# Restoration in Action:
The First Five Years of the Legacy Roads and Trails Program

A pril 

# 2013

## “I am honored to have helped to create the Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Program. I have watched the work across the nation, especially in the Skokomish Valley in the Sixth Congressional District. This work has helped restore watersheds and improve water quality and fish habitat, and at the same time provided jobs that are desperately needed in our rural communities. This is a great program and one that I am proud to have sponsored. A lot more restoration work is needed, so I hope this program will continue to help the Forest Service get the job done.”

— The Honorable Norm Dicks U.S. Representative for Washington’s 6th Congressional District, 1977 – 2012

We thank USDA Forest Service staff for their assistance in providing data and images, and Marlies Wierenga, Dave Heller, and Dan Funsch for their dedication, long hours, and hard work. 

# Restoration in Action:

The First Five Years of the Legacy Roads and Trails Program
A pril 

### 2013

Cover photo credits: Recontoured road on the Gallatin National Forest, MT, credit: Wildlands CPR; fisherperson, photo credit: Kent Miller.R esto r ation in A ction 1 

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# T he Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program (Legacy Roads and Trails) is a cornerstone of watershed restoration in our National Forests. Created to fix environmental problems resulting from the Forest Service’s extensive road and trail system, Legacy Roads and Trails has reduced stream pollution, restored fish and wildlife habitat, created jobs, and improved essential roads to ensure safe access. Legacy Roads and Trails has been a success from the start; it is smartly and efficiently managed, and achieves on-the-ground results in real time.

Since its inception in 2008, Congress has appropriated $270 million to Legacy Roads and Trails. With these funds, the Forest Service has:

✔ Decommissioned 4,510 miles of unneeded roads to reconnect habitat and greatly reduce the delivery of sediment to streams; ✔ Maintained and/or storm-proofed 12,053 miles of needed roads to increase their ability to stand-up during powerful storms and ensure safe access; ✔ Restored fish passage at 823 sites to provide fish and other aquatic species access to more than 1,000 miles of upstream habitat; ✔ Upgraded or fixed 3,215 miles of trails to guarantee recreationists can safely use the areas they love; ✔ Created or maintained an average of 810-1,296 jobs annually; and ✔ Reduced annual road maintenance costs by approximately $3 million per year.

Legacy Roads and Trails was created specifically to provide crucial resources to fix and storm-proof the roads we need, and to reclaim unneeded roads causing the most damage. The Legacy Roads and Trails program is a proven tool that:

• Restores clean water and healthy fisheries, and reconnects fragmented wildlife habitat;

• Saves taxpayer money and creates high-wage jobs;

• Ensures safe and reliable access for recreation and resource management; and

• Enjoys broad support by a wide variety of partners.

This report highlights Legacy Roads and Trails accomplishments during its first five years. It provides a general accounting of appropriated funds and spotlights a sampling of projects from across the country. As illustrated here, Legacy Roads and Trails is a mission-critical program for the Forest Service that deserves continued investment. Photo credit: USFWS

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS2 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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# T he National Forest System stretches from Florida to Alaska and consists of 155 individual National Forests and Grasslands. Forest Service lands are crisscrossed by an astounding 374,000 miles of road – more than eight times as many road miles as the national highway system. Many of these roads are often referred to as legacy roads – that is, roads left on the landscape after decades of intensive logging. Some of these old roads are used today for recreational access and resourcemanagement while many others sit unneeded, unused and undermaintained – a growing ecological and fiscal liability.

Legacy Roads and Trails was created in FY 2008 to restore watersheds damaged by decaying roads. It funds decommissioning of unneeded roads, critical repair and maintenance on the roads and trails we do need, and projects to restore fish passage where streams cross underneath roads. Legacy Roads and Trails reduces environmental harm and long-term costs, while creating high-wage jobs and securing safe and reliable access to our national forests.

With growth in outdoor recreation, hikers, hunters, fishermen, bikers, and campers rely on a small portion of the road system to access recreational destinations. This access is not assured, however, as roads continue to crumble, creating unsafe conditions or even blocking



## Comparing Road Mileages

L.A. to N.Y. = 2,448 miles Distance around the earth = 24,900 miles National Highway System = 42,793 miles Distance to moon = 223,000 miles
FS roads = 374,000 miles access entirely. The public rightfully expects that important recreational roads will be maintained; the Forest Service also needs access for resource management, including restoration and fire control. A safe and durable transportation system -- sized, located, and maintained appropriately to reduce risks to people, water, and forest resources -- is essential. Culverts are placed in road beds so that streams can

flow under the roads. Many are damaged or too small and need to be replaced.

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: Wildlands CPR

Roads that encroach on stream channels damage aquatic habitats and processes.R esto r ation in A ction 3 

# The Challenge of Legacy Roads in National Forests

In the past, many logging roads were designed for temporary use, and often they were not well-planned or well-constructed. Roads were placed in floodplains, along steep slopes, and through wildlife habitat. Sometimes roads were densely stacked - in parallel lines - one atop the next. Once logging was complete, the roads were typically left on the landscape.

Historically, the Forest Service had funds to build and maintain roads, but as timber harvests declined, so too did road maintenance funding. At this point in time, the Forest Service is able to maintain or improve only about 20% of its road system in any given year. The bulk of that funding goes towards passenger vehicle roads, which are most important for access.



### “If we don’t fix our roads we’re going to drink our roads.” Congressman Norm Dicks Representing Washington’s 6th District, May 2007 When roads are not maintained or under-maintained, culverts become clogged with debris, landslides occur, bridges weaken, and roads wash out. Large amounts of sediment pour into what used to be clear mountain streams, suffocating fish and burying stream channels. Hazards, such as washouts, pose serious safety risks to those driving on forest roads, at times even making access impossible.



## The consequences of unmaintained roads are surprisingly severe and far-reaching:

Roads help spread non-native pests, pathogens and weeds. Decaying roads break apart and dump sediment into streams polluting water, endangering fish, and reducing fishing opportunities.

Road-related sediment degrades drinking water and increases municipal water treatment costs.

Under-maintained roads fail, costing taxpayers millions in mitigation and restoration costs. Roads fragment habitat and reduce the vitality of deer and elk herds and related hunting opportunities.

