History

The Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative was formed in 2007 to

address the problems caused by aging and deteriorating Forest Service roads in Washington state and across America.  The coalition represents a diverse collection of groups committed to salmon recovery and watershed restoration. These parties include Washington state agencies, tribes, and recreation, fishing, and environmental groups in Washington and elsewhere around the west. 

In December 2007, the U.S. Congress created the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative (Legacy Roads and Trails) to decommission, repair, and maintain Forest Service roads and funded it for nearly $40 million. Funding was provided to protect community water sources and threatened, endangered and sensitive species. Subsequently, Legacy Roads and Trails received $50 million for FY09 and $90 million for FY10.  Congressman Norm Dicks' leadership was critical in the creation of this funding, and it represents the first direct appropriation towards long-term forest watershed restoration and the first serious effort to address the massive backlog of maintenance for forest roads.

A chronic lack of investment in aging forest roads endangers public lands, clean water, and fish populations. Thousands of miles of Forest Service roads in Washington and other northwest states block salmon passage and are at risk of triggering destructive landslides. Sediment from these roads smother salmon and other fish eggs with sediment and dirty our drinking water. The Legacy Roads and Trails Program is the largest direct allocation that the Forest Service has ever received for watershed restoration through road decommissioning. Rep. Dicks has spearheaded this effort because failures in Forest Service roads in Washington state have resulted in violations of the Clean Water Act; many of the agency's roads are in such disrepair that they don't even meet state road standards. The Forest Service estimates that it needs $300 million to decommission and repair its roads in Washington in order to meet the state's standards.                                                                                

Nationally, the Forest Service estimates that it needs to remove up to 186,000 miles of roads to bring the road system down to a manageable, maintainable system that still meets the needs of the agency and forest users. A 2003 Wildlands CPR study found that it would cost approximately $93 million per year for about 20 years to implement a national road removal plan.

If contracted out, the $90 million for FY 10 would be capable of producing between 2,000-3,000 high-wage, high-skill jobs in rural communities, which is good for the land, and good for the communities that depend on the land. This program clearly has the potential to play an important role in providing green jobs in rural, resource dependent communities.

Sue Gunn, is the Campaign Director for the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI). WWRI is the coalition that helped craft and build support for Dicks' proposal. Sue has a PhD in isotope geology and years of experience working on conservation appropriations and public land issues.

Photos: Pilchuck Audubon Society