FS submits final 2008 Legacy Roads reports to Congress

Created by Bethanie Walder on May 1, 2009
In April 2009 the Forest Service submitted their final Legacy Roads reports for 2008 to Congress.  While we’ve been trying to get the actual reports directly from the agency, we haven’t succeeded yet.  But we do have scanned copies (best quality we could get, sorry) of the hard copy that was submitted to Congress.  There’s a separate report for each region, each of which includes a spreadsheet of the projects that were funded followed by individual one page reports from a handful of projects with photos and summaries of the purpose/accomplishments.  (As an example of another reporting style, check out this great Legacy Roads report from the Pacific Northwest region.)

The summary data we have to date from their 2008 accomplishment reports is as follows:
  • 1,533 miles of system roads maintained
  • 180 miles of authorized roads decommissioned
  • 351 miles of unauthorized roads decommissioned
  • 6 bridges or major culverts decommissioned
  • 631 miles of system roads improved
  • 11 bridges or major culverts repaired or replaced
  • 22 miles of system trails improved

As we begin to work through the reports we’re also eagerly awaiting the Forest Service’s announcement of how they will be spending their 2009 Legacy Roads money, in addition to their final list of stimulus projects.  In mid-April the Forest Service released a spreadsheet with stimulus projects, but the document was pulled almost immediately and no new press or documents have yet shown up.  Keep an eye on our blog for information once those projects are announced.

Our biggest concern at this point, however, is that the agency will fail to truly integrate their stimulus and Legacy funds.  They appear to be unwilling to use stimulus funds for planning any future projects (even projects that could be completed within the 2 year time frame of the stimulus funding.  Instead they seem to be interested only in projects that have already undergone environmental analysis. 

Agency officials we've spoken with have, unfortunately, also made similar claims about Legacy Roads funding.  But there aren’t enough shovel ready projects for both the stimulus and the Legacy Roads funding.  In addition, there’s nothing in the Legacy Roads language that says they can’t use the funds for planning.  (Stimulus is a little more complex, but still offers quite a bit of flexibility.)  While we’ve met with people at the Washington Office and in the Department of Agriculture, we have received no guarantees that they will actually integrate these two funding pools and ensure that some of the funding goes to much-needed planning work.  

This is even more disconcerting in light of the fact that the final report language (155 Cong. Rec. H2089-01 at H2110. (Feb. 23, 2009)) from the 2009 appropriations bill explicitly directed the Forest Service to conduct science-based roads analysis, identify the minimum road system needed and identify roads for decommissioning – in other words, PLANNING. 

The Committees on Appropriations expect that each individual National Forest or Grassland will comply fully with all travel management regulatory requirements, particularly the science-based analysis in 36 CFR 212.5 (b)(1), the identification of unneeded roads in 36 CFR 212.5(b)(2), and the criteria for designation in 36 CFR 212.55(a) and (b). The Committees expect the Forest Service to identify priorities, and associated resource requirements, to fully comply with the regulatory requirements of 36 CFR 212.5(b) (1) and (2).  
Legacy Road funds can be used to conduct this important work, if the agency is willing to connect all the dots.  If not, they’ll continue to increase their maintenance backlog and the ecological problems associated with it.  According to Road Accomplishment Reports we just received from the Forest Service, they only had enough funding to maintain 19.8% of their national road system in 2007.  

Let’s hope that the Legacy Roads funds allocated for the remainder of 2009 take some of these critical issues into account and include opportunities for the agency to start rightsizing the bloated national forest road system through both planning and implementation.