Collapsing roads cut-off access to trailheads, campgrounds and other popular recreational destinations. Photo credit: Dave Heller

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS4 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

### “Western Governors urge Congress and the Administration to fund and implement a sustainable roads program.”

— Western Governors’ Association Policy Resolution 08-3 The Legacy Roads and Trails idea was conceived by a coalition of conservation and recreation organizations, state agencies, and tribes in Washington State called the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative. Driven by the serious road-related water quality problems plaguing Washington’s national forests, the Coalition campaigned for a targeted fund to address the forest road system, earning a broad array of support from organizations across the country. Once established, Legacy Roads and Trails quickly became a cornerstone of the Forest Service’s restoration program, reducing road impacts on water quality and fish, and better aligning the road system to current management needs and capacity.

Legacy Roads and Trails works because it is targeted, resultsoriented, and collaborative. The program delivers funds to address road problems in real time, which enables the Forest Service to efficiently plan, design, and implement restoration treatments. It is an essential tool for implementing updated and improved national forest transportation plans and watershed restoration initiatives. It is also a successful tool for leveraging non-federal funds resulting in more robust projects and enhanced community engagement. And because funds primarily go to actual work on the ground, Legacy Roads and Trails creates high wage jobs for contractors, including those who specialize in stream restoration, environmental design, and heavy equipment operation.

For all these reasons, Legacy Roads and Trails enjoys broad support from tribes, watershed councils, state agencies, conservation groups, anglers, hunters, hikers, backcountry equestrians, utilities, municipal water suppliers, dam operators, conservation districts, unions, and more (see list on inside back cover). 

# An Effective and Dynamic Program

Monitoring is an important component of Legacy Roads and Trails for assessing how well projects are working and for applying lessons learned to improve future projects. Recent results show: ✔ Sediment delivery to streams is significantly reduced at studied sites: a

• 80% reduction of sediment after storms at 9 decommissioned sites.

• 67% reduction of sediment after storms at 4 storm-proofed sites.

• Study locations: MT, ID, OR, WA, CA, UT ✔ Fish are accessing previously unavailable habitat, at nearly all studied sites where barriers were removed. b

• Study locations: OR and WA ✔ Black bears are frequenting areas where roads were decommissioned in significantly higher numbers than areas where roads had gates or barriers. c

• Study location: Clearwater National Forest, ID ✔ Roads that were ‘storm-proofed’ had fewer landslides than roads that did not receive maintenance when damage from two large storms was compared. d

• Study location: Siuslaw National Forest, OR

Monitoring is providing important feedback to improve future projects. For example, monitoring results are being used in the development of a new Forest Service technical guide which will provide staff with information to quickly determine the maximum spacing of road drainage features without increasing storm-damage risk. This helps save staff time and construction expenses. e 

# A Unique Solution – The Legacy Roads and Trails Program

Photo monitoring has shown that wildlife such as mule deer use reclaimed roads more often than gated roads. Photo credit: Wildlands CPRR esto r ation in A ction 5 

# L egacy Roads and Trails is funded as part of overall Forest Service appropriations as determined annually by Congress. Over the past five years, Congress has appropriated a total of $270 million to this program.



### Fiscal Funds Appropriated Year (millions dollars)
2008 $ 40
2009 $ 50
2010 $ 90
2011 $ 45
2012 $ 45 

# F unding 

# H isto r y

Funding is used for projects that often require skilled contractors. 3,788 51,335

31,926

46,330

36,130

46,666

90,307

38,995

28,180 

### Northern (R1)

Rocky Mountain (R2)

Southwestern (R3)

Intermountain (R4)

Pacific SW (R5)

Pacific NW (R6)

Southern (R8)

Eastern (R9)

Alaska (R10) 

## Miles of System Roads by Forest Service Region Forest Service Region Northern (R1*) Rocky Mountain (R2) Southwestern (R3*) Intermountain (R4*) Pacific SW (R5) Pacific NW (R6) Southern (R8) Eastern (R9) Alaska (R10) $60

$50

$40

$30

$20

$10

0 

### Key

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008 

## Regional Legacy Roads and Trails

Allocations, FY 2008 – FY 2012

Annual Funding
(Millions)

Photo credit: USFS * In FY 2012, Congress created a pilot budget program in Regions 1, 3 and 4 called Integrated Resource Restoration (IRR) and merged Legacy Roads and Trails funds into it. Thus this graph does not include the FY12 allocations for those regions.6 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

# Watershed Health and Roads Direct Legacy Roads and Trails dollars are only part of the funding story. In many places, the Forest Service successfully leverages Legacy Roads and Trails money with a varietyof other funding sources, dramatically increasing the onthe-ground and economic benefits of the program. Some examples of leveraged funding sources include:

• Secure Rural Schools (federal);

• Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (federal funding in transportation bill);

• Federal Stimulus (federal);

• Salmon Recovery Funds (federal/state);

• Watershed Restoration Grants (state/private);

• Clean Water Grants (federal/state); and

• Bonneville Power Administration (federal). Legacy Roads and Trails also enhances other national and regional Forest Service efforts by providing funding to implement the roads portion of those initiatives. Examples include: ➤ Watershed Condition Framework – Legacy Roads and Trails can be used to fund road and trail related watershed restoration projects in priority watersheds. ➤ Travel Analysis Process

– By the end of 2015, every National Forest and Grassland will have a completed Travel Analysis Report that will guide future transportation planning projects, including road reclamation and storm-proofing. Legacy Roads and Trails will provide critical funding for implementing these projects. ➤ Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program - Under this program, restoration projects are developed and implemented collaboratively. Legacy Roads and Trails can provide required matching funds. 

# The Power of Leveraging

$110 million is needed to fix the first round of high-priority road and trail problems. This addresses only 2% of the sub-watersheds in the National Forest System. In 2010, using the newly developed Watershed Condition Framework, the Forest Service assessed 15,065 sub-watersheds across the National Forest System, and found that 67% of them are negatively affected by roads.

Each forest identified two priority subwatersheds for focused restoration investment over the next few years. The agency created Watershed Restoration Action Plans (Action Plans) outlining the key projects for each priority subwatershed.

In the initial set of 284 Action Plans, the Forest Service identified more than $350 million in “essential restoration projects.” Of that, $110million, or 31%, is needed to fix highpriority road and trail problems.

Legacy Roads and Trails is crucial for implementing the road work identified in these Action Plans.

