8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
1/24
From Bicycles to Board Feet:
A History ofPublic Land RoadsInside
Check out our website at:www.wildlandscpr.org See article on page 3
Down the Road . Page 2
Bicycles to Board Feet, by Dave Havlick. Page 3-5
Depaving the Way: Tears for Isis,
by Bethanie Walder. Page 6-7
Policy Primer: Roads Analysis Process, by MarnieCri ley and Amy Chadwick. Page 8-9, 20
Odes to Roads: Walking, 140 Years afterThoreau, by Dan Flores. Page 10-11
Wildlands CPR Annual Report. Page 12-13
Get With the Program: ORV and Roads Programs
updates. Page 14-15 .
Biblio Notes: Shake, Rattle & Roll, UnderstandingSeismic Testing, by Erich Zimmermann.Page 16-17
Regional Reports & Updates. Page 18-19
New Resources. Page 19
Activi st Spotlight : Gary Macfar lane, Page 21
Around the Off ice. Page 22
Resources & Membership. Page 22-23
The Quarterly Newsletter of Wildlands Center for Preventing RoadsSpring Equinox 2002. Volume 7 # 1
By Dave Havlick
Above photo by
Dave Havlick.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
2/24
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
3/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 3
From Bicycles to Board Feet: A History of Public Land Roads
By Dave Havlick
The Fores t Ser vice took to roads a b it more slowly. Recreational
tou rism was tangent ial, at best, to the agencys mission of securingfavorable water flow and providing a continuous su pply of timber to a
growing nation.i Staffed p rimarily by tr ained forester s, the Forest
Service dedicated itself early on to a management p hilosop hy of
sustainably using the natur al resources of the countrys forests. A
hand ful of roads already existed on n ational forest lands at th e time
of their d esignations and th e agency built or improved more road s
each ye ar but in its early days th e Fores t Ser vice gener ally lacked
the incentive to build a great number of smooth, easily traveled
roads.ii In the agenc ys view, road s ser ved utilitarian pu rp ose s and
little more. It would build roads o n a limited b asis, as fores ters
needed them to access timber or to h elp manage sprawling adminis-
trative units.
By the ear ly 1920s, however, moto rized travelers h ad so o ver-
whelmed roadsides and p rivate lands th at car camping tourists weresp illing onto th e national fores ts. iii In 1912, one dozen stalwart
motorists managed t o drive across th e countr y; by 1921, transcon ti-
nental motor trips num bered 20,000.iv By 1922, the New Yor k Times
estimate d th at of the 10.8 million cars re gister ed in the United States,
five million would b e us ed for c amp ing.v The Fores t Service soo n
realized that recreational demand of its lands req uired some re-
sponse.
In 1920, Fores t Service Chief Henr y S. Graves pub lishe d an a rticle
in American Fores try entitled, A Crisis in National Recreat ion.vi
Written a t the close of his tenu re with the Forest Service, Graves
art icle par tially reflected h is agencys growing concern over th e
newly-formed National Park Service. The cr isis h e identified, th ough,
was the exodus of urban automo bile tourists p ouring into national
forests and parks. To Graves, the sub sequen t commercialization ofnationa l par k land s and b y extension, the blurr ing of lines b etween
parks and national forest lands presented an alarming trend. In
Graves view, nationa l fores ts were th e prop er sto reho use for the
countr ys natu ral resources and recreation was becoming just th at: a
valuable resource . Five million car-camping tourists rep resen ted
money and p ower too great to ignore. National parks, on the other
hand , ought to b e kept ap art from commercial exploitation.vii In oth er
words, national forests s hould be u sed, whether for recreation or
timber extraction, and national parks sh ould be preser ved.
Regardless of Graves conc ern as a friend of the National Park
System , bot h agencies would find cau se for furt her r oad building on
the ir lands. The Fores t Service could capitalize on the recreation
resource, while the Park Service wanted to b oost its con stituency and
provide roads for t he en joyment o f visitors.Graves article is no teworthy for mo re than its whispers o f
agency rivalry. It repres ents on e of the first ackno wledgments th at
the Forest Service would con cern itself with recreat ion. And s ignifi-
cant ly, accord ing to Graves, recreat ion was intimately linked with
roads: ...recreation h as an important p lace in the demand for a large
program of road improvement an d extension.viii Later in the sa me
American Fores try a rticle, Graves wrote, Road building is an impor-
tant feature of the development of our p ublic forests and parks for
recreation.ix
Excerpted from No Place Distant: Roads and
Moto rized Recreation on Americas Pu blic Land s,by David G. Hav lick. Copyright 2002 by David G.
