[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4350-4351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1907]



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Part II





Department of Agriculture





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Forest Service



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36 CFR Part 212



Administration of the Forest Development Transportation System: 
Management Regulations Revision and Temporary Suspension of Road 
Construction in Roadless Areas; Proposed Rules

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 18 / Wednesday, January 28, 1998 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 4350]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

36 CFR Part 212

RIN AB-67-0095


Administration of the Forest Development Transportation System

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service proposes to revise the regulations 
concerning the management of the National Forest System transportation 
system to address changes in how the road system is developed, used, 
maintained, and funded. The existing road system on National Forest 
System lands was largely funded and constructed to develop areas for 
timber harvesting and the development of other resources. In the last 
two decades, interest in the appropriate uses of the resources of the 
national forests, as well as the costs associated with resource 
development, including road-building, has generated much public debate. 
At the same time, resource uses on the national forests have shifted 
substantially toward recreation. The agency believes this is an 
appropriate time to consider changes in public opinion, public demand, 
and public use of national forest resources in the context of the 
accumulated body of scientific information about the benefits and 
environmental impacts of roads, and to consider adjustments in the 
management of the forest road system to respond to these changes and, 
thus, better serve present and future management objectives in a more 
efficient manner. Public comments on the scope and nature of a proposed 
revision of the Forest Services road management policy are invited. The 
agency will consider all comments in developing the proposed rule.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing by March 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to: Gerald (Skip) Coghlan, Acting 
Director, Engineering Staff, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090, 
Washington, D.C. 20090-6090, and also at roads/[email protected] on the 
Internet.
    All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are 
available for public inspection and copying. Persons wishing to inspect 
the comments are encouraged to call ahead (202-205-1400) to facilitate 
entrance into the building.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald (Skip) Coghlan, Acting 
Director, Engineering Staff, 202-205-1400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The road system on National Forest System lands is extensive and 
diverse. It includes an estimated 373,000 miles of inventoried forest 
system roads. These roads are essential for the active management of 
the resources of the National Forests. They carry an estimated 9,000 
Forest Service administrative vehicles daily throughout the forests to 
duties as varied as wildlife habitat improvement projects, maintenance 
of recreation facilities, fire suppression, law enforcement, and search 
and rescue activities. National Forest System roads also carry an 
estimated 15,000 vehicles daily that are associated with timber 
harvesting and the development of other resources.
    Roads are also essential for public use and enjoyment of the 
National Forests and Grasslands. The agency estimates that 1.7 million 
vehicles involved in recreation travel forest roads every day, an 
increase of over 10 times since 1950.
    In addition to the 373,000 miles of inventoried system roads, there 
are 60,000 miles of roads which exist on National Forest System lands, 
created by repeated public use, that are not managed or maintained by 
the agency or considered part of the forest road system.
    Public use and demands on national forest resources have shifted 
considerably during the past 10 years. There has been a decrease in 
timber harvesting and other commodity uses and steadily-increasing 
growth in the amount and type of recreation uses. The shift in public 
use and associated changes in user expectations and access needs 
requires new approaches to deciding the appropriate size and 
configuration of the road system. In addition, current funding 
mechanisms and levels are not adequate to maintain roads to the 
standards originally planned, to assure minimum ecological impacts, as 
well as to ensure efficient and safe use. Thus, the agency needs to 
explore new sources of dependable funding as well as ways to better 
manage roads with limited resources.
    The accumulation of new scientific information is increasing the 
understanding of the ecological and social impacts of existing roads, 
new construction of roads in roaded and roadless areas, and the impacts 
of the management activities associated with maintaining and 
reconstructing roads. New developments in road-building technology have 
fewer negative ecological impacts; however, ecological impacts from 
existing roads are more extensive than previously thought. For example, 
under some conditions, existing roads may cause increased frequency of 
flooding and landslides, increased stream sedimentation, and associated 
reductions in fish habitat productivity. There may also be concerns 
associated with the fragmentation and degradation of habitat for some 
wildlife species caused by roading, as well as reductions in travel 
corridors of species with large home ranges. Research also indicates 
that under some circumstances, roading may begin or accelerate the 
invasion of exotic plant species that ultimately displace native 
species.
    In addition to the impacts of road-building and roads themselves, 
there are impacts associated with the increased levels of human 
activities in previously-inaccessible areas provided by new roads. For 
example, increases in visitor-use have associated resource impacts, 
including ground and habitat disturbance, increased pressure on 
wildlife species from hunters and fishers, and increased expectations 
for amenities. Also, increases in human access may be associated with 
increases in the frequency of person-caused fires. A more detailed 
listing of facts related to the nature and scope of the National Forest 
Road System, public demand, funding, and environmental impacts of roads 
are published as Appendix A at the end of this notice.