Rainfall during storms is collected and directed through culverts that often lead directly to streams. This can foul stream water. Photo credit: USFS

Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 7 

# N ationa l 

# A ccom pl ishments



# L egacy Roads and Trails accomplishments begin with numbers – for example, miles of roads reclaimed or maintained. But the achievements go far beyond these numbers to reach the ultimate objective – watershed restoration and sustainable transportation. Replacing nearly one thousand blocked culverts means fish can now access habitat that was unreachable a few years ago. Improving and maintaining more than ten thousand miles of roads means the access to popular trails, camping sites, and fishing holes is safer. Reclaiming more than 4,000 miles of roads means wildlife can migrate more freely and rivers and streams run with cleaner, colder water. These accomplishments are significant and the beginning of an essential national investment to correct environmental and infrastructure problems created over the past century.



## ✔ Restored Fish and Wildlife Habitat

Legacy Roads and Trails projects have resulted in: f

– 1,030 miles of stream habitat restored or enhanced;

– 243 acres of lake habitat restored or enhanced;

– 177,233 acres of terrestrial habitat restored or enhanced;

– 27,193 acres of water or soil resources protected, maintained, or improved;

– 2,114 acres treated for noxious weeds and invasive plants; and

– 823 stream crossings fixed to allow fish to swim upstream. Photos: USFS

Small culverts are replaced with larger bottomless culverts. The streambed is re-created making

it easier for fish to move up and down stream.



## Key

Roads & Trails Improved (miles)

Roads Decommissioned (miles)

Fish Passage Restored (# of sites)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 

## Roads Decommissioned, Trails Improved, Fish Passage Restored g

180 163 262

143
75 1,509

531 929

581 960 3,035 3,077 4,144

2,799

2,113 Note: This figure is not to scale. Photos: USFS Recently ripped road as part of a larger road reclamation project. 

# Outcomes8 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

## ✔ More Jobs A 2011 University of Oregon study found that every $1 million invested in watershed restoration work creates 15-24 jobs. h With $270 million appropriated so far, the Legacy Roads and Trails Program has averaged $54 million per year, creating or maintaining between 810 and 1,296 high wage jobs per year for heavy equipment operators and a variety of restoration specialists.



## An estimate of jobs created nationally as a result of the LRT program, 2008-2012

Funds Appropriated (millions)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 high estimate $45 $45 $90 $50 $39

low estimate 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 

# Outcomes, cont’d

✔ Consistent and Safe Access Legacy Roads and Trails helps maintain needed roads and trails for both resource management and recreational access. With these funds, the Forest Service has:

– Constructed (or reconstructed) 123 bridges;

– Maintained or improved 3,215 miles of system trails;

– Improved 3,634 miles of roads; and

– Maintained 8,418 miles of roads. unit sediment

delivery down 80% road-stream hydrologic connectivity

up 33%

drainpoint problem rate down 38% road-stream hydrologic connectivity down 44% untreated roads after storms

treated roads after storms unit sediment delivery up 94% drainpoint problem

rate up 50%



### Definition of Terms A hydrologically connected road means that the road is part of the stream network. Rainfall is intercepted by road surfaces and cut slopes, and delivered to the stream, instead of infiltrating naturally. A drain point is a location where water collects and drains from a road. Poorly placed or ineffective drain points can lead to road failures. Unit sediment delivery refers to the amount of sediment delivered to a stream per length of road per year.

Photo credit: REI 

## ✔ Clean Water and Healthy Streams Initial Forest Service monitoring shows that Legacy Roads and Trails treatments are highly effective at reducing hydrologic impacts. The Rocky Mountain Research Station is in the middle of a multi-year analysis of the responses of treated and untreated roads to large storms. The study assessed 60 km of decommissioned roads and found significant benefits, as displayed in the figure below.



## ✔ Taxpayer Savings Regular maintenance, improvements, and storm-proofing reduce storm damage to roads, saving taxpayer money. Moreover, reclaiming unneeded roads eliminates future maintenance and environmental costs.

The Forest Service estimates that Legacy Roads and Trails work has saved:

– ~$3 million per year in annual road maintenance, and

– ~$17 million from the deferred maintenance backlog. iR esto r ation in A ction 9 

# R egiona l 

# A ccom pl ishments

This section highlights Legacy Roads and Trails projects in five Forest Service regions: Northern Region, Southwestern Region, Pacific Southwest Region, Pacific Northwest Region, and the Eastern Region. The types of regional projects and the accomplishments vary considerably due to differences in priorities and severity of road-related issues.



## Legacy Roads and Trails Accomplishments by Forest Service Region, FY 2008 – FY 2012

Region and % of system road miles

Northern (1)* 14% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Rocky Mountain (2) 9% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Southwestern (3)* 12% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Intermountain (4)* 10% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Pacific SW (5) 12% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number) Totals

990 2,451 161

716 899 61

139 541 13

1,156 720 66

100 2,342

8 Pacific NW (6) 24% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Southern (8) 10% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Eastern (9) 7% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

Alaska (10) 1% Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number)

TOTALS Roads decommissioned (miles) Roads/trails improved or maintained (miles) Culverts fixed (number) 825 4,837

67

368 1,854 46

145 961 101

71 662 300

4,510 15,267

823 Region and % of system road miles Totals

*In FY 2012, Congress created a pilot program in Regions 1, 3 and 4 called Integrated Resource Restoration (IRR) and

merged Legacy Roads and Trails funds into it. Regional totals here include IRR accomplishments from FY 2012.10 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Featured Project: Yakus Road and White/White Road Decommissioning

Forest: Clearwater, Idaho River basin: Lower and Upper Lolo Creek Year: 2011

For thousands of generations, the Nez Perce (“Numipu” – the real people) have hunted, fished, and gathered across a vast landscape in the intermountain West, including Clearwater country. Although they ceded much land through treaties, the Nez Perce maintained their rights to hunt and fish. The Forest Service now manages many of those ancestral lands, but they have been altered by a variety of past land management activities including wide-scale logging and mining. Steelhead trout, bull trout, and Chinook salmon once thrived, but now struggle to survive.

Roads are a major environmental problem across this landscape. The high road density coupled with poorly designed stream crossings, inadequate maintenance, and erodible soils has led to widespread damage.

The Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest and the Nez Perce Tribe run an award-winning partnership to restore watersheds, fish habitat, and water quality on the ceded lands. Legacy Roads and Trails is part of the watershed restoration program and provides important matching money to support this 6.5 million per year partnership. For the past 20 years, the Forest Service and Nez Perce Tribe have worked together to decommission more than 1,000 miles of unneeded roads and replace more than 100 culverts to restore access to fish habitat. They have also implemented in-stream restoration projects and improved maintenance on needed roads. The projects highlighted here, Yakus and White/White, provide an excellent illustration of this work. High road densities have led to widespread damage.

