A Glossary of Revised National Forest Road Definitions from the National Forest System Road Management Rule and Policy

Amid the excitement of the final rule on the Roadless Policy, the Forest Service released the new long term roads policy with barely a notice in the media. We have not yet done a full scale assessment of the new policy -- that will come in the next issue of The Road-RIPorter -- but below is a glossary of revised national forest road definitions and some preliminary assessments (in italics). The new Road Management Policy changes a lot of terminology and that terminology is what we in the environmental community will need to know. The changes come at 36 CFR Parts 212, 261, and 295 as well as the Forest Service Manual (FSM) at 1920 and 7700.

Forest Transportation

The new policy proposes an important shift in emphasis from "transportation development" to "managing access within the capability of the land." Throughout 36 CFR Parts 212, 261, and 295 the Forest Service has replaced the term "forest development transportation" with "forest transportation." Further, they have replaced the term "forest development road" with "National Forest System road." We'll have to wait and see if this is simply semantics, or if the Forest Service will really reverse the trend of development of it's road system towards a trend of road closures.

Transportation Atlas FSM 7711

The Forest Service is replacing the Forest Transportation Plan with the Forest Transportation Atlas. The Atlas is "an inventory, description, display, and other associated information for those roads, trails, and airfields that are important to the management and use of National Forest System lands or to the development and use of resources upon which communities within or adjacent to the National Forest depend." Each national forest, national grassland and experimental forest must maintain a transportation atlas which will be available to the public at administrative headquarters units. The Forest Road Atlas is a key component of the Transportation Atlas and "will include the location of unclassified roads and any management actions taken to change the status of unclassified roads" (Final Policy, 62).

Roads Analysis Process FSM 7712.1

This is a new process very similar to the watershed analysis process for determining needs and priorities of the Forest Service's road system. "The REsponsible Official shall incorporate an interdisciplinary science-based roads analysis into multi-forest, forest-scale, and watershed or area-scale analyses and assessments to inform planners and decision-makers of road system opportunities, needs, and priorities that support land and resource management objectives." The Roads Analysis process does not replace NEPA in regards to making road management decisions. "Rather, road management decisions must be informed by roads analysis and disclosed in an appropriate NEPA document (FSM 1950 and FSH 1909.15)." Results and findings of the roads analysis process will be used in forest plan amendments and revisions. The Roads Analysis does include opportunities for public involvement. Wildlands CPR is in the process of conducting an in-depth analysis of the Forest Service's proposed Roads Analysis process.

Glossary -- Definitions under 36 CFR 212.1

Note: This glossary should replace the one printed in the January/February 1998 Road-RIPorter. Some definitions are the same, but some key ones have changed, so save this for reference. Wildlands CPR's assessments are in italics.

Ownership/Jurisdiction

Forest development road -- "A road wholly or partially within or adjacent to a National Forest System boundary that the Forest Service has authorized and maintains jurisdiction over and that is necessary for the protection, administration, and use of lands under the agency's jurisdiction."

Forest development roads are not public roads (FSM 7705) in the same sense as roads under the jurisdiction of public road agencies, such as states or counties . . . They are authorized only for the administration and utilization of National Forest System lands.

Road -- "A motor vehicle travelway over 50 inches wide, unless designated and managed as a trail. A road may be classified, unclassified, or temporary."

This is a problematic definition because there is no way to differentiate a road from a trail "on the ground" -- trails can also be over 50 inches. Wildlands CPR submitted the following definition as an alternative:

A) We propose dropping the classified/unclassified road distinction and simply defining a "road" as: "a general term denoting a travelway that is legally and intentionally constructed and regularly maintained by mechanical means, for purposes of regular and continuous travel by standard passenger vehicles."

B) Unclassified roads would no longer be termed roads, but instead termed "unauthorized motorized routes."

(1) Classified Roads -- "Roads wholly or partially within ad adjacent to National Forest System lands that are determined to be needed for long-term motor vehicle access, including State roads, county roads, privately owned roads, National Forest System roads, and other roads authorized by the Forest Service."

(2) Temporary Roads -- "Roads authorized by contract, permit, lease, other written authorization, or emergency operation not intended to be part of the forest transportation system and not necessary for long-term resource management." Temporary roads are required to be revegetated within 10 years of completion of their use. Temporary roads can remain active for upwards of 5 years as part of timber sales. There are no design standards for temporary roads other than location and clearing width and STate best management practices (where they exist), unless the road is classified as a specified short-term road (FSM 7701.2).

(3) Unclassified Roads -- "Roads on National Forest System lands that are not managed as part of the forest transportation system, such as unplanned roads, abandoned travelways, and off-road vehicle tracks that have not be designated and managed as a trail; and those roads that were once under permit or other authorization and were not decommissioned up the termination of the authorization."

Wildlands CPR requested that all illegally created unclassified routes mapped in the transportation atlas must be closed until site-specific analysis determines whether to remove or decommission the travelway, or to open and classify it as a road, motorized route or non-motorized trail. In FSM 7703.2, the FS says "unclassified roads will be closed and made inaccessible where funding permits unless they are made part of the authorized forest road system as provided for in this policy" (Final Policy, 51). The decision to classify and unclassified road would be through the Roads Analysis process.

Service Life

Constant service (long-term road) -- "A long-term facility developed and operated for continuous or annual recurrent service."

Intermittent road -- "A road developed and operated for periodic service and closed for than one year between periods of use." The road can be stored for future use by removing culverts and improving drainage so the road causes minimal damage to watershed/ecosystem health until it is reconstructed.

Short-term road -- "A facility developed and operated for a limited period of time which will cease to exist as a transportation facility after the purpose for which it was constructed is completed, and the occupied land is reclaimed and managed for natural resource purposes."

Activities

New Road Construction -- "Activity that results in the addition of forest classified or temporary road miles."

Road decommissioning -- "Activities that result in the stabilization and restoration of unneeded roads to a more natural state." Activities used to decommission a road include the following: (1) reestablishing former drainage patterns, stabilizing slopes, and restoring vegetation; (2) blocking the entrance to the road, installing water bars, removing culverts, re-establishing drainage-ways, and removing unstable fills; (3) pulling back road shoulders; (4) scattering slash on the roadbed; (5) co0mplete elimination of the roadbed by restoring natural contours and slopes; and (6) other methods designed to meet the specific conditions associated with the land around the unneeded road.

Road Maintenance -- "Expenditures in the minor restoration and upkeep of a road necessary to retain the road's approved traffic service level."

Replacements of existing structures, such as culverts or bridges is considered maintenance, while increasing culvert size or improving a bridge would be considered "improvement."

Road reconstruction -- "Activity that results in improvement or realignment of an existing classified road as defined below:

(1) Road improvement -- Activity that results in an increase of an existing road's traffic service level, expands its capacity, or changes its original design function.

(2) Road realignment -- Activity that results in a new location of an existing road or portions of an existing road and treatment of the old roadway."

Contracts

Specified road -- Roads authorized for a specific resource need (e.g. logging, mining, grazing). This term can be applied to constant, intermittent or short-term roads.

The Final Rule, Policy and Environmental Assessment are available on the web at http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/road_mgt/.