[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 43 (Friday, March 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11676-11679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5002]



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Part III





Department of Agriculture





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Forest Service



36 CFR Parts 212, 261, and 295



National Forest System Road Management and Transportation System; 
Proposed Rule and Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 43 / Friday, March 3, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

RIN 0596-AB67


National Forest System Road Management

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; overview of proposals.

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SUMMARY: The Forest Service has concluded that it must thoroughly 
review its forest road system policy. This action is necessary to 
ensure that the road system, which is one of four emphasis areas in the 
agency's Natural Resource Agenda, meets current and future management 
objectives for National Forest System lands; provides for safe public 
use; allows for economical and efficient management within likely 
budget levels; and, to the extent practicable, causes minimum adverse 
environmental impacts. Accordingly, the Forest Service gives notice of 
proposed revisions to its transportation system rules at 36 CFR part 
212 and of proposed corollary revisions to Forest Service 
administrative directives. Both notices are published separately in 
this part of today's Federal Register.
    The Forest Service invites written comments on these documents and 
will consider those comments in development of the final rule and final 
administrative policy that the agency will publish in the Federal 
Register.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing by May 2, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to USFS CAET, Attention: Roads, P.O. 
Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122 or to roads/wo__caet-
[email protected].
    All comments received, including names and addresses when provided, 
are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and 
copying at Forest Service headquarters, 201 14th Street SW, Washington, 
D.C. 20250. Persons wishing to inspect the comments are encouraged to 
call 202-205-1400 to facilitate building entrance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heidi Valetkevitch, Office of 
Communication, 202-205-0914.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Few natural resource issues in recent years have attracted as much 
public scrutiny as the management of the Forest Service road system. 
Forest roads can have adverse impacts on watersheds, especially if 
poorly maintained. Few marks on the land are more lasting than roads. 
Yet, forest roads are essential for forest use and often serve as the 
backbone of rural transportation networks.
    The estimated 380,000 miles of classified Forest Service roads on 
National Forest System lands are extensive and diverse. Most of the 
existing road system was built over the last 50 years for timber 
harvest and log removal. In the decades after World War II, logging 
traffic tripled, peaking in 1990. But when timber harvests on the 
national forests declined in the 1990's, logging traffic fell to 1950 
levels. By contrast, recreation forest road use has grown to 13 times 
its 1950 rate. Driving for pleasure is the single largest recreational 
use of Forest Service managed lands, constituting 35.8 percent of all 
recreation in 1996. In summer, recreation drivers on the national 
forests account for 13.6 million vehicle-miles per day. The outlook is 
for recreational road use to grow by an additional 64 percent by the 
year 2045.
    Managers today must wrestle with many complicated forest road 
issues.
    Environmental damage. The negative effects on the landscape of 
constructing new roads, deferring maintenance, and decommissioning old 
roads are well documented. Unwanted or non-native plant species can be 
transported on vehicles and clothing by users of roads, ultimately 
displacing native species. Roads may fragment and degrade habitat for 
wildlife species and eliminate travel corridors of other species. 
Poorly designed or maintained roads promote erosion and landslides, 
degrading riparian and wetland habitat through sedimentation and 
changes in streamflow and water temperature, with associated reductions 
in fish habitat and productivity. Also, roads allow people to travel 
into previously difficult or impossible to access areas, resulting in 
indirect impacts such as ground and habitat disturbance, increased 
pressure on wildlife species, increased litter, sanitation needs and 
vandalism, and increased frequency of human-caused fires.
    Substandard roads. Many roads on the national forests do not meet 
current standards for safety and environmental protection. Many of 
these are classified roads that have not been properly maintained for a 
variety of reasons. Some were crudely pioneered by early settlers. 
Others were planned for temporary access but never closed. Still others 
evolved from tracks made by off-road vehicles. Due to their haphazard 
nature, unclassified roads have far more adverse impacts on the 
environment than do permanent, properly planned forest roads that are 
well engineered and maintained. While the agency estimates more than 
60,000 miles of unauthorized, unplanned, and temporary roads exist on 
National Forest System lands, a complete inventory of unclassified 
roads is needed to identify roads which should be decommissioned.
    Roadless areas. The National Forest System has more than 50 million 
acres of inventoried roadless areas. These areas were inventoried 
through a national roadless area review in the 1970's (RARE II) or 
through subsequent regional and local forest planning activities. A 
further refinement of roadless area acres may occur through the 
agency's roadless initiative begun October 19, 1999. Because building a 
road in a roadless area often has an irreversible impact, the public 
debate over road building and other uses of these roadless areas has 
persisted. Through public participation in forest planning and project-
level proposals, through appeals and litigation, as well as through 
public forums over the last decade, the Forest Service has witnessed 
the increasingly strong public sentiment that new roads should not be 
built in the remaining roadless areas. Nevertheless, many others 
believe that these areas should be available for a wide variety of 
uses, including road construction.
    Additional facts related to the nature and scope of the Forest 
Service road system, public demand, funding, and the environmental 
impacts of roads are in Appendix A at the end of this notice.
    The shift in public use of national forests and changes in user 
expectations require new approaches to deciding the appropriate extent, 
use, and standards of the Forest Service road system. Current funding 
is inadequate to maintain all Forest Service roads to their intended 
safety, service, and environmental standards. Therefore, to continue to 
effectively manage the Forest Service road system, the agency must 
carefully consider the extent of the system and applicable safety, 
service, and environmental standards, as well as explore new funding 
sources.
    On January 28, 1998, in an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(63 FR 4350), the Forest Service announced its intent to revise 
regulations concerning management of the national forest transportation 
system. Simultaneously, the Forest Service published a proposed interim 
rule (63 FR 4351) to temporarily suspend permanent and temporary road 
construction and reconstruction in certain unroaded areas of National 
Forest System lands. The purpose of the interim rule was to take a 
``timeout'' for 18-months while the Forest Service developed a revised 
road management policy and analytical tools to provide a