Havlick. Reprinted by permission of Island Press,
Washington , D.C. and Cove lo, California. A ll rights
reserved.
Editors Note: This excerpt is from Chapter Two in
the book. Chapter One reviews the development of
roads in the National Park System.
continued on next page
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
4/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 20024
Several things happ ened close on t he heels of
Graves 1920 article to reveal a growing intere st in
recrea tion on public lands. First, Congress
approp riated more money for forest roads and the
Forest Service resp onded with a more d irected
road b uilding program than it ever had before.
The 1916 Highway Act had directed $10 million to
the Forest Service for roa d bu ilding over the n extten years . In 1921, Congress bo ost ed this with an
add itional $5.5 million for forest develop ment
roads, such as tho se used for fire control and
adm inistr ative us e, and $9.5 million for fores t
highways to sup plement state road syst ems.x
With the pas sage of the Pos t Office App rop riations
Act in 1919, Congres s a lso gran ted $9 million to
develop and ad minister road s on n ational forest
lands. The latter amount, prompted originally by
rur al free delivery mail ser vice and the d esire to
conn ect rur al land s, effectively sh ifted a p ort ion of
road d evelopment out of the farmlands and into
the woo ds . In 1916 the re were only 2,795 miles of
road o n nat ional fores t lands; by 1939 the Forest
Ser vice repor ted near ly 140,000 miles.xi
Within a year of Graves article, the Fores tSer vice also red rafted its manu al to recognize
recreation as a value of the Forests to be man aged
in coord ination with timber, water, and forage.xii
The new crush of motor tou rists and roads
spu rred Fores t Service emp loyees Aldo Leop old
and Arthur Carhart to p ress for a new type of land
classification, which Leop old c alled wilder ness .
The simmering interagency rivalry may have
played a role in th e Forest Ser vices willingness to
move in a new direction for man aging lands. By
designating wilderness and primitive areas, the
Forest Service could take land preser vation a step
furth er th an th e National Park Service and pre-
serve lands without th e trapp ings of commercialdevelopment and penetrating road systems that
already characterized national parks.xiii But bot h
Leopold and Carhart mad e it clear that the th reat
of roads and motorized recreation, not agency
competition, lay at the h eart of what moved th em
to p rotect lands in a primitive, undeveloped
condition.xiv
Carhart s interes t in a different and less
intrusive management of forest lands came most
directly from h is concern over sh oreline d evelop-
ment a t Trapp ers Lake, high in the mo unt ains of
wester n Colorad o. Since 1915, the Term Permit
Act h ad allowed recreational developments on
national forest lands.xv These permits were
typically operated under 30-year leases and most
comm only came in the form of lakeside lodges,
cabins, and developed camps. What troubled
Carhart ab out the ar rangement, though, was that
public lands were being developed and b uilt up on,rend ered into co mmerc ial goods , and effectively
removed from free public access .xvi Carhart
favored leaving lands, suc h as Trappe rs Lake,
undeveloped in a p rimitive cond ition as a means of
protecting public access eq uitably. Thus lands
would remain a pu blic good instead of being
parceled out to th e pr ivileged, permitted few (and
their pa ying clients ).
Leop old, meanwh ile, came t o a s imilar
position that cer tain lands s hould be p rotected
from road ing and development but from a
slightly different slant. To Leopold in th e 1920s, as
with many conservationists today, wild undevel-
oped lands o ffered an antidote to th e consumer ism
of outdoor recreationists an d so ciety at large.xvii
Whereas Carhart spoke against development in
order to en sure equal access to p ublic lands,
Leopold so ught more simply to protect lands from
the m enace of auto mob ility; tha t is, motor ized
access and th e roads and crowds th at invariably
accompanied it .xviii
Though much has ch anged in the ensuing
years, we need only to look at private partner ship
agreements and fee programs on public lands
tod ay to see t hat Carhar ts fears may st ill be
realized. Many of Leop olds conc erns over
automob ility have also reemerged, as motorized
off-road vehicles suc h as moto rcycles, all-terr ain
vehicles, and snowmachines on ce again threaten
to br ing a surge of humanity into remote areas
known and valued for th eir solitude.
continued from page 3
Leopold , mea nw hile, came to a s imilar
posi t ion that cer ta in lands s hould be
protected from roa ding and development wild
undeveloped land s offered an a nt idote to
the consumerism of outdoor recreat ionis ts
and society a t large.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
5/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 5
Special thanks to:
Island Pressthe environmental publisher
To ord er No Place Distant, please call
Island Press at ( 800) 828-1302 or place yo ur
order on the Island Press website
www.islandpress.org.