Stream crossing restored to its natural condition. Photo credit: USFS. Photo credit: USFS.R esto r ation in A ction 11 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Decommissioned 24 miles of roads ✔ Stabilized and stored 4 miles of roads ✔ Restored stream crossings ✔ Recontoured fill slopes ✔ Constructed cross-drains ✔ Revegetated with native brush



### “We must be patient but persistent...thinking back to when this partnership program began and I looked over the landscape in the Clearwater Basin - the maze of roads and obstacles for fish...I asked myself how are we going to get there?

One mile at a time we chipped away understanding it will be years before we restore all of the Clearwater - from ridge top to ridge top. I keep in mind the stories from my grandparents...of how they fished, hunted and gathered and how they drank the water from these streams “the blood of life” while observing Grizzly Bears fishing the streams.... Yes there is hope, one mile at a time we’ve made progress.”

Ira Jones, Watershed Division Director, Nez Perce Tribe Reconstructing stream channel.



## Major Partners:
Nez Perce Tribe Bonneville Power Administration

Healthy stream channel two years after project completion. A plugged culvert backs up water along the road. Plugged culverts like this are prone to blow

out delivering damaging slugs of sediment to

streams.

Excess sediment in a stream can suffocate fish eggs. 

## Funding: $70,000 Legacy Roads and Trails $100,000 Nez Perce Tribe $35,000 other Forest Service funds



## Outcomes:
✔ Improved habitat for steelhead trout, west slope cutthoat trout and Chinook salmon ✔ Reduced sediment delivery ✔ Restored surface and subsurface water flows ✔ Reduced road maintenance costs (enabling limited maintenance dollars to be spent elsewhere) Photo credit: USFS

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS

Photo credit: USFS12 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Featured Project: Shoshone South Zone Wilderness Trail Improvements

Forest: Shoshone, Wyoming River basin: Multiple River Basins Year: 2009

The Fitzpatrick and Popo Agie Wilderness areas within the Shoshone National Forest offer some of the most majestic and wildest scenery anywhere in this country. Rugged peaks, alpine lakes, deep and narrow valleys, sheer granite walls, and perennial snowfields define these remarkable places. A network of trails used by backcountry horsemen and hikers serve as the primary access to and through the Fitzpatrick and Popo Agie areas.

Many of the trails traverse delicate wetlands. In some places, trail managers build timbered paths elevated above wet areas, called puncheons, to protect wetlands. The puncheons on several important recreational trails in the South Zone of the Shoshone National Forest had deteriorated to such a degree that trail users, including horses, were breaking through the tread posing a severe safety hazard. In addition, trail users were bypassing the puncheons and creating a braiding effect in the wetlands and through small stream crossings.

In this project, the Forest Service addressed the highest priority safety and resource issues by repairing or replacing fourteen trail puncheon sections. The rugged and remote country presented logistical challenges, especially on those trail segments located within the Wilderness boundaries, where motorized equipment is prohibited. To address them, conservation corps crew members, local outfitters, and volunteers helped transport materials on horseback and construct the puncheons. Deteriorated puncheon prior to replacement. Photo credit: USFS

Popo Agie Wilderness in the Shoshone National Forest. Photo credit: Sara DomekR esto r ation in A ction 13 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Rebuilt 490 lineal feet of severely deteriorated puncheons on the following trails: Middle Fork, Sheep Bridge, Stough Creek Lakes, Pinto Park, Glacier, Wolf Creek, and Yellowstone



## Outcomes:
✔ Ensured safe access across wet areas for at least 50 years ✔ Restored wetland habitat ✔ Created lasting partnerships for trail stewardship with local user groups ✔ Reduced annual and long-term maintenance costs


## Funding: $50,000 Legacy Roads and Trails $29,270 Other partnership funds



### “At the field level, this project displays the continued value of leveraging partnership funding and services through the Legacy Roads and Trails Program and furthers three of the focus areas - Restore and Adapt Recreation Settings, Forge Strategic Partnerships, and Promote Citizen Stewardship - identified in A Framework for Sustainable Recreation. ”

Chris Sporl Regional Landscape Architect and Recreation Planner, Rocky Mountain Regional Office Final constructed puncheon bridge replacement. Photo credit: Shoshone National Forest

Due to remoteness, materials were transported far into the backcountry using stock. Photo credit: USFS

Project volunteers proudly show the fruits of their labor. Volunteer labor was an essential component of this project given the remote and rugged country in which the trails were located. Photo credit: USFS 

## Major Partners: Lazy TX Outfitters Diamond 4 Ranch Sierra Club National Outdoor Leadership School Backcountry Horsemen of America Wilderness Volunteers Wilderness Ventures Wyoming Conservation Corps14 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Featured Project: Valle Vidal Road Decommissioning

Forest: Carson, New Mexico River basin: Comanche Creek/Rio Costilla Year: 2009

Comanche Creek is a 27,262 acre watershed in north central New Mexico. The creek is a tributary to the Rio Costilla that eventually empties into the Rio Grande River. It provides valuable habitat for the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, which is New Mexico’s state fish and a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The largest elk population in New Mexico roams the upper portion of the Rio Costilla watershed and the area is a prized location for hunting, fishing, hiking and bird watching.

When the Valle Vidal management unit was donated to the Forest Service, it contained more than 400 miles of roads in the upper watershed. The area had been logged using “jammer roads” spaced just 150 feet apart across the hillsides with no regard to watershed and water quality impacts. Although the Forest Service determined most of these old logging roads were no longer needed and closed them to public motorized use, the impacts remained. The roads persisted as a chronic source of accelerated sediment delivery into the stream system, adversely affecting trout habitat.

The Comanche Creek area is a focal point for a variety of restoration efforts by the Forest Service and multiple partners. The goal of this featured project is to restore watershed conditions and improve native Rio Grande cutthroat trout habitat by reducing or eliminating the flow of road-borne sediments to Comanche Creek.