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more ecological approach to existing and future road needs.
    A final interim rule, issued on February 12, 1999 (64 FR 7289), 
temporarily suspended permanent and temporary road construction and 
reconstruction in certain unroaded areas of National Forest System 
lands. The temporary suspension is in effect until development of a 
revised Forest Service road system policy, or 18 months from the 
effective date of the interim final rule, whichever is sooner.
    In spring 1999, the Forest Service conducted focus group meetings 
for input from various segments of the public and Forest Service 
employees to gather detailed ideas about the development of the 
agency's revised road policy. Led by a facilitator from outside the 
agency, the focus groups contributed the views of specific interested 
groups, including employees, regarding roads and transportation on 
public lands. These ideas were considered along with the wide range of 
public comments received in response to the Advanced Notice and the 
proposed interim rule (over 164,000) in developing the proposed long-
term road management rule and policy published in this part.
    A summary of the information the Forest Service received from the 
focus group sessions is available at www.fs.fed.us/news/roads. A 
complete summary of the analysis of public comments on the Advanced 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is found in ``Proposed Rulemaking on 
Administration of the Forest Development Transportation System--
Analysis of Public Comments: Final Scoping Report,'' dated August 20, 
1998. This report is available upon request from the Director, 
Ecosystem Management Coordination, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 
96090, Washington, DC 20090-6090 and at www.fs.fed.us/news/roads.

Proposed Road Management Strategy

    The agency has identified three primary actions to help find an 
appropriate balance between safe and efficient access for all forest 
road users and protection of healthy ecosystems:
    1. Develop new analytical tools to decide when--and if--both new 
and existing roads are needed to meet resource management objectives.
    2. Aggressively decommission nonbeneficial or unauthorized roads 
that are determined through forest planning and NEPA and other analyses 
to be damaging to the environment or to be no longer necessary for 
achieving resource managing objectives.
    3. Maintain and improve those important roads needed for 
recreation, rural access, and the sustainable flow of goods and 
services which do not compromise healthy lands and waters.
    To achieve these objectives, the Forest Service is proposing 
revisions to the road system rules at 36 CFR part 212 and to Forest 
Service administrative directives governing transportation analysis and 
management.
    Proposed Rule. The rules at 36 CFR part 212 govern administration 
of the forest transportation system. The rules address development of 
transportation programs, construction, maintenance, and management; 
ingress and egress; access procurement; and road-use restrictions.
    To improve its road management, the Forest Service proposes to 
revise 36 CFR Part 212 to shift the emphasis from transportation 
development to managing environmentally sound access. This shift 
requires clarification of terminology associated with managing the 
transportation system. The proposed revision reflects changes in public 
opinion, demand, and use of National Forest resources and increased 
understanding and knowledge about the adverse environmental impacts of 
road construction, reconstruction, and the lack of maintenance. The 
proposed revision of Part 212 shifts the focus of road management from 
development and construction of new roads to restoring and maintaining 
those roads needed to meet resource objectives, as identified through 
land and resource management planning, and decommissioning unneeded 
roads. The proposed rule also includes a requirement to use a science-
based transportation analysis to identify the minimum Forest Service 
road system needed for administration, utilization, and protection of 
National Forest System lands and resources, while providing safe and 
efficient travel and minimizing adverse environmental effects. This 
analysis is necessary to identify and objectively consider the 
environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed road 
construction, reconstruction, and decommissioning at multiple scales in 
the context of realistic funding expectations. The information derived 
from this analysis will also help National Forest System managers to 
more strategically address priority transportation issues.
    The notice of proposed rulemaking is published separately in this 
part of today's Federal Register.
    Proposed Revisions to Forest Service Manual. In addition to the 
proposed rule changes, the Forest Service has identified several areas 
that require revision to its administrative direction on roads in 
Forest Service Manual (FSM) Title 7700--Transportation system and 
Chapter 1920--Land and Resource Planning. These changes would clarify 
terminology and direction to provide the minimum forest transportation 
system for administration, protection, and use within a context of 
minimizing adverse environmental impacts and restoring healthy 
ecosystems. These proposed changes would require a comprehensive 
transportation system inventory and incorporate a science-based, 
multiple-scale transportation analysis into the forest planning 
process. The inventory and analysis will allow more careful 
consideration of decisions to construct new roads or decommission old 
ones. The proposed changes emphasize maintenance of needed roads and 
decommissioning of unneeded roads. The policy also provides for 
additional consideration and protection of unroaded area values in the 
land and resource planning management process.
    The notice of the proposed revisions to FSM 7700 and 1920 are 
published separately elsewhere in this part of today's Federal 
Register.

