The mileage of new roads built in the national forests has declined over the past decade, proportional to the decline in timber sales. More than 2,000 miles of new roads were built annually in the late 1980s, but fewer than 500 miles have been built annually in the past2 fiscal years. Timber harvesting is the primary purpose for most new roads and reconstruction. Table 1 . Budget Explanatory Notes Appropriations.
Road maintenance allows continued use of roads over time.
Although this suggests a maintenance backlog, no backlog has been identified in either the annual Report of the Forest Service or the agency budget requests. The Principal authorities for financing forest road construction and maintenance were enacted in the 1964 National Forest Roads and Trails Act. The two primary financing mechanisms for construction activities, from 4 of the Act, are annual appropriations and requirements on timber purchasers with amortization in contracts. These two mechanisms can also be used for road maintenance, although requiring deposits to a special account by timber purchasers for their share of road maintenance is authorized in 6 of the Act, and is widely used. Annual Construction Appropriations .