The headwaters to Comanche Creek flow from the forested hills through meadows to the valley bottoms. Roads often turn into streams during storms because the hard road surface cannot absorb the rainwater. Photo credit: George Long, USFS

Photo credit: George Long, USFSR esto r ation in A ction 15 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Decommissioned more than 10 miles of road ✔ Restored original slopes, vegetation, and drainages



## Outcomes:
✔ Improved habitat conditions for native Rio Grande cutthroat trout ✔ Improved big game habitat for deer, bear and elk - protecting the quality of this “once in a lifetime” elk hunting area, which contributes more than half a million dollars annually to local economies ✔ Reduced sediment into the creek


## Funding: $15,000 Legacy Roads and Trails $20,000 partners


## Major Partners: Quivira Coalition New Mexico Department of Game and Fish The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation



### “Water is New Mexico’s most precious resource, yet clean water is becoming increasingly scarce. Its abundance or scarcity is critically important to all residents of the state. Thanks to the Legacy Roads and Trails Program, New Mexico’s rivers run a little clearer and cleaner.”

Rachel Conn, Projects Director, Amigos Bravos Comanche Creek with successful riparian restoration visible. Photo credit: George Long, USFS

Ripping up the old road bed and re-establishing the hillslope allows water to infiltrate. Many roads in the Valle Vidal collect rainwater for many hundreds of feet. The collected water then dumps over the edge of the road at the lowest point. These drainpoints can weaken and collapse sections of the road. Photo credit: George Long, USFS Photo credit: George Long, USFS Photo credit: George Long, USFS16 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Located in Northern California, the Lower Canyon Creek sub-watershed is just over 38,400 acres and contains Soldier and Conner Creeks. These creeks flow into the nationally designated Wild and Scenic Trinity River, which provides critical habitat for threatened coho salmon and steelhead trout. Local communities rely on the river as an important water source for drinking, irrigation, and recreation.

Though important to fish and people, the Trinity River is impaired due to excessive sediment loads and temperatures. Several studies identified the Soldier Creek sub-watershed as a significant contributor of sediment to the Trinity River. That sediment threatens the survival and development of salmon and steelhead eggs, and increases the costs of drinking water treatment. When the Eagle Fire swept through the area in 2008, the need to address sediment runoff became urgent.

In 2009, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest developed a multi-year road action plan in collaboration with key partners. Two partners, the Trinity County Resource Conservation District and Trinity River Restoration Project, secured 50% of the total funding for Canyon Creek watershed restoration work, including work on Soldier and Conner Creeks. Total collective funding for watershed restoration in the Canyon Creek area was approximately $2.5 million.

Threatened coho salmon and steelhead depend on cool and clear water for survival. 

# Featured Project: Canyon Creek Road Improvements

Forest: Shasta-Trinity, California River basin: Trinity River Year: 2008-2012

Canyon Creek sub-watershed was a contributor of sediment to the Trinity River. Photo credit: USFS

Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 17 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Improved 47 miles of road drainage after wildfire ✔ Storm-proofed 54 miles of road ✔ Decommissioned 4.6 miles of road ✔ Removed 5 in-stream barriers ✔ Treated 96 stream crossings


## Outcomes:
✔ Improved roughly 16 miles of in-stream habitat ✔ Restored 25 acres of watershed ✔ Improved water quality for coho, steelhead trout, and community water supplies ✔ Reduced risk of flood damage ✔ Improved water quality and channel continuity 

## Funding: $692,000 Legacy Roads and Trails $1,858,000 Ten Partners and other funds



### “The Shasta Trinity National Forest Legacy Roads and Trails projects focus on addressing road issues throughout

entire watersheds.  The Legacy funding provides the seed money that brings multiple partners to the table to continue efforts for a much more effective holistic watershed restoration approach. It’s amazing how much more we can get done when we all work together. All restoration programs have to start somewhere, for us the Lower Canyon Creek Restoration Program all started with the Legacy funding. “

- Christine Mai, Watershed Program Manager, Shasta Trinity National Forest. Decommissioned road and restored stream crossing. Small culverts easily become blocked during a storm, forcing water over the roadway where it picks up more sediment.



## Major Partners: Photo credit: USFS

USFS Region 5 Trinity County Resource Conservation District Trinity River Restoration Program US Fish & Wildlife Service CA Dept. of Fish & Game Trinity Co. Dept. of Transportation National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Association of Counties National Fish & Wildlife Foundation California Coastal Conservancy Lan Mark Forestry Restoration work often requires the use of heavy equipment and skilled operators.

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS18 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Featured Project: Jack Creek Road Relocation

Forest: Okanagon-Wenatchee, Washington River basin: Teanaway River Year: 2010-2012

Teanaway Ridge sits on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in the Okanagon-Wenatchee National Forest. Popular with recreationists, the area boasts views of the entire Stuart Range, including beautiful Mt. Stuart. Jack Creek Road (FS 9738) provides a scenic drive along Teanaway Ridge, and is used to access numerous public recreation opportunities, and private lands. Thirteen miles long, the road also winds through a valley bottom where it runs close to the creek and important habitat for Chinook salmon and threatened steelhead trout.

While the road clearly provides important access, the road segment that traverses the floodplain has caused problems for years by severely constricting the natural

movement of the stream. To make matters more complex, the road cuts across both Forest Service and private land so any solution had to involve both the public and the agency.

The Forest Service and local landholders had a serious challenge: To provide continued recreational and private land access while also addressing the needs of fish and wildlife. The solution required the cooperation of many partners and included: decommissioning the most problematic part of the road and relocating it onto an elevated terrace; extensive stream and floodplain restoration on private lands; and stagedimplementation with both government and nongovernment contractors working in concert. Roads can be a type of dam, preventing creeks from moving around on their floodplains. Photo credit: Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group

Photo credit: USFS
Jack Creek helps support meadow habitats in the valley bottom.R esto r ation in A ction 19 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Relocated nearly one mile of road to a stable upslope location ✔ Obliterated and fully recontoured the valley bottom road ✔ Restored creek channel and placed large woody debris ✔ Restored riparian areas with plantings of native vegetation ✔ Restored the floodplain



## Outcomes:
✔ Two miles of Jack Creek restored to natural conditions ✔ Improved cover and spawning habitat for steelhead trout and Chinook salmon ✔ Improved water flows ✔ Improved capability to absorb floods without road damage or lost access 

## Funding: $226,800 Legacy Roads and Trails plus other Forest Service funds $166,000 Partners



### “Funding from Legacy Roads and Trails allowed the Cle Elum Ranger District to analyze the effects of road relocation, and to contract with a local firm to move 0.9 miles of road off the banks of Jack Creek. The investment and commitment shown by the Forest Service helped to persuade other funding agencies to support additional restoration work, leading ultimately to in-channel enhancement and floodplain reconnection along nearly two miles of the stream.”