New Analysis Process

    The Forest Service must balance the need for agency and public 
access against the environmental costs associated with road 
construction and reconstruction. To accomplish this, Forest Service 
researchers and resource specialists have developed an integrated, 
science-based roads analysis process that allows objective evaluation 
of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of proposed road 
construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and decommissioning.
    A science-based road analysis process recently developed and tested 
by the Forest Service is entitled Roads Analysis: Informing Decisions 
About Managing the National Forest Transportation System (USDA Forest 
Service, 1999, Misc. Rep. FS-643).
    This road analysis processs comprises six steps aimed at producing 
needed information and maps. The steps are as follows:
     Step 1--Setting up the analysis.
     Step 2--Describing the Situation, i.e., the existing road 
system in relation to current forest plan direction.
     Step 3--Identifying issues.
     Step 4--Assessing benefits, problems, and risks.
     Step 5--Describing management opportunities, establishing 
priorities, and formulating technical recommendations that respond to 
issues and effects.

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     Step 6--Reporting, which includes maps and supporting 
information important for making decisions about future characteristics 
of the road system and changes to forest plans.
    The road analysis neither makes decisions nor allocates lands for 
specific purposes. Rather, the new science-based road analysis 
identifies and addresses a set of possible issues and applicable 
analysis questions that, when answered, produce information for forest 
line officer consideration about possible road construction, 
reconstruction, and decommissioning needs and opportunities. The road 
analysis process examines issues at various scales, is flexible, and is 
driven by road issues important to the public and to managers.
    This report is available from Publications Distribution, Rocky 
Mountain Research Station, 3825 E. Mulberry Street, Fort Collins, CO 
80524-8597; rschneider/[email protected] or www.fs.fed.us/news/roads/
roadsanalysis.htm. Other National Forest transportation system research 
efforts are also available at www.fs.fed.us/news/roads.

Conclusion

    Implementing this proposed road management strategy would improve 
service to users, protect environmental values, enhance public safety, 
mitigate environmental impacts, promote viable local communities, and 
boost credibility of our natural resource management. Reviewers are 
asked to review the proposed rule and proposed policy which follow and 
to provide the agency with comments. A table follows as Appendix B 
which may help reviewers understand the overall strategy and how the 
proposed rule and proposed policy relate.

    Dated: February 25, 2000.
Mike Dombeck,
Chief.

Appendix A--Forest Service Road System Facts

    1. The forest transportation system is extensive and diverse; it 
includes an estimated 380,000 miles of Forest Service roads. Public 
roads, such as State and county roads, and private roads maintained by 
others on National Forest System lands, also exist.
    a. Approximately one-fourth (22 percent) of all Forest Service 
roads serve passenger car use.
    b. Over one-half (55 percent) of all Forest Service roads are 
maintained for high-clearance vehicle use.
    c. Approximately one-fourth (23 percent) of all Forest Service 
roads are closed to highway use by the public. Closed roads may be used 
for a variety of recreation uses, and for forest administration and 
protection.
    d. Currently, Forest Service inventories have identified at least 
60,000 miles of unclassified roads including temporary roads and roads 
that were never planned, built, or maintained to safety, service, and 
environmental standards. It is anticipated that future inventories will 
verify the existence of substantially more miles of unclassified roads.
    e. More than 7,000 bridges on Forest Service roads exist; three-
fourths of these are on the roads serving passenger car use.
    f. In 1998, new construction of Forest Service roads was 215 miles 
or .06 percent of the total Forest Service road system. New 
construction has trended downward annually from 2,310 miles in 1988.
    2. While a significant portion of the 192 million acres of the 
National Forest System is roaded, a significant and ecologically 
critical portion remains unroaded.
    a. Some 34.7 million acres are currently designated as wilderness; 
approximately 6 million acres were proposed for wilderness designation 
in forest plans.
    b. The National Forest System has an estimated 50 million acres of 
roadless Areas are inventoried through national roadless area review in 
the 1970's (RARE II) or through subsequent regional and local forest 
planning activities.
    3. Current funding is inadequate to maintain all the existing roads 
to intended safety, service, and environmental standards to permit 
efficient and safe use, while mitigating adverse environmental impacts.
    a. The Forest Service has available only about 20 percent of funds 
necessary to fully maintain Forest Service roads to intended safety, 
service, and environmental standards. As a result, roads not fully 
maintained become restricted to use by high clearance vehicles or are 
gated.
    b. The backlog of deferred road maintenance and reconstruction 
needs on Forest Service roads is $8.4 billion. This backlog is due to 
the age of the arterial and collector roads (three-fourths are over 50-
years old), heavy use, and the lack of regular maintenance.
    c. From 1991 to 1997, the Forest Service decommissioned an average 
of 2,700 miles of roads per year.

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