Reference Documents

Interim Rule Environmental Assessment

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Literature Cited

Ashton, Peter G. and James B. Pickens. 1995. Employment diversity and economic performance in small resource dependent communities near western national forests. Society and Natural Resources. 8:231-241.

Beckley, Thomas M. 1995. Community stability and the relationship between economic and social well-being in forest-dependent communities. Society and Natural Resources, 8: 261-266.

Chamberlain, T. W., R. D. Harr, and F. H. Everest. 1997. Timber Harvesting, Silviculture, and Watershed Processes, in Influences of Forest and Rangeland Management on Salmonid Fishes and Their Habitats, Meehan, W.R., Editor. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 19:181-205.

Fan, David and David Bengston. 1997. Public Debates Shaping Forestry's Future: An Analysis. Report prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Office of Communications, Washington D.C.

Flather, C.H., L.A. Joyce, and C.S. Bloomgaaden. 1994. Species Endangerment Patterns in the United States. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report, RM-241.

Flora, Cornelia B. and Jan L. Flora. 1993. Entrepreneurial social infrastructure: a necessary ingredient. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 529 (Sept.): 48-58.

Forest Ecosystem Management Team. 1993. Forest Ecosystem Management: An Ecological, Economic, and Social Assessment. Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Environmental Protection Agency.

Forman, Richard T., Debra S. Friedman, David Fitzhenry, Jay D. Martin, Allen S. Chen, and Lauren E. Alexander. 1997. Ecological Effects of Roads: Towards Resummary Indices and an Overview for North America. pp. 40-54. In: Canters, K., editor. Habitat Fragmentation and Infrastructure. Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Delft, Netherlands.

Frissel, C.A. 1993. A strategy for watershed restoration and recovery of Pacific salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Report prepared for the Pacific Rivers Council, Eugene, OR.

Furniss, M. J., T. D. Roelofs, and C. S. Yee. 1991. Road Construction and Maintenance, in Influences of Forest and Rangeland Management on Salmonid Fishes and Their Habitats, Meehan, W.R., Editor. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 19:297-323.

Henton, Douglas et al. 1997. The age of the civic entrepreneur: restoring civil society and building economic community. National Civic Review, 86(2): 149-156.

Matson, D.J., R. Knight, and B. Blanchard. 1987. The effects for developments and primary road systems on grizzly bear habitat use in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. International Conference Bear Research and Management 7:259-273.

Norse, E.A., K.L. Rowenbaum, D.S. Wilcox, W.H. Romme, D.W. Johnston, and M.L. Stout. 1986. Conserving Biological Diversity in our National Forests. Prepared by the Ecological Society of America for the Wilderness Society. Global Printing, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia 166 pp.

Olson, Douglas C., 1990. Economic Impacts of the IFC Northern Spotted Owl Conservation Strategy for Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Unpublished report, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul., MN.

Potapchuk, William R. et al. 1997. Building community with social capital: chits and chums or chats with change. National Civic Review, 86(2): 129-139.

Quigley, Thomas M.; Haynes, Richard W.; Graham, Russell T., tech.eds. 1996. An integrated scientific assessment for ecosystem management in the interior Columbia basin and portions of the Klamath and Great basins. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-382. Portland, OR; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. 303 pp. (Quigley, Thomas M., tech. ed. The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project: Scientific Assessment).

Richardson, Catherine W. and Harriet Christensen. 1997. From rhetoric to reality: research on the well-being of forest-based communities. p. 195-201. In: Cordell, H. Ken (ed.). Integrating Social Science and Ecosystem Management: A National Challenge. Proceedings of the Conference on Integrating Social Sciences and Ecosystem Management, Helen, GA. December 12-14, 1995. Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC.

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Vincent, J.W. et al. 1995. Passive-use values of public forestlands: a survey of the literature. Background report for the Interior Columbia River Basin Ecosystem Management Project. On file with: Interior Columbia Basin ecosystem Management Project, 112 E. Poplar, Walla Walla, WA 99362.

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Appendix A - Glossary

Arterial roads - Authorized roads that provide service to large land areas that are usually developed and operated for long-term land and resource management purposes and constant service.

Collector road - Authorized roads, serving smaller land areas than arterial roads, which collect traffic from local roads and usually connect to forest arterial roads or State and county highways. They are operated for either constant or intermittent service depending on land use and resource management objectives.

