Science

The impacts of roads and road use on snakes

Snakes live in a wide range of habitats throughout the world and play an important role in ecosystems. No matter what the habitat, snakes can be affected in a variety of ways by both the presence and use of roads. Effects of roads on snakes include direct road mortality, habitat loss, fragmentation of habitat, and behavioral changes. If these impacts become significant

New research article on bears and road removal

 

Climate change, flooding and roads

Lewis and Clark NF road reclamation in the news!

The Lewis and Clark National Forest has been doing some fantastic projects with their Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program money.  Adam Rissien and I spent all day in the field with staff from the L&C on August 23rd, checking out their great work.  The Great Falls Tribune and two local t.v. stations came out as well.

The Great Falls Tribune has archived the story and made it available for purchase, but here's the intro:

Y'all Jump!

We came across this USFS website recently and found some good information on culvert design and fish passage. There is some pretty technical stuff as well, but we really enjoyed the video section--particularly "Y'all Jump". It's got a homemade feel with music and lyrics provided by USFS staff! While it was fun to watch, it does capture the tremendous difficulty fish and other aquatic organisms can have while trying to pass through culverts.

FishXing: Fish Passage Website

We came across this website recently and found some good information on culvert design and fish passage. There is some pretty technical stuff as well, but we really enjoyed the video section--particularly "Y'all Jump". It's got a homemade feel with music and lyrics provided by USFS staff!

According to the website: "This software is intended to assist engineers, hydrologists, and fish biologists in the evaluation and design of culverts for fish passage. It is free and available for download".

We hope you can find it useful--or just entertaining!

New Fact Sheets Available

Now available are a series of fact sheets related to some of our top issues. These include:

Fact Sheets

Below are links to download a series of fact sheets on a range of issues including:

  • Rightsizing the Forest Service road system
  • A brief synopsis of the Legacy Roads & Trails Remediation Program
  • Flood damage to roads from the 2011 floods across several regions with related costs
  • How roads impact clean water supplies
  • Ecological impacts of forest roads
  • The "Faces of Restoration" on reclamation jobs

FY2010 Legacy Roads and Trails Accomplishment Report

Check out this great report from the Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) of the Forest Service about Legacy Roads and Trails Accomplishments in Fiscal Year 2010.

The report includes two charts (p. 5) highlighting both FY10 and cumulative FY08-10 accomplishments with Legacy Roads and Trails funding.

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