Forest Service roads neglected

[paulj]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003294489_roads08m.html
As forest roads crumble, access to woods slips away
By Warren Cornwall, Seattle Times staff reporter

But when logging in national forests dried up in the early 1990s, so did the money to maintain the roads. Now there's an estimated $1.1 billion backlog on repairs to national forest roads in Washington and Oregon. Nationwide, the backlog is estimated at more than $10 billion

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

This article leaves out one vital fact, and by doing so leads readers to a false conclusion. It sounds as though when logging stopped, money to maintain the roads from the logging companies also dried up. In fact the vast majority of money to maintain logging roads came from you and me, via taxes. Public lands logging in fact costs the public millions of dollars every year.

Plain and simple: Repeated cuts in the Forest Service budget by Congress have led to the current maintenance crisis, for roads and dozens of other categories of infrastructure.

 

[paulj]

The fact that congressional funding of the forest service has fallen is, in a sense, old news to Washington readers. The fact that FS road building ammounted to a subsidy for the logging industry has also been covered elsewhere. So while those issues could have been repeated in this article, the decline in road maintenance is the news - something that users might have suspected, but couldn't quite put a handle on.

Most of the popular trailhead roads that I have used remain in good condition, though some major storm damage from October 2003 has not been repaired. For some of that, the FS has had to seek funds from other agencies, a process which requires more lengthy study and documentation.

I have, though, had to turn around on narrow overgrown stubb roads on several occasions. I've had more experience in British Columbia with decomissioned and active logging roads.

paulj

 

[calamaridog]

Plain and simple: Repeated cuts in the Forest Service budget by Congress have led to the current maintenance crisis, for roads and dozens of other categories of infrastructure.

I agree!

The fact that congressional funding of the forest service has fallen is, in a sense, old news to Washington readers. The fact that FS road building ammounted to a subsidy for the logging industry has also been covered elsewhere. So while those issues could have been repeated in this article, the decline in road maintenance is the news - something that users might have suspected, but couldn't quite put a handle on.

I agree with you too!


Now we should all tell our Congress people to properly fund these vital agencies.

 

[Grim Reaper]

People whine about this stuff but don't do anything the help the situation.

A Group needs to adopt it. By doing volunteer work you can help that local office get money to maintain that area. www.istea.org is the program you need to take advantage of. That money comes from some of the taxes you pay everytime you fill your truck.

What you do is get a group to do trash pickup, maintance work on the bridge if it can be done by hand, Clean out water bars, Silt fence where needed, seeding where needed, cut underbrush etc. You have to do this while working with the local ranger.

When you do it you note everything you used and had to expend to do the work including:
Gloves
Boots
Shovels
rakes
Food costs
Fuel to get there
How many adults worked
How many kids worked
I MEAN EVERYTHING. It all has a value. they will put a rental value on the tools you brought and used. A credit for boots, food and time. Even Kids get a partial credit. The Ranger then turns that in and the Feds issue a credit back to them that can be used to buy stuff like seed, Silt fence, Lumber, Hire a contractor to do repairs on the bridges that can't be done by volunteer labor Etc.

My Club doing exactly this is the only reason Beasley Knob OHV in North GA is open after Hurricane Opal and the storms it spawned dropped hundreds of trees on the trail and the local FS didn't have the funds to clear it. They locked it up and its quite possible it would still be closed to this day.

Now there are some things you have to be careful of. When you are working with the FS/BLM rangers you are actually under their workers comp. You have to be licensed to use Chain saws and even ATV's as a result. Get with your local BLM or FS office for the area you want ot work and see what you can do.

 

[flywgn]

Good post, GR.

Allen R.