Contiguous areas - For purposes of implementing the proposed temporary suspension, these are areas of 1,000 acres or more with a common boundary of considerable length that provide important corridors for wildlife movement or extend a unique ecological value of the established inventoried area.

Decommissioning - Restoring roads to a more natural state, reestablishing old drainage patterns, stabilizing slopes, and restoring vegetation. Decommissioning occurs when either forest development roads are no longer needed due to changed resource management objectives or when old temporary travelways are causing excessive damage to soil, water and wildlife.

Local road - Roads that connect terminal activities (e.g., trail head, log landing, camping site, etc.) to collector and arterial roads. They are constructed to meet the access requirements of a specific resource activity rather than travel efficiency. When not being used for the activity for which they were constructed, they may be used for other purposes. They are often gated to restrict motor vehicle use. The construction standards for these roads are determined by the requirements necessary for the specific activity.

Maintenance - The upkeep of the entire forest development transportation facility including surface and shoulders, parking and side area structures, and such traffic-control devices as are necessary for its safe and efficient utilization. (36 CFR 212.1(I)).

Noxious weeds - Those plant species designated as noxious weeds by the Secretary of Agriculture or by the responsible State official. Noxious weeds generally possess one or more of the following characteristics: aggressive and difficult to manage, poisonous, toxic, parasitic, a carrier or host of serious insects or disease, and being native or new to or not common to the United States or parts thereof. (FSM 2080.5)

RARE II Roadless area - Areas specifically defined in any land and resource management planning process or areas defined and used in the RARE II inventory process. An area exclusive of improved roads constructed or maintained for travel by means of motorized vehicles intended for highway use. Also defined in the eastern United States as undeveloped areas with no more than ½ mile of improved road per 1,000 acres as long as the road is under Forest Service jurisdiction.

Road -A vehicle travel way over 50 inches wide. A road may be classified or unclassified.

Road construction - Supervising, inspecting, building, and all expenses incidental to the construction or reconstruction of a forest development transportation facility including location, surveying, and mapping (including the establishment of temporary and permanent geodetic markers in accordance with the specifications of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in the Department of Commerce), costs of rights-of way, and elimination of hazards. (36 CFR 212.1(h)).

Road reconstruction - Activities that result in betterment, restoration, or realignment of a road as defined below.

Temporary road - A road associated with timber sale contracts, fire activities, or other short-term access needs that are unnecessary for future resource management and not intended to be part of the forest development transportation plan.

Unroaded area - Areas that do not contain classified roads.

Appendix B - Related Initiatives

The effect of the proposed temporary suspension of permanent and temporary road construction and reconstruction in unroaded areas of NFS lands is limited. For a comprehensive look at management of roads and unroaded areas of NFS lands, consider the following initiatives.

Forest planning - Each national forest is governed by a land and resource management plan (forest plan) that establishes goals, objectives, and standards, determines the suitability of land for various uses, and allocates land among management areas. Forest plans also include an inventory and evaluation of unroaded areas of NFS lands and recommendations to Congress on which areas should be designated as Wilderness. Several forest plan revisions are in progress.

National Forest Management Act committee of scientists - A committee of distinguished scientists is reviewing the regulations governing forest planning and preparing recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on how to update the forest planning regulations. Among other things, updated planning regulations may address evaluation of unroaded areas of NFS lands and standards for where and under what circumstances road construction should occur.

Project planning - Each individual proposal involving road construction is evaluated through site-specific environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act. Project planning includes public involvement, consideration of alternatives, disclosure of physical, biological, social, and economic effects, evaluation of cumulative impacts, and documentation of this analysis. Projects involving road construction in inventoried unroaded areas of NFS lands are usually documented in an EIS. These proposals are open for public comment, and an administrative appeals process is provided to address issues still unresolved during environmental assessment.

Revision of management of the National Forest Transportation System - Along with the proposed temporary suspension of permanent and temporary road construction and reconstruction in unroaded areas of NFS lands, the January 28, 1998, Federal Register included an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with an invitation for public comment on the scope and nature of a proposed revision of the Forest Service long-term transportation policy. The Forest Service is revising regulations concerning management of the National Forest Transportation System to address changes in how the roads system is developed, used, maintained, and funded, and to develop new and improved analytical tools to use in locating and constructing roads.