Hard co ver $40.00 ISBN 1-55963-844-3
Pap er ba ck $18.95 ISBN 1-55963-845-1
Additiona l t i t les on related top ics:
Return of the Wild: The Future of Our
Natural Lands, Ted Keras ote , ed. 2001.
Hard co ver $25.00, ISBN 1-55963-926-1.
Pap er bac k $15.00, ISBN 1-55963-927-X.
For the Health of the Land: Previously
Unpublished Essays and Other Writings, b y
Aldo Leop old. J. Baird Callicot t a nd Eric T.
Freyfogle, ed s. 1999.
Hard co ver $22.95, ISBN 1-55963-763-3.Pap er bac k $15.00, ISBN 1-55963-764-1.
Earth Rising: American Environmentalism
in the 21st Century , by Ph ilip Shab eco ff. 2000.
Hard co ver $24.95, ISBN 1-55963-583-5.
Pap er bac k $17.00, ISBN 1-55963-584-3.
Dave Havlick ha s worke d for Wildlands CPR in m any cap acities: as a
Road-RIPorter editor, a researcher, and writer. Dave recently joined
Wildlands CPRs Board of Directors. No Place Distant is his first book.
Footnotesi As cited b y Wilkinson , CF and HM And ers on. 1987. Land and Resource
Planning in the National Fore sts . Island Pres s. Wash ington, DC.p. 18.
ii USDA Fore st Ser vice. Road s in th e National Forest s. Wash ington DC.May 1988, cites th e Weeks Act of 1911 as on e reason for roa ds o nnational forest land s. The Act allowed for the p urchas e of privatetimber lands for convers ion to national forests . Many of thes eprivate lands were already logged and roaded prior to p urchase, sothe agency inherited the road s along with th e land.
iii Belasc o, WJ. 1979. Amer icans o n th e Road: From Autoc amp to Motel,1910-1945. MIT Pre ss . Cambridge, MA.iv Belasc o, p. 72, citing Elon Jess up , The Moto r Camping Book.v Belasc o, p. 74.vi Grave s, HS. 1920. A Crisis in National Recreat ion. Amer ican Fores tr y.
26 (July) pp. 391-400.vii Gra ves , p. 393.viii Graves , p. 391.ix Grave s, p. 399.x Sutt er, P. 1997. Driven Wild: The Inte llect ual and Cultureal Origins of
Wilde rness Advo cacy Dur ing the Inte rwar Years. PhD Disser tat ion.Univers ity of Kansas . Lawren ce, KS, p. 88.
xi Sutter, p. 88, citing O.C. Merr ill, Open ing up t he National Fore sts byroa d bu ilding, Yearbo ok of the Depa rt ment of Agriculture , 1917, pp .521-529. See also , Gilligan, The d evelopment of policy andadministration of Forest Service Primitive an d Wilder ness Areas inthe weste rn United States , p. 73. See U.S. Fore st Service ann ualrepo rts for 1916 and 1939 for mileage accoun ts. The 1939 reportnoted th at more th an 50 percent of the roads were of less-than-satisfactory condition.
xii Gilligan, JP. 1953. Developmen t of Policy and Administrat ion ofForest Service Pr imitive and Wildern ess Areas in the Wester nUnited Stat es. PhD Disser tation . Univers ity of Mich igan. Ann Arbor,MI, p. 76.
xiii Sutte r, Driven Wild, p. 92; Allin, Wilderness policy, p. 174.xiv Paul Sutt ers Ph.D. diss ert ation, Driven Wild, explore s th is nicely.xv Sutte r, pp . 85-86.xvi Sutte r, p. 92xvii Sutte r, pp . 97-98.xviii Sutter uses t his term to include, automotive techno logy, road-
building, and other infrastructural provisions which accompaniedthe auto mob ile. p . 5.