Rulemaking Objectives

    The shifts in resource demands and public use coupled with the need 
to ensure that decisions associated with the location, design, 
construction, reconstruction, upgrading, decommissioning, and 
maintenance of roads are informed by current scientific information 
lead the Forest Service to conclude that it must thoroughly review its 
road management policy and develop a comprehensive science-based policy 
for the future. This policy should allow the Forest Service to balance 
scientific information, public needs and funding levels when 
determining the size, purpose, and extent of the future forest road 
transportation system and any specific road building activities. The 
following are among the expected outcomes and key features of such a 
long-range policy:
    1. Roads will be removed where they are no longer needed, and 
ecological values will be rehabilitated and restored in formerly-roaded 
areas. These outcomes will be accomplished by aggressively 
decommissioning unneeded roads to reduce adverse environmental impacts.

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    2. Roads most heavily used by the public will be safe and will 
promote efficient travel. These outcomes will be accomplished by 
aggressively updating roads (reconstruction, design and maintenance) 
and reducing environmental impacts in these areas.
    3. New roads that are determined necessary for National Forest 
System management will be designed more carefully to minimize 
ecological damage, and limited funds will be spent appropriately. These 
outcomes will be achieved by carefully analyzing factors surrounding 
the decision to build new roads in roaded areas, as well as the 
decision to build new roads in roadless areas, to assure that managers 
make more informed decisions and that only necessary construction is 
taking place.
    The agency invites comments and suggestions on procedures for 
improving management of the national forest road system.

Agency Actions

    Several research efforts are underway to examine the National 
Forest road system and its uses; to synthesize scientific information 
on Forest Service roads; and to analyze attitudes toward roads as 
expressed in the news media. Drafts of these reports are available from 
Director, Pacific Northwest Research Station, P.O. Box 3890, Portland, 
OR 97208-3890, 503-808-2100 and also at pnw/[email protected] on the 
Internet.
    An essential element of this comprehensive overhaul of forest road 
policy is to develop improved analytical tools for land managers and 
resource specialists. To that end, agency researchers and specialists 
are developing an improved analysis process that assures that the 
ecological, social, and economic impacts of proposed construction and 
reconstruction of National Forest System roads are objectively 
evaluated, and that there is a full consideration of public demand on 
National Forest System roads in the context of current scientific 
information. This process will undergo an independent technical and 
scientific peer review before adoption.
    Until the effects of roads can be more rigorously assessed, the 
Forest Service is also proposing to issue an interim rule to 
temporarily suspend road construction and reconstruction in roadless 
areas for not more than 18 months. The proposed interim rule appears in 
the same separate part of today's Federal Register with a request for 
public comment and notice of the initiation of scoping under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
    Suggestions on the scope and nature of a proposed revision of the 
Forest Service's road management policy, as well as comments on the 
agency's preliminary suggestions are invited. The agency will consider 
all comments in developing the proposed rule.

    Dated: January 22, 1998.
Mike Dombeck,
Chief, Forest Service.

