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[permaculture] New Forest Roads moratorium

From: "Steve Diver" <steved@ncatark.uark.edu>
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: [permaculture] New Forest Roads moratorium
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 17:42:44 +0000

New Forest Roads Moratorium
USDA has announced an 18-month interim moratorium on construction of
new roads in the last pristine areas of national forests. The ban
expires upon adoption of a revised road management policy or in 18
months, whichever comes first.

See the USDA Forest Service websites below for more information.

USDA Forest Service Interim Roads RuleWeb Site
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/roads/

Forest Service Limits New Road Construction In
Most National Forests
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/roads/nr.htm
WASHINGTON (Feb. 11, 1999) -- Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman, joined by Under Secretary
for Natural Resources and Environment Jim Lyons
and Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck, today
announced an 18-month moratorium on new road
construction in unroaded areas in most national
forests, allowing for safe public access while
protecting the environment.

While the 18-month road construction suspension is in effect, the
Forest Service will develop a long-term road
policy for the National Forest Transportation
System. In addition to minimizing environmental
damage, the Forest Service will establish new
policies to guide decisions on identifying
unessential roads, recommending roads to be
eliminated or maintained to reduce environmental
damage, and assessing roads that need to be
reconstructed and maintained so that they are safe
and can sustain constant public use.

"Because a road is one of the most indelible marks
man can leave on the landscape, it is our
responsibility to safeguard the often
irreplaceable ecological value of unroaded areas
until a permanent policy can protect our last
great open spaces, our water and wildlife, and the
economic health of forest communities," Glickman
said. "We are therefore calling an official time
out, so we can examine the science, involve the
public and build a roads policy for the 21st
century."

"This interim policy will allow us to protect
socially important and ecologically valuable
roadless areas while we develop a protective and
responsible long-term road policy," said Dombeck.
"It's fiscally and environmentally irresponsible
to continue to build roads in unroaded areas with
our current road system in such disrepair."

According to the new policy, which will be
published tomorrow in the Federal Register as a
final rule, all Forest Service roads will be
placed in two categories - classified and
unclassified. A classified road is at least 50
inches wide and constructed and maintained for
vehicle use. An unclassified road is considered a
road that was not constructed, maintained or
intended for highway use.

Road management is a long-term financial
commitment; once built, roads must be maintained
by the Forest Service for many years. The Forest
Service estimates the national forest road system
has 383,000 miles of classified roads and 52,000
miles of unclassified roads. The agency projects
the current backlog for maintenance and
reconstruction of existing roads is $8.4 billion.
It only receives 18 percent of the funding needed
to annually maintain roads to federal safety and
environmental standards.

"I commend Jim Lyons, Mike Dombeck and the Forest
Service for the leadership role they have taken in
implementing this temporary halt to road
construction," Glickman said. "This process will
provide the agency and public an opportunity to
work together in finding a solution to this urgent
problem."

The 18-month rule will affect unroaded areas -
portions of the National Forest System that do not
contain classified roads. It also affects those
areas as listed below:

* All remaining roadless portions of
Roadless Area Review and Evaluation II
(RARE II) areas and forest plan
inventoried areas that lie 1/4-mile or
more beyond any classified road.

* A National Forest System area that is
more than 1,000 acres unroaded and
contiguous to a remaining roadless
portion of RARE II areas or Forest Plan
inventoried areas.

* All roadless areas identified in the
Southern Appalachian Assessment.

* National Forest System lands of 1,000
acres or more unroaded and contiguous to
wild segments of the Wild and Scenic
River System.

* National Forest System lands of 1,000
acres unroaded and contiguous to other
federal roadless areas of 5,000 acres or
more.

Areas exempt from this rule include the following:

* National forests with forest plans
that have been revised since January 1,
1996 and have completed the appeal
process.

* Those forests with revised forest
plans that are under administrative
appeal or revised during the period of
the interim rule.

* Those forests with plan revisions or
amendments resulting from multi-federal
agency coordination using a
science-based, eco-regional assessment.

* Road construction for public safety.

* Those areas where road access is
necessary to ensure access by statute,
treaty, or reserved to outstanding
private right

* Those areas where road access is
necessary to save life or property
because of flood, fire,

or other catastrophic event.

The decision, which goes into effect in 15 days,
is the outcome of the Forest Service analysis of
the public comments and hearings it received and
conducted on a proposal made last year.

Release No. 0054.99
Andrew Kauders: (202) 720-4623
Forest Service Media Desk: (202) 205-1134
============================================

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[permaculture] New Forest Roads moratorium, Steve Diver, 03/23/1999