Unless otherwise noted,all photos for this article
are from the Library ofCongress, Prints and
Photos Division. FSA-OW I Collection.
http://www.islandpress.org/books/detail.tpl?command=search&db=IslandPress.db&SKU=1-55963-845-1http://www.islandpress.org/books/detail.tpl?command=search&db=IslandPress.db&SKU=1-55963-845-18/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
6/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 20026
It was late and I was p acking for a flight at 6:00
the next morning. As soon as I answered the
pho ne I knew someth ing was wrong and was
shocked to find o ut th at one of my favorite dogs,
Isis, had b een h it by a car and killed th at after-
noo n. Crying, I hun g up the ph one. I found myself
crying again as I sat o n th e plane h eading to DC for
meetings on preventing new roads and removing
the mos t egregious on es. As I sat the re thinking
abo ut Isis I foun d mys elf thinking about h ow many
animals are killed o n road s in the US ever y year. I
couldn t help b ut wond er: Who cr ies for all these
nameless , faceless wild animals whos e lives are cu t
short every day by roads and cars?
When talking about road impacts, we tend to
focus on the big picture: habitat fragmentation;
impacts t o aqu atic species; air po llution; erosion;
hyd rologic c han ges; and large-scale ro adkill. And
while ro adkill stat istics are mind-boggling the
Humane Society of the United States es timates th atone million a nimals a da y are killed on road s for
most p eople they are just st atistics. Are the
numb ers t hat weve accepted for ro adkill really
any different than th e number s of human deaths
we accept through risk assessment o n chemicals
and oth er toxins in the environment? Numbers
turn living beings into ob jects - its wh en th ey are
no longer numbers , but peop le, pets o r individual
wild animals that they b ecome real to us. No one
cries for numb ers.
Many of the animals who d ie on US road s are
pets , like Isis, or like my childhoo d d og Boots, who
was hit and killed when h e got out of the hou se
during my older b rothers 12th birthday p arty. But
mos t road kill are wild animals and birds , not to
ment ion all the inver teb rate s th at are killed daily.
We can t tea ch o ur p ets, let alone wild animals, to
look both ways before crossing the street. Some
animals avoid roads, but others must cro ss them
to dispers e into new hab itat, to get from winter to
sum mer ra nge, or just to find water. We know this,
but do we understand what hap pens when an
individua l animal is killed b ecaus e of a road? Do
we understand what happ ens to the animals it
leaves beh ind? Do oth er animals grieve like
humans?
Animal beh aviorists have long stud ied
emotions in animals, and h ave documented a
recognizable grief resp ons e, from d ogs to birds t o
elephants. While elephants are not often the
victims of road kill, other animals are, and m any
sho w clear grief resp ons es to t he loss o f a family
member whether th at loss is through p redation,
dying of old age or b eing hit by a car. Raccoon
mothers for example, have been ob served d rag-
ging their dead young off the side of the road .
Geese have been o bser ved to hang their heads ingrief. Within the comp lex social struct ure of
wolfpacks , grief resp ons es are relatively easy to
obs er ve. Accord ing to Marc Bekoff from th e
University of Colora do, the b est way to me asure
grief in non-speaking animals is to o bs erve
chan ges in beha vior following a dea th. These
behavioral changes have been ob served in many
types of mammals, from se a lions a nd wh ales to
wolves, lynx, raccoons, skunks and antelope.
Grieving animals may remo ve the mselves from a
group, become edgy and nervous , stop eating,
mope aro und and lose interest in playing, and
exhibit other classic grief patterns . It app ears th at
animals do grieve for oth er animals.
Scientists h ave also looked at similarities
between humans an d other m ammals regarding
brain structure and hor monal patterns as related
to emotions. For example, rats prod uce opiates
dur ing play, and t hey have increas ed levels of
dop amine wh en a nticipating play (Bekoff 2000).
Animals knowingly see k out pleasur e, and similarly
attempt to avoid pain.
Tears for IsisBy Bethanie Walder
Photo by Katie Deuel.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
7/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 7
From an e cological per spe ctive, we can
discuss the effects of habitat fragmentation or
roa dkill on t he v iability of a sp ecies . If roa dkill is
par ticularly high for a sp ecies, will it impa ct th at
pop ulations ability to survive? This quest ion has
been con sidered for species from hed gehogs to
mule deer to grizzly bear s. Scientists can meas ure
the imp act of roadkill on sp ecific popu lations, but
are we se lling the issue s hor t if we don t also
cons ider th e eth ical implications o f road kill at an
individu al level? Who cries for th e wildlife?