The simultaneous publication of 2 proposals in the Federal Register 36 CFR Part 212 RIN AB-67-0095, Administration of the National Forest Transportation System and 36 CFR Part 212, RIN AB-68-0095, Administration of the National Forest Transportation System: Temporary Suspension of Road Construction in Unroaded Areas, and their sometimes complex language created confusion about the nature and intent of the proposed temporary suspension of permanent and temporary road construction and reconstruction in unroaded areas of NFS lands.

The following areas of the proposed temporary suspension require clarification.

RARE II inventoried roadless areas less than 5,000 acres - While most roadless areas inventoried in RARE II were larger than 5,000 acres, many were not. Smaller RARE II areas are most common in the eastern United States but also include parcels contiguous to wilderness in the West. All RARE II areas are identified in forest plans. The proposed suspension was intended to apply to all areas inventoried in RARE II, regardless of size. The wording has been clarified in the final interim rule to remove the reference to areas of less than 5,000 acres.

Regional Forester discretion - The proposed temporary suspension permitted Regional Foresters to suspend road construction in areas, regardless of size, because of the area's special and unique ecological characteristics or social values. Such projects would be suspended on a case-by-case basis. Regional Foresters have the authority to approve, reject, or suspend individual road construction projects on their units. The final interim rule grants no new authorities, imposes no new limitations, does not alter the current situation, and involves no new environmental effects. This statement was included in the Federal Register to clarify that field units may suspend road construction projects outside RARE II areas during the proposed temporary suspension.

Access provided by statute or provided pursuant to reserved or outstanding rights - The proposed temporary suspension does not override Forest Service legal obligations. This exemption recognizes that road construction projects may proceed following applicable site-specific analysis if they are required to meet obligations under other laws or private rights. For example, under all alternatives, road construction would be exempt from suspension if:

Public safety - This exemption allows needed permanent and temporary road construction and reconstruction during emergency situations such as floods, fires, and search and rescue operations, or hazardous material clean up. Wording has been included in the final interim rule to clarify that emergency restoration of natural resources damaged during emergency situations (e.g., emergency fire rehabilitation) is also exempt from the proposed temporary suspension.

Existing permit, contract, or other instrument authorizing occupancy or use of NFS lands - Timber sales in the planning and contract award process that have not progressed to a signed timber sale contract, as of the effective date of the final interim rule, would be subject to the proposed temporary suspension.

RARE II inventoried roadless areas that were subsequently roaded - Inventories of roadless areas included in RARE II were completed in the early 1970s. Since that time, roads have been constructed by the Forest Service or others in many RARE II areas. The proposed temporary suspension would apply only to those portions of RARE II areas that remain unroaded as of the effective date of the final interim rule. This was clarified in information distributed during the comment period. New wording is included in the final interim rule.

Temporary roads - The Forest Service proposes to temporarily suspend road construction or reconstruction of temporary roads on NFS unroaded areas.

Road decommissioning and nonsystem roads - Regulations concerning management of the National Forest Transportation System will address the question of nonsystem roads and decommissioning of existing roads. The proposed temporary suspension of road construction and reconstruction in unroaded areas of NFS lands has no effect on road decommissioning or nonsystem roads.

Projects in progress - The proposed temporary suspension would not apply to projects under contract as of the effective date of the final interim rule, regardless of whether construction has started. The proposed temporary suspension would apply to projects not yet under contract, regardless of whether a National Environmental Policy Act decision has been approved, appeals resolved, or a contract advertised. Preliminary planning for suspended road construction projects, including environmental assessment, location, design, and contract preparation, would continue.

Other road management activities - The proposed temporary suspension applies to permanent and temporary road construction and reconstruction in unroaded areas of NFS lands. Other road management activities, including routine maintenance, decommissioning, or closure, would not be subject to the proposed temporary suspension.

Appendix D - Effect of Proposed Interim Suspension on Estimated Timber Sales in Unroaded Areas

National Summary of Permanent and Temporary Road Construction and Reconstruction Suspensions Compared to Current Estimated Program in unroaded areas of NFS lands¹  

¹ Numbers may not total due to rounding. Where conflicts occur due to rounding, original data was used.

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