cleared popular routes of wind-blown trees and washed-out boulders, thousands of miles of abandoned backcountry logging roads were left to fill salmon streams with tons of damaging debris.

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Article: 

Watershed Restoration Initiative Coalition News Release - December 20, 2007

Source: 

Washington State Department of Ecology

Writer: 

Sandy Howard

Funds to target crumbling forest roads that harm clean water and salmon habitat SEATTLE - Yesterday, Congress passed an appropriations bill which included $39.4 million for urgently needed watershed restoration on national forest lands. Once President Bush signs this bill, the money will go to areas where decaying U.S. Forest Service roads contribute to water quality problems, especially to areas that support threatened or endangered species, like salmon and steelhead, and provide clean drinking water for communities.

Article Information

Article: 

Area may get millions to repair forest roads

Source: 

Herald Writer

Writer: 

Lukas Velush

Pacific Rivers Council's Chris Frissell and Ecology's Stephen Bernath speak with Lukas Velush of the Everett Herald.

Article Information

Article: 

Major Cleanup Ahead for WA's Old Forest Roads

Source: 

Public News Service

Writer: 

Chris Thomas

Olympia, WA – A Washington State official says thousands of miles of mostly-abandoned logging roads in Washington amount to what he calls a "ticking time bomb." The roads are located in the national forests in the state, from mountain ridges all the way to Puget Sound. Most of them aren't maintained and are washing out, jeopardizing downstream water quality and wildlife habitat, including salmon spawning areas.