Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/122699
Roads and wildlife Bethanie Walder Executive director, Wildlands CPR high costs to wildlife Cougars using an abandoned road in Yahk, BC. Photo Wildlands CPR helped fix 104 miles of trail and perform critical maintenance on 1,268 miles of needed roads. Forest Service monitoring shows that Legacy Roads and Trails is profoundly beneficial. A study on the Skokomish River in the Olympic National Forest, a major salmon stream, found that 2009 Legacy Roads and Trails projects reduced fine sediment delivery by 80%, completely eliminating the risk of culverts plugging or associated "fill" failures at all sites treated. These projects disconnected 70% of the roads from the stream system, reducing the potential for road impacts to water quality. Roads removed to benefit fisheries and aquatic conditions almost always benefit wildlife as well. ervationnw.org Keeping the Northwest wild Marlies Wierenga WA/OR Field Coordinator, Wildlands CPR In addition to these important accomplishments, LRT funding has created or maintained an estimated 285-467 jobs in Washington since 2008. A study from the University of Oregon found that every $1 million spent on road-related watershed restoration creates between 16-24 direct and indirect jobs in Washington and Oregon. Road reclamation requires the very same machines and skills as road construction, specifically excavators and bulldozers. These high-wage, high-skill jobs typically go to local people since transporting such large equipment is not cost-effective. Restoring watersheds by reclaiming roads enhances not only the local environment, but the local community's economy. So how can we be sure that the Forest Service is spending this new money wisely, focusing dollars on closing and reclaiming the roads that do the most damage while repairing and upgrading the roads people need? The WWRI and other partners are working with the Forest Service on a new transportation assessment process, through which the agency will identify an optimum road system for the future with restoration in mind. The objective is to identify and then put into practice a Forest Service transportation system that is ecologically sound and fiscally sustainable while also providing robust and reliable recreational and resource management access. With a smaller, more affordable system, the agency would be able to fully maintain recreational access roads, which ensures that the transportation system can actually meet the needs of the American public. Full maintenance over time also means continued job opportunities over time. New funding and transportation planning are providing extraordinary opportunities for the agency to address this roads legacy of the past and to do better. You can urge the Forest Service to do things right. With the public's help, the agency can adopt an ideal road system that causes little harm, is affordable over the long term, and ensures excellent recreational access for the future. Based in Portland, OR, Marlies Wierenga is the WA/OR Field Coordinator for Wildlands CPR, through which she also staffs the Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative. Marlies has spent the last decade working on watershed and salmon restoration efforts in Washington and Oregon, as well as stormwater issues. Bethanie Walder is Wildlands CPR's Executive Director, based in Missoula, MT. She's spent nearly 20 years working on road and off-road vehicle issues, including numerous collaborations with Conservation Northwest staff. Spring-Summer 2012 13