Appendix A--Facts About the National Forest Road System

    1. The National Forest Road System is extensive and diverse; it 
includes an estimated 373,000 miles of forest roads.
    a. One-fourth (23%) are called arterial or collector roads and 
they serve all users, including passenger cars.
    b. Over one-half (57%) are roads that are only passable by high-
clearance vehicles such as four-wheel drives.
    c. One-fifth (20%) are closed by gates.
    d. The Forest Service has identified an additional estimated 
60,000 miles of ``uninventoried roads'' that were created by 
repeated use but never build or maintained to any standards. The 
actual number of miles of ``uninventoried roads'' is likely far 
greater than this estimate. There are also additional public roads 
on National Forest System lands, such as state and county roads that 
are typically maintained by others.
    e. There are more than 7,000 bridges on forest roads, three-
fourths of these are on the arterial and collector roads.
    f. In 1996, new construction of National Forest System roads was 
434 miles, or 0.1% of the total National Forest road system.
    2. Roads are essential for public use and enjoyment of National 
Forests and Grasslands.
    a. An estimated 15,000 logging trucks and vehicles associated 
with timber harvesting use National Forest roads each day, about the 
same number as in 1950.
    b. An estimated 1.7 million vehicles associated with recreation 
activities travel forest roads each day, over 10 times more than in 
1950. Recreation usage is projected to continue to increase.
    c. An estimated 9,000 Forest Service administrative vehicles 
travel forest roads each day, conducting duties essential to the 
stewardship of forest resources, including special use 
administration, wildlife habitat improvement projects, maintenance 
and operation of recreation facilities, law enforcement, and fire 
suppression.
    3. Public use and demands on National Forest System lands have 
shifted considerably during the past 10 years. The size and 
composition of the National Forest System road system has not been 
adjusted accordingly.
    a. Recreation usage has increased from less than 250 million 
Recreation Visitor Days to almost 350 million and is projected to 
continue to increase.
    b. Timber harvest has dropped to below 4 billion board feet from 
a high of about 12 billion board feet annually.
    c. The need for, and understanding of, ecological benefits that 
these forest and rangelands provide has increased, such as clean 
water, wildlife habitat, and habitat for endangered species.
    4. While a significant portion of the 191,000,000 acres of the 
National Forest System is roaded, a significant portion remains 
roadless.
    a. An estimated 34,000,000 acres are currently designated as 
wilderness; an estimated 6,000,000 acres are designated as proposed 
wilderness in forest plans.
    b. An estimated 33,000,000 acres are currently unroaded in 
blocks of 5,000 acres or more for which the existing forest plans 
have proposed management that could include building new roads.
    c. Of the 33,000,000 acres that are unroaded and available for 
management activities that could include roading, an estimated 
8,000,000 acres are classified as ``suitable for timber production.
    5. Current funding levels are inadequate to maintain the roads 
to planned standards that permit efficient and safe use and keep 
ecological impacts at acceptably low levels.
    a. About 40% of National Forest System roads are fully 
maintained to the planned safety and environmental standards for 
which they were designed.
    b. The backlog of reconstruction needs on National Forest System 
roads is considerable. For example, the backlog on arterial and 
collector roads alone is estimated to be over $10 million, due to 
their age (three-fourths are over 50 years old) and their lack of 
adequate regular maintenance.
    c. From 1991 to 1996, funding for decommissioning roads has only 
financed a reduction of about 0.5% of National Forest System roads 
per year.
    6. New scientific information continues to increase our 
understanding of the ecological and social impacts from existing 
roads and associated management activities. In some instances, 
ecological impacts from existing roads are more extensive than 
previously thought. Examples of these impacts include: increased 
frequency of flooding and landslides; increased stream sedimentation 
and associated reduction in fish habitat productivity; increased 
habitat fragmentation and degradation which reduce the travel 
corridors needed by species requiring large home ranges; increased 
frequency of person-caused fires as a result of access; and invasion 
of exotic species that displace native species. In contrast, 
recently constructed roads that are better designed and better 
located than earlier roads, and result in fewer and less severe 
ecological impacts.
[FR Doc. 98-1907 Filed 1-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M