 

[paulj]

There groups in Washington, and I'm sure in other states, that do various forms of backcountry work, though I don't know if any do much with the vehicle trails. Washington Trails Association (wta.org) is the one I'm most familiar with, since my son earned his 'hardhat' with them in highschool. They are also a good source of information on trail conditions, and by extension, roads leading to trailheads. I have also heard of equestrian groups doing trail work. Some trails are also supported by a portion of the state gas tax, since they are used for motorized travel (atv, motorcycles) - these are mostly in the dryer parts of the state.

paulj

In this photo, I am making a '10 pt' U turn, having found a forest road too overgrown with slide alders to continue - at least not without knowing more of what was ahead. I probably didn't need to back into the alders this far, but I didn't want to approach too close to the outer edge of the road either.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Thanks GR, you're right of course. But I don't think private volunteers could make up for but a fraction of the lost maintenance on all FS roads. We need more federal funding too. Republicans such as myself need to do a better job convincing our Republican congressmen and senators that public land is not a commie plot or a liberal socialist scheme. It's a simple realization of the fact that very few of us are rich enough to afford a million acres of private land to play on, like Ted Turner.

 

[calamaridog]

Jonathan,

You are right too, volunteer labor is just the tip of the iceburg.

Of course, if you decide to provide more funding, how do you make sure it goes where you want it too?

 

[Grim Reaper]

Thanks GR, you're right of course. But I don't think private volunteers could make up for but a fraction of the lost maintenance on all FS roads. We need more federal funding too. Republicans such as myself need to do a better job convincing our Republican congressmen and senators that public land is not a commie plot or a liberal socialist scheme. It's a simple realization of the fact that very few of us are rich enough to afford a million acres of private land to play on, like Ted Turner.

Yes you are correct but every little bit helps and the the ISTEA program moves a lot more money then you would think. Last I heard the 2 weekend s a year we put into Beasley is about 30% of the funds they are getting for the year (actually that's Piss poor that it amounts to that much but we work with it). Now we do have a good turnout on our "Work Weekends". That works out to about 30-40 warm bodies putting in about 8-16 hours each for the weekend and all the rental credit on all the gear they bring. So getting interest enough to get volenteers is a very important step. It also gives you leverage on the local Ranger Or leverage with the Ranger depending on the rangers attitude.

www.sfwda.org does this with Tellico as well. Dixie Run is a Tellico fundraiser to keep it open. This year the raffle brought in $22,000+ There are work weekends several times a year where Southern works with Trouts Unlimted ( they have a farm facility on the edge of the park they use to help stock) to do clean ups. So they managed to get an ali with a different interest group to work toward a comon goal for the area.

Bottom line is Sweat equity goes a LONG way because it does show interest in the area and that helps guide the FS or BLM in directing some of it's available resources to the area as well as generating cash for the area. FS and BLM work where they get the call to. Nobody shows interest they ignore it as well.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I agree, GR. Perhaps more importantly, volunteer work gives one a personal stake in public land, rather than taking it for granted. I bet anyone who has swung a pick all day is way more likely to attend public meetings on land policy.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

This is a very political and emotionally charged topic........but I can't resist!

OK.....here is how I feel in a nutshell.

I hate the fact that they either waste money...or do not get the money they need to fix the trails....etc. I agree with all of that.

On the other hand. I have been out in some beautiful areas on some terrible FS Roads! While driving along....I have felt that this area would be much more heavily used if the roads/trails were better. I decided then, that it was OK to suffer a little to be able to get out to peace and quiet rather than spend big $$$ to grade/repair a FS Road that would draw in the crowds.

So I guess I'm saying that for me.....it's OK to have some FS roads/trails in bad condition.....it keeps the crowds out and even saves some $$$ in the process. It also gives us a bit more of a challenge which most of us like anyway!

I would even be fine with bringing in my own chain saw....pic and shovel....tow strap.....and helping clear and repair trails as needed if that's what it takes for me to continue to enjoy the outback....minus the crowds!

So.........I'm all for the positive things.....as long as I can continue to enjoy the outback.....and I'm even willing to help out!

OK.....I better stop there!


:archaeolo