We use s cientific studies to d ecide where t o
place mitigation meas ures for wildlife, and we use
them to d etermine whether or not the conse-
que nces of roadkill are accep table. Similarly, we
use science to d etermine how many peop le might
likely be killed by chem ical pollutan ts in the air.
For h uman s, we call it risk ass essm ent, and forwildlife, we call it spe cies viab ility. But when we
decide to r edu ce deer /vehicle collisions it is
because th e cost in human lives and prop erty is
deemed to o high, not because the cost o f deer
lives is deemed too h igh. Who cr ies for th e deer ?
We are s o wrap ped up in living our lives as
comfortably and expediently as we can that we fail
to con sider th e impact of our lifestyles on each
other and on th e planet. Risk assess ment for
humans is no more accep table than is road kill for
animals. In both c ases , however, we accept a loss
of life bec aus e it is devalue d nu mer ically. In 1997,
the s tate of Mont ana increas ed th e allowable levelsof arsenic in drinking water. The former level was
bas ed on a likely risk asses smen t of 1:1,000,000;
the new level was 1:100,000. In a st ate th e size of
Montana, allowing more arsen ic in the wate r meant
tha t eight more p eop le would likely die some-
one will be cr ying for those eight s isters, brother s,
mother s, fathers , sons and d aughters.
If animals ha ve com plex emotions similar to
humans , then are we obligated to assess our
impacts on th ese animals as individuals? The
Enda ngered Spec ies Act allows us to legally take
or kill a certain numb er of individual enda ngered
animals, becaus e it is not likely to res ult in the loss
of the species as a whole. Most o ften th ese
takings are allowed in th e nam e of increased
economic development o r resource extraction.
Federal laws allow the s ame thing to hap pen to
peop le through risk assess ment. What type of
society have we created that values money more
tha n it values life? What type of society could we
create th at values life over money? Who mou rns
for the dead ?
Preventing new road co n-
struction prevents new roadkill,
just like preventing the construc-
tion of toxic chemical plants
prevents human cancers and
death. Removing existing roads
red uces road kill. In some in-
stances road prevention and road
remo val will impact o nly the
individua l animals whose lives are
spared . In other cases, careful
road remo val can also increasethe likelihoo d o f the su rvival of a
sp ecies as a whole. As morally
cognizant people, however,
perhap s it is time to consider the
eth ics of roadkill in ad dition to t he
number s. Scientists have clear
evidence, bo th ne urologically, hormo nally and
obs er vationally of a grief resp ons e in domest ic and
wild an imals of all types. Perha ps it is time to ad d
one more reas on to th e list of why we should start
removing road s and res toring wild land s and wild
places.
Who c ries for the deer, elk, birds, squ irrels,
poss ums, bears, turtles, foxes and wolves? Who
cries for the one million animals killed o n U.S.
roads p er day? Are they no less deser ving of our
compass ion and of our efforts t o make this a
health y and s ane p lanet for all living things?
ReferencesBekoff, Marc, 2000. Beastly pass ions. New Scientist.
April 29, 2000.
When ta lk ing ab out roa d impa cts , we
tend to focus on the b ig picture:
hab itat fragmentat ion, impa cts to
a qua tic sp ecies, air po l lut ion,
eros ion, hydrologic cha nges
a nd la rge-sca le roa dkill .
Photo by Edgar van der Grift.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
8/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 20028
The Policy Primer is a column
designed to highlight the ins &
outs of a specific road or ORV
policy. If you have a po licy youd
like us to inv estigate,
let us know!
Roads Analysis Process:A Tool for Decommissioning Roads on National ForestsBy Marnie Criley and Amy Chadwick
Photos by Am y Chadwick
Within the National Forest System Road
Manageme nt Rule (Roads Po licy), the Forest
Ser vice calls for an increas e in road deco mmission-
ing. Decisions on which roads to close and which
to reconstr uct are guided b y the docum ent Roads
Analysis: Informing Decisions About Managing theNational Fores t Transp or tation System, publica-
tion FS-643. Every fores t is re qu ired to comp lete a
forest-wide Roads Analysis Process (RAP) in 2002,
and while p ub lic inpu t is n ot re qu ired b y RAP, it is
encouraged. Concerned citizens can and shou ld
use this op por tunity to suggest ecologically-based
road remo val on our nat ional forests.