Rebecca Wassell Yakima Basin Program Manager, Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group Volunteers plant native trees and shrubs in the footprint of the decommissioned road.

Moving the road, ripping up the old road bed, planting vegetation and placing large woody debris improves the creek for native fish. When roads are adjacent to streams, streamside plants cannot grow and shade the creek. This results in warmer water and lack of cover, both of which harm salmon. 

## Major Partners:

Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group Salmon Recovery Funding Board US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program National Forest Foundation Overlake Fly-fishing Club Yakima Tributary Habitat Access Project American Forest Land Company, LLC Local volunteers Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group20 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

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Featured Project: Fish Passage Restoration and Storm-Proofing

Forest: Green Mountain – Finger Lakes, Vermont and New York River basin: Multiple river basins Year: 2008-2013

The Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests are located within a day’s drive for more than 70 million people, offering a wealth of recreation opportunities. In Vermont, the headwaters of many of the state’s rivers flow from the National Forest, supplying communities with drinking water and providing habitat for native fish.

Communities located lower in the watersheds recognize the importance of restoration work in these upper areas, not only for recreation and wildlife but also flood protection. Forest Service assessments showed the potential for severe damage and road failures during major

storms, especially at road/stream crossings. Those assessments also determined that native brook trout and Atlantic salmon were blocked from accessing good habitat at more than 60% of the stream crossings. Beginning in 2008, the Forest Service restored fish passage and storm-proofed roads and stream crossings based on the results of the earlier assessments. The Forest Service used a new design tool called “stream simulation” to effectively determine how large the crossings should be to accommodate flood waters and debris during major storms.

In August 2011, Tropical Storm Irene hit the Northeast leaving many communities isolated by destroyed roads, bridges, and culverts. However, most of the treated sites in the National Forest suffered little damage and safely passed huge volumes of water, gravel, and trees without major impacts to downstream communities.

The headwaters of many of Vermont’s rivers originate in the National Forest. It is not unusual for culverts to become plugged during a storm, forcing water to break through a road bed. The purpose of this project was to redesign culverts to prevent this type of mass failure.

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 21 

## Project Treatments:
✔ Fixed 32 road-stream crossings ✔ Replaced 15 culverts ✔ Removed 10 culverts ✔ Replaced 3 pipes ✔ Replaced 4 bridges



## Outcomes:
✔ Restored access to 49 miles of stream habitat for brook trout and Atlantic salmon ✔ Reduced risk of catastrophic road damage during heavy storms ✔ Ensured safe access to communities and recreational areas


## Funding: $995,000 - Legacy Roads and Trails $3.1 million – other federal funding sources



### “It has become quite clear to us in recent years that restoring fish passage, by replacing under-sized culverts, is a fiscally responsible public investment and also an investment that benefits our fish populations and reduces the potential for increased flooding and erosion in our communities.”

Steve Roy Natural Resources Staff Officer, Green Mountain & Finger Lakes NF Improved design included natural streambed and larger culvert for high volumes of water. Culverts were too small for large storm flows, and blocked fish from moving upstream.

White River Partnership Trout Unlimited Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife 

## Major Partners:

US Fish and Wildlife Service Natural Resource Conservation Service Local communities and watershed groups Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS The Forest Service removed an old culvert and replaced it with a bottomless arch culvert to improve fish passage.22 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

# I n 2008, conservationists, Forest Service staff, water

quality specialists and others lauded the creation of Legacy Roads and Trails for its extraordinary potential as an innovative tool for funding watershed restoration and long-term transportation needs. Five years and thousands of accomplishments later, it is clear the program has lived up to expectations. Legacy Roads and Trails is cleaning up our water, restoring fish and wildlife habitat, creating high-wage jobs, reducing long-term costs, and improving access.

While Legacy Roads and Trails is making a difference, a significant amount of work remains, reaching far beyond the capacity of the current program. Legacy Roads and Trails projects to date have treated less than 5% of the road system, and deferred maintenance continues to grow. It took more than a century to create the legacy of roads in our national forests. Likewise, it will take time and investment to fix, reclaim and rework that road system to meet 21st century transportation, fiscal, and ecological demands.

Big challenges call for big solutions. Road management is a continuing challenge for the Forest Service and an important ingredient in the agency’s restoration agenda. A healthy, robust, and effective Legacy Roads and Trails program remains a vital tool for achieving Forest Service restoration objectives across the nation. 

# C onc l usion

Photo credit: USFS

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 23 

# E ndnotes

a Nelson, Nathan, Tom Black, Charles Luce and Richard Cissel. 2012. Legacy Roads and Trails Monitoring Project Update 2012. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Available: http:// www.fs.fed.us/GRAIP/downloads/case_studies/2012LegacyRoadsMo nitoringProjectUpdate.pdf b Robertson, Greg, Brian Bair and David Heller. 2011. Pacific Northwest Region Aquatic Organism Passage-Stream Simulation Effectiveness Monitoring Report. USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region and TEAMS Enterprise Unit. Portland Oregon.

c Switalski, Adam and Cara Nelson. Efficacy of Road Removal for restoring wildlife habitat: Black Bear in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Biological Conservation 44 (2011) 2666-2673. Available:http:// www.wildlandscpr.org/files/Switalski%20and%20Nelson%20 2011.%20%20Efficacy%20of%20road%20removal%20for%20 restoring%20wildlife%20habitat.pdf d Ellis-Sugai, Barbara. USDA Forest Service Memo. Impact of the January 2012 flood event on Siuslaw National Forest Roads. September 5,
2012.

e Cissel, R., T. Black, C. Luce, N. Nelson, and B. Staab. May 2010. Erosion sensitivity index for gullies, hillslope, and road segment length for storm damage risk reduction treatments. To be included in “Storm Damage Risk Reduction Guide for Low-Volume Roads” in development, San Dimas Technology and Development Center, USDA Forest Service. f USDA Forest Service. Region 6 estimate from Performance Accountability System data compiled in December 2012. It should be noted that not all regions report these values consistently. Data is highly variable and may be subject to errors.
g USDA Forest Service. Washington Office. Performance Accountability System data compiled in January 2013. h Nielsen-Pincus, Max and Cassandra Moseley. Economic and Employment Impacts of Forest and Watershed Restoration in Oregon. Ecosystem Workforce Program. Working Paper Number 24. Spring 2010. Available: http://ewp.uoregon.edu/sites/ewp.uoregon.edu/files/ downloads/WP24.pdf
i USDA Forest Service Region 6 estimate from December 2012. Based on an annual estimated maintenance cost for passenger car roads of $900-$2200 per mile and for high clearance vehicle roads of $1-$950 per mile. Maintenance includes work such as blading, culvert cleaning, brushing, removal of danger trees, etc. Deferred maintenance savings was approximated using the FY 2012 Presidents Budget deferred maintenance cost estimates.

