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FS Home > Restoration > Legacy Roads And Trails >Overview

LegacyRoadsand TrailsProgram Overview

Forest Service employee performing road

condition survey.

Road remediation with heavy machinery,

Lolo National Forest,Montana.

Decommissioned roadway.

The transportation system on National Forest System (NFS)lands was primarily

built over the last 60 years to access timber on public lands.This roads system now

receives significant use for recreational activities,in addition to providing access for

forest management (including timber harvest),fire management,and access for

other uses,such as communication sites and range administration.The Legacy

Roads and Trails Restoration program was established primarily by the Washington

Watershed Restoration Coalition working with Congress to address the needs of this

large transportation system and the chronic underfunding for road and trail

maintenance on National Forest System lands.

The Forest Service has over 375,000

miles of roads that occur within a variety

of ecological settings and varied

geological parent rock,which results in

roads being built in many soil types and

locations.Roads that were built near

streams or wetlands,or on sensitive soils

or steep slopes,often need to be

relocated or obliterated.If a decision is

made to keep the road on the landscape,

greater maintenance and investment of

funds are required to reduce impacts to

water quality,fisheries and wildlife,

including impacts such as sedimentation

and habitat fragmentation.

The number of miles of new roads being

built on NFS lands has dropped

significantly since the early 1990s,while

the quality of new or relocated roads and

road segments (e.g.location and

drainage features)has increased,

resulting in less environmental impacts

on-the-ground.The current road network

still includes older roads built to lower

environmental standards.There is a

significant backlog of maintenance and

decommissioning needs,additional roads

built to improved standards requiring

periodic maintenance,and user-created

roads needing to be addressed through

transportation planning or removal.

Funding for Legacy Roads and Trails

Restoration grew from the initial $40

million in 2008to $50 million in FY2009,

$90 million in FY2010,and $45million in

FY2011.When the Forest Service

received authority for Integrated

Resource Restoration in FY2012,the

funds for Legacy Roads and Trails (at $50

million)were partially utilized to support

the Integrated Resource Restoration pilot

program in Regions 1,3,and 4.With the

funding appropriated by Congress

between 2008and 2012,the amount of

workcompleted for Legacy Roads and Trails has been significant at over 11,000

miles of trails improved,over 500 fish passage sites upgraded,and over 5,000

miles of roads addressed through decommissioning or maintenance.

United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Overview Page1of2

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/Legacy_Roads_and_Trails/overview.shtml 6/23/2016
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Road-stream crossings may be funded through the Legacy Roads and Trails

program,and more detailed information about objectives,design and

accomplishments are available under restoration for Aquatic Organism Passage.

Overview Page2of2

http://www.fs.fed.us/restoration/Legacy_Roads_and_Trails/overview.shtml 6/23/2016