Summar y of Road s Analysis ProcessRAP Object ive
The ob jective of road s analysis is to provide
line o fficers with critical information to d evelop
roads systems th at are safe and respon sive to
public needs and desires, are affordable andefficiently ma naged, have minimal negative
ecological effects o n th e land, and are in balance
with available fund ing for nee ded mana gement
actions (p. 2). As st ated in the RAP (p. 3), roads
analyses are to be bas ed on : 1) Use of the best
available s cientific inform ation a bou t eco logical
effects of roads o n terrest rial and aq uatic systems
at app ropriate scales; 2) Economics of constr uct-
ing, reconstructing, maintaining, and decommis-
sioning roads ; 3) Social and ec ono mic costs an d
ben efits of road s; and 4) Contribu tion of existing
and prop osed road s to management objectives.
Line Officers a nd
Interdisciplinary TeamLine o fficers (Regional Fores ters , Forest
Supe rvisor s, or District Rangers ) and an interd isci-
plinary team commissioned and sup ervised by the
line officer are resp ons ible for condu cting roads
analyses. The manual states that the interdiscipli-
nar y team will be staffed with appro pr iate
technical experts but do es n ot sp ecify if these
exper ts will be Forest Service pers onn el.
Relationship to other AnalysesRAP spec ifies that road s ana lysis is not a
decision p rocess unto itself, but provides informa-
tion for de cisions su ch a s NEPA actions . Road s
analysis may be d one in conjunction with ot her
analyses, such as watersh ed analyses or landscape
assessm ents, but does not neces sarily replace
them.
Adap tive Man agementThis section refers to the opp ortun ity to
revise the roads analysis procedure based o n
feedback from management actions that h ave been
implemented. The road s an alysis manual as it
currently stands is a star ting point, and will
undou btedly und ergo modification in th e future.
This pol icy pr imer w as excerpted f rom:
Cri t ical Review o f the Natio na l Forest Roa ds Analysis
Process Guidance Document
Road s Ana lysis: Informing Decisions Abo ut Mana ging
the Nat iona l Fores t Tra nsp orta t ion System
Prepa red b y Watershed Consul t ing, LLC for Wildla nds
CPR. The ful l review a nd a n act ivis t s guide are
ava i lable on our webs i t e .
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
9/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 9
The Roads Analysis ProcedureThis section discusses method s and scales of
roads analysis. Here the manual describes ro ads
analysis as a framework for per iodic reevaluation
of roads syst ems and road management strategies.
The six steps in the roads analysis process are as
follows:
Step 1. Setting up the Ana lysis (p. 17-21)
The products at th is step include a statementof objectives, a list o f interd isciplinar y team
members and part icipants, a list o f information
needs, and a plan for the analysis.
Step 2. Describ ing the Situa tion (p. 22-23)The products d eveloped d uring this step are:
1) Map or other descriptions of the existing road
and access system defined by th e current forest
plan or trans port ation plan, and 2) Basic data
needed to add ress roads analysis and questions
(p. 22).
Step 3. Iden tifying Iss ues (p. 23-24)
The products to b e completed at this step are1) a summar y of road-related issues and 2) a
description of the status o f current d ata (p.23).
This step identifies which issues will have pr iority
and which qu estions will be ans wered in the roads
analysis.
Note: The m anua l specifies th at, while pu blic
par ticipation may be h elpful at th is point, it is not
requ ired (p. 23). However, this is the p art o f the
roads analysis p rocess in which pu blic par ticipa-
tion is cru cial.
Step 4. Asses sing Benefits, Problems,
a nd Risks (p. 24-30)
The produ cts to b e developed in step 4 are: 1)a synth esis of the b enefits, problems, and risks
associated with the curren t road s ystem; 2) an
assess ment of the risks and benefits of entering
any unroaded area; and 3) an assess ment of the
ability of the syste m to mee t objectives (p . 24).
Included in the de scr iption of step 4 is a list of
71 questions th at might be u sed to as sess b enefits,
prob lems, and risks, and that per tain to the
ecological, social, and econo mic consider ations for
roads analysis. These q uestions are explained at
length in App end ix 1 of th e RAP.