Photo credit: USFS Reclaimed road on the Clearwater National Forest, ID. Photo credit: Wildlands CPR24 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am 

# P a r tne r s

The Wilderness Society and Wildlands CPR wish to thank the vast array of groups* that have supported Legacy Roads and Trails and have partnered on projects over the last five years!

Northern Region (R1) Montana, North Dakota, Northern

Idaho, portions of South Dakota and Wyoming

Project Partners Bonneville Power Administration Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission Federal Highway Administration Idaho Office of Species Conservation Idaho Transportation Department Lincoln County Resource Advisory Council Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Nez Perce Tribe North Idaho RAC Trout Unlimited University of Great Falls U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Western Pacific Power Company Wildlands CPR

Program Supporters American Rivers** American Whitewater** Avista Corporation Back Country Horsemen of Montana Centennial Valley Association Clark Fork Coalition Defenders of Wildlife** Great Burn Study Group Greater Yellowstone Coalition Ironworkers Local #14 Jefferson River Watershed Council Lewis & Clark Chapter Montana Trout Unlimited Missoula Area Central Labor Council AFL-CIO Montana Association of Conservation Districts Montana Audubon Montanans for Quiet Recreation Montana Laborers #1686 Montana Smart Growth Coalition Montana Wilderness Association Pacific Rivers Council Rattlesnake Creek Watershed Group Ruby Watershed Council/Ruby Valley Cons. District Sierra Club** Swan Ecosystem Center Swan View Coalition The Wilderness Society** Watershed Consulting LLC Western Environmental Law Center** Western MT Building and Construction Trades Council Wildlands CPR** Yaak Valley Forest Council Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society 

### Rocky Mountain Region (R2) Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, portions of Wyoming

Project Partners Biodiversity Conservation Alliance Colorado Department of Fish and Wildlife Coors Brewing Company Federal Highway Grants Friends of Mount Evans Volunteers Gunnison Energy Company Laramie Rivers Conservation District Norbeck Society (SD) Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation South Dakota Game and Fish Trout Unlimited U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Western Colorado Conservation Corps Wyoming Conservation Corps Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Wyoming Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildland Restoration Volunteers Youth Corp Program Supporters American Whitewater** Audubon Society - Fort Collins Chapter Biodiversity Conservation Alliance Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition Colorado Mountain Club Colorado Watershed Assembly Conservation Colorado Front Range CO BLM Resource Advisory Council Great Old Broads for Wilderness High Country Citizens’ Alliance National Wildlife Federation Quiet Use Coalition Rocky Mountain Recreation Initiative San Juan Citizens’ Alliance San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council Sheep Mountain Alliance Sierra Club** The Wilderness Society** Trout Unlimited** Western Colorado Congress Western Resource Advocates Wilderness Workshop

Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 25 

### Southwest Region (R3) Arizona and New Mexico

Project Partners American Conservation Experience Amigos Bravos Angostura Homeowner’s Association Arizona Department of Environment Quality Arizona Department of Water Resources Arizona State Parks Arizona Trail Association Backcountry Horsemen of America Boy Scouts of America City of Sedona (AZ) Coconino Rural Environmental Corps (AZ) Flagstaff Biking Organization (AZ) Friends of Madera Canyon (AZ) Friends of Sabino Canyon (AZ) Friends of the Forest (AZ) Grand Canyon Wildlands Council (AZ) Green Valley Hiking Club (AZ) Holloman Air Force Base (NM) Mount Lemmon Water District (AZ) Munds Park Trail Stewards (AZ) New Mexico Environment Department New Mexico Game and Fish NM School for the Blind & Visually Impaired (NM) Quivira Coalition (NM) Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Southern Arizona Hiking Club Southern Arizona Rescue Association Student Conservation Association The Wellness Coalition (NM) Town of Eager (AZ) Town of Red River (NM) WildEarth Guardians Williams Production Company, LLC XTO Energy, Inc. Youth Conservation Corps

Program Supporters Acoustic Ecology Institute (NM) Albuquerque Wildlife Federation (NM) Amigos Bravos (NM) Archaeology Southwest Arizona Wilderness Coalition Arizona Zoological Society Bird’s Eye View Center for Biological Diversity** Grand Canyon Wildlands Council Great Old Broads for Wilderness** New Mexico Wilderness Alliance NM Trout New Mexico Wildlife Federation Public Employees for Envr. Responsibility (AZ) Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter (AZ) Sierra Club - Northern Group (NM) Sierra Club - Southern Chapter (NM) Sierra Club - Rio Grande Chapter (NM) Sky Island Alliance (AZ) Southwest Environmental Center The Wilderness Society** Upper Gila Watershed Alliance (NM) Western Environmental Law Center** White Mountain Conservation League (AZ) WildEarth Guardians Wildlife Habitat of New Mexico Project Partners National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Nez Perce Tribe Northwest Youth Corp Southwest Idaho Resource Advisory Committee State of Utah - Utah State Lands and Forestry Trout Unlimited U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Youth Conservation Corp

Program Supporters Backcountry Horsemen - Idaho Backcountry Hunters and Anglers - Idaho Chapter Bear River Watershed Council Framing our Communities Grand Canyon Trust Greater Yellowstone Coalition Hells Canyon Preservation Council Idaho Rivers United Lands Council Mark Agee Excavation National Backcountry Hunters and Anglers** Nez Perce Tribe Sierra Club - Idaho Chapter The Wilderness Society** Trout Unlimited** Wildlands CPR** Wild Utah Project Winter Wildlands Alliance** 

### Intermountain Region (R4) Utah, Nevada, Southern Idaho, portions of Wyoming Pacific Southwest Region (R5) California

Project Partners Backcountry California Conservation Corps Backcountry Horsemen of America California Conservation Corps California Conservation Crew California State Department of Parks and Rec. Friends of the Inyo Karuk Tribe Student Conservation Association Trinity County Resource Conservation District Trinity River Restoration Program Tuolumne County Community Development Dept. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Unites States Marine Corps Watershed Research and Training Center

