2008 through 2010 Projected Accomplishment Fact Sheet

The Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative (Legacy Roads and Trails) was created in fiscal year 2008, providing ~$40 million to protect and restore clean drinking water; fisheries connectivity; and sensitive, threatened and endangered fish habitat. The funds are designated to reduce the impacts of roads by upgrading culverts and completing other critical maintenance on needed forest roads while reclaiming unneeded forest roads. While these projects are prioritized for aquatic resources, any road reclamation completed with these funds will also restore terrestrial habitat connectivity. The program was expanded to $50 million in 2009 and $90 million in 2010.

National projected accomplishments for Legacy Roads and Trails Program

• Fix 820 culverts restoring at least 1147 miles of stream habitat; 
• Improve 2215 miles of road;
  
• Maintain 3089 miles of road; 
• Decommission 2194 miles of system and unauthorized roads; 
• Fix 166 bridges; 
• Maintain or improve 3170 miles of trail; and 
• Improve a minimum of 126,008 acres of habitat.

WWRI works closely with individual forest and regional staff to monitor allocation and implementation of Legacy Roads and Trails funding. Due to the aquatic priorities set up through the Northwest Forest Plan, Region 6 is uniquely positioned to prioritize Legacy Roads funds effectively. Region 6 was also the only region to publish a report after their first year of funding (FY 2008 Legacy Roads and Trails Accomplishment Report, Pacific Northwest Region) to highlight actual project and cumulative regional results.

The R6 2008 resource benefits included:

• 65 miles of stream habitat restored or enhanced.
• 1,311 acres of watershed improved. 
• Completed ‘whole watershed restoration’ work within the water supply boundary of the Bull Run River watershed, Mt. Hood National Forest. 
• Reduced road system by 132 miles, thereby reducing maintenance costs by > $50,000/year. 
• Made portions of the road network more durable, enabling it to better accommodat the more frequent large storms projected for the future.

Legacy Roads and Trails funding restores aquatic and terrestrial habitat, thus enhancing both adaptability and resiliency in the context of climate change. The on-the-ground work also provides high-wage, high-skill green jobs, though we are still pressing the agency to document these numbers. WWRI is working within the region and with national partners to expand the Legacy Roads and Trails program.

Our goal: To engage the agency to identify and implement a fiscally and ecologically sustainable (“right-sized”) Forest Service roads system that will meet both resource management and recreational needs over the long-term. Click on the attachment below to see more specific information on projected accomplishments for 2008, 2009, and 2010.