Step 5. Describing Opp ortunities
and Setting Priorities (p. 31-33)In th is step the line officer(s) a nd inter discipli-
nary team use information gathered in pr evious
steps to identify management op portu nities,
establish priorities, and make recommendat ionsfor th e existing and future roads s ystem.
Step 6. Rep or ting (p. 33-36)In this step the interdisciplinary team repor ts
the key findings of the roa ds an alysis. The primar y
audience for the rep ort includes s takeholders and
memb ers o f the gen eral pub lic, line officers on t he
national forest and in the region in which the
analysis was done, and technical specialists
conduct ing other a nalyses in other areas (p. 33).
Append ix 1 and 2Appen dix 1 of the ro ads analysis manual
contains q uestions ab out ecological, social and
economic considerations to be answered in step 4
of the roads analysis process . Append ix 2 dis-
cusses indicators of road hazard for analysis of
water/road interactions. The manual relates th ese
indicators to th e qu estions in Append ix 1 to which
the y may app ly. See our web site for a comp lete
critique of these sect ions.
ConclusionIt is encoura ging that th e road an alysis
process h as been standard ized, and that a team of
specialists have com bined th eir knowledge to
create a process th at considers man y ecologic,
social, and e cono mic issu es. However, in order t o
pres erve or imp rove ecological integrity, the road
analysis process m ust be revised to increase its
accountab ility, ensure that information us ed in the
analysis is sc ientifically valid and geared toward
long-term m anagement, and increase its emph asis
on reducing the forest roads n etwork.
Article continues w ith fact sheet on p. 20
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
10/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200210
hen I stop t o reflect on r oad s, and walking as
oppo sed to th e thing roads do, which is to enable
machines to penetr ate the world, I do two things. I
go walking, for one. But often before I do I read a
few pas sages of Henr y Thoreau, which is a good
enough way (to employ a Thoreauism) to star t out
thinking abou t man y essen tial things.
I have a cop y of Thore aus Walking th at I was
lucky enough to b e able to buy in his hometown o f
Concord. This is the famous es say, pub lished the
year of his dea th, th at b egins: I wish to s pea k a
word for Nature, for ab solute freedo m and wild-
ness, as contrast ed with a freedom and culture
merely civil to regard man as an inhab itant, or a
part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of
so ciety. Why sp eak for Natu re? Beca us e there
are en ough cham pions of civilization already,
Thoreau continues. Of course th at is as true in
2002 as it was in 1862, and you h ave to s usp ect it
may have been true for the last 10,000 years or so.
Its no t th at I want to ind ulge a simple du alism
road s as s ynch rono us with civilization, trails as
emb lematic of wilder nes s since I do b elieve th at
nature and cu lture are part of a continuum, the
seco nd growing out of the first like moss in the
cracks of a bo ulder. Nor do I accep t the th inking
that road s are solely the infrastructure of
globa lism and cap italism, the pecu liar footpr int of
us white folks. Ive read eno ugh histor y and
archeology to realize that Europeans found no
trackless wilderness when th ey came to North
America, but a continent anciently inhab ited, used,
and (in many places) quite dense ly popu lated.
And traveled. Archeology chartscenturies worth of continent-wide
exchange routes in the Americas.
Turquo ise mined in th e Cerrillos
Hills south of todays Santa Fe,
New Mexico, for instance, was
regularly hauled as far distant as
the Aztec and Mayan ho melands
edging the Caribbean. The
trader s who journeyed on this
and other continental roads, like
American Marco Polos, beca me
famous, mythic, so that even
tod ay we still recognize the n ame
(and the image): Kokope lli, thetraveling salesma n with his pack of goods . Ameri-
can explorers found roads an d trails everywhere,
some as broad and deep as th e Cumber land
Road, others real two-track cart ro ads m ade b y
Hispanic trader s. The most elaborate road system,
that of the Chacoan civilization of the Colorado
Plateau, truly funct ioned s omet hing like our Forest
Service roads, penetrating stands of ponderosas
that were cut and h auled for use b y distant
commercial centers.
So we, too, and our road s, are part o f a
Walking,140 Years
after Thoreau By Dan Flores
Ever y culture of any cons equence ha s ha d i ts
roa d netw orks , and w hod w ant them al l r ipp ed
out anyw ay? I am mysel f a fan of sp orts cars
a nd tour ing bicycles, for w hich roa ds a re
a n excellent thing.
Photo by Bethanie Walder.