Program Supporters California Wilderness Coalition California Wilderness Project Californians for Western Wilderness Center for Biological Diversity** Center for Sierra Nevada Conservation Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center Defenders of Wildlife** Desert Protective Council Environmental Protection Information Center Forest Forever Forest Issues Group Friends of Hope Valley Friends of the Inyo Friends of the River High Sierra Hikers Association Klamath Forest Alliance Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center Los Padres ForestWatch Native Habitats Northcoast Environmental Center Public Employees for Envr. Responsibility** Sierra Club** Sierra Forest Legacy Snowlands Network The Wilderness Society** Trout Unlimited** Western Watersheds** Wilderness Guides Council Photo credit: USFS26 T he F i r st F ive Y ea r s o f the L egacy R oads and T r ai l s P r og r am Program Supporters - Washington Alpine Lakes Protection Society - WWRI American Rivers – WWRI** American Whitewater – WWRI** Association of Northwest Steelheaders Audubon Society - Pilchuck Conservation Northwest - WWRI Earthjustice** Gifford Pinchot Task Force - WWRI Great Old Broads for Wilderness - Cascade Chapter Lands Council Mason County Conservation District North Cascades Conservation Council - WWRI Northwest Environmental Advocates Olympic Coast Alliance Olympic Forest Coalition - WWRI Pacific Rivers Council - WWRI Pilchuck Audubon Society - WWRI Sierra Club – WA State Chapter - WWRI The Mountaineers – WWRI** The Wilderness Society – WWRI** Trout Unlimited – WWRI** Upper Colombia United Tribes – WWRI Washington Department of Ecology - WWRI Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - WWRI Washington Department of Natural Resources -WWRI Washington Trails Association - WWRI Washington Wilderness Coalition (WA Wild) Western Lands Project Wild Fish Conservancy Wildlands CPR** 

### Pacific Northwest Region (R6) Oregon and Washington

Project Partners Applegate Partnership & Watershed Council (OR) America Forest Land Company, LLC Association of Northwest Steelheaders Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation City of Portland Water Bureau (OR) Clackamas County (OR) Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Ecotrust Federal Highways Administration Freshwater Trust Grant Soil and Water Conservation District (OR) Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation (WA) Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group (WA) Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council (OR) National Marine Fisheries Service Native Fish Society National Forest Foundation Okanogan County Conservation District (WA) Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Watershed Enhancement Bureau Overlake Fly-fishing Club Pacific Watershed Associates Partnership of Umpqua Rivers (OR) Rogue-Umpqua Resource Advisory Council (OR) Salmon Recovery Funding Board Sandy River Watershed Council (OR) Skokomish Tribes Skokomish Watershed Action Team (WA) South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership (OR) The Nature Conservancy The Wilderness Society U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Washington Department of Ecology Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board Whole Watershed Joint Venture Yakama Indian Nation Yakima Tributary Habitat Access Project Program Supporters - Oregon American Rivers** Association of Northwest Steelheaders Audubon Society of Portland BARK - WWRI Cascadia Wildlands Project Center for Biological Diversity Central Oregon Land Watch Clackamas County Board of Commissioners Clackamas River Basin Council Clackamas River Water Providers Coast Range Association Columbia Gorge Institute Friends of the Kalmiopsis Geos Institute** Hells Canyon Preservation Council Klamath Forest Alliance Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center Lower Columbia Canoe Club Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council Native Fish Society Northwest Environmental Advocates Northwest Environmental Defense Center Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Environmental Council Oregon Kayak and Canoe Club Oregon Trout Oregon Wild Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Pacific Rivers Council Portland State University Sandy River Basin Watershed Council Siskiyou Project The Freshwater Trust The Wilderness Society** Trout Unlimited - Oregon Council Tualatin Riverkeeper Waterwatch Wild Fish Conservancy Wild Salmon Center Wildlands CPR**

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: USFSR esto r ation in A ction 27 

### Southeast Region (R8) Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and other southern states Northeast Region (R9) Vermont, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Minnesota, Wisconsin,

Pennsylvania, Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana

Project Partners FourCorps Order of the Arrow Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Arkansas Wildlife Federation Bog Research Inc., LA Boy Scouts of America, Conroe, TX Center for Aquatic Technology, VA City of Fort Smith, Arkansas Coweeta Hydrologic Lab Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture National Wild Turkey Federation Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Progress Energy Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Southeast Aquatic Resource Partners Student Conservation Association, Houston, TX Trout Unlimited U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Watershed Conservation Resource Center (AR)

Program Supporters American Sportfishing Association (VA) Ouachita Watch League (TN) Wild Virginia (VA) Project Partners Alger County Road Commission AmeriCorps Crew Camp Pasquaney, Student Conservation Association – New Hampshire Corps Crawford County Highway Department Ducks Unlimited Itasca County Highway Department Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Minnesota Conservation Corps Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Natural Resource Conservation Service New Hampshire Fish and Game Ohio Division of Natural Resources Oscoda County Road Commission Ozark Trail Association Student Conservation Association New Hampshire Conservation Crew/Americorps Town of Rochester Trout Unlimited U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Wexford County Road Commission White River Partnership Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Program Supporters Appalachian Mountain Club (MA) Natural Resources Council of Maine Friends of Blackwater (WV) Project Partners Alaska Department of Fish and Game Alaska Fly Fishers Kenai River Management Area Kenai River Sport Fishing Association Streamwatch Trout Unlimited 

### Alaska Region (R10)

Access Fund American Canoe Association American Hiking Society American Whitewater American Rivers Backcountry Horsemen of America - National Backcountry Hunters and Anglers - National Center for Biological Diversity Defenders of Wildlife EarthJustice Endangered Species Coalition Great Old Broads for Wilderness International Mountain Biking Association Izaak Walton League of America Natural Resources Defense Council Outdoor Alliance Outdoor Industry Association Pew Environment Group Sierra Club The Mountaineers The National Center for Conservation Science and Policy The Wilderness Society Trout Unlimited Western Environmental Law Center Wildlands CPR Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Horsemen of America Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 

### National Supporters

Photo credit: USFS Photo credit: Neil Shader

*The project partners lists are incomplete due to limited data availability. We apologize to any partners who were left off these lists. **Denotes groups that are also national program supporters.

# Restoration in Action:
The First Five Years of the Legacy Roads and Trails Program

A pril 

# 2013