W
Dan Flores is the A.B. Hammond Professor of History at the
University of Montana. He publishes primarily on the en vironme ntal
and art history of the Ame rican West, and Native Am erican history. His
most recent book, Horizont al Yellow: Nature a nd Histo ry in th e Near
Southwest (1999) , has be en a finalist for two prizes. His first book ,
Jefferson an d South wester n Explorat ion: The Freeman & Cust is
Accou nts of the Red River Expedition o f 1806, will appea r in a new
edition as Souther n Counterp art t o Lewis and Clark(2002).
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
11/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 11
continental continuum going back thousand s of
years. Every culture of any consequen ce has had
its road networks, and whod want them all ripped
out an yway? I am myself a fan of spor ts car s and
tou ring bicycles, for wh ich roads are an excellent
thing.
But tha t said, and d uly acknowledged, I
rejoin Thoreau on th e trail.
Im a b iped first and last, an
animal, part and parcel of
Nature, and no one has yet
designed a road I prefer to a
ten-inch wide foot path
thro ugh the world. Evolution
fashioned us human b eings
to walk all our live-long days,
as any p hysician (as well as
my hale-and -hea rty 85 year-
old fathe r) will tell you.
Walking, we cam e ou t of
Africa, and spread across the
glob e with mayb e a little
assistance from boats on foot. The world
arou nd u s is fully alive at a sens or y level at that
pace, and it makes sense to a brain designed fortaking in abo ut th ree miles in an ho ur.
When I walk out my do or in the Bitterroo t
Valley of Mont ana, westwar d I can se e th e pe aks of
the largest wilder nes s comp lex in the Lower Forty-
Eight, the Selway-Bitter root /Frank Church /River of
No Return. Eastwar d are the Sapp hire Moun tains,
closer at hand and more human -scale, and here th e
wilder ness I look into is th e Welcome Creek
Wildernes s, the smallest and on e of the mos t
recently preser ved in the state of Montana. The
edge of the Welcome Creek Wilder nes s com menc es
about three miles and 3,000 feet abo ve my hous e,
so b y extension its so rt of a par t of my yard, and
we all have an obligation to know our yards well.Desp ite the s ho rt s traight-line distanc e, its
not easy for my dog and m e to get to th e wilder-
ness boundary from the house. On our property
we start ou t on footpaths , along the trail network
weve created o n the p lace, and b eyond follow
game trails across t he sagebr ush foothills. Soon
enou gh the d eep ca nyon o f Three-Mile Creek
interven es, forcing us onto road s. But tha ts only
the star t of the d ifficulty. Between us a nd Wel-
come Creek, mostly hidden a way from th e valley
but all too ob vious when you walk, is a s tretch of
ridges owned by a timber comp any called Plum
Creek. Its no t th at walking thro ugh Plum Creek
land is difficult. Ind eed , its ridicu lous ly eas y,since th e city of Missoula sca rcely has mor e
thoroughfares and byways. But this is not foot-
pat h coun try. In fact, with its patch work of
clearcuts and its switchbacked roads slicing and
dicing every ridge in sight and bleeding eros ion
down th e slopes, this is one o f the most industrial-
ized mount ain landscap es I have ever seen. As the
scholars of the visual have told us (as if we needed
telling), our hunter-gatherer brains dont know
what to make of such scenes , except to urge us to
escape.
Beyond tha t hacked -up Plum Creek land the
clearcuts begin to drop away, the forest closes in,
and t he national forest trail signs start to ap pear.
Initially even th ese trails the Coon ey Ridge
Trail, the Bitter root Divide Trail are o ld roa d-
bed s, and arrows des ignating Rock Cr. Rd. keep
app earing on the trail signs. A cent ur y ago,
Cleveland Mount ain and the Welcome Creek
countr y were mined, so th is is a wilderness region
quite literally recovering from ind ust rialization andthe roads that accomp anied it . The dog and I
traverse th e hu mped summit of Cleveland Moun-
tain, at 7,280 ft. the highest pea k visible in the
Sapp hires from our h ome, still on a dim two-track
through th e beargrass, the lodgepole pines around
us growing as picturesque as p inons, snatches of
yellow th at we know is t he Bitter root Valley visible
far below. But finally, a ha lf-mile or so b eyon d th e
crest of the mo untain, the two-track scars of the
machines fade and th e ancient lure of footpath s
stretching away along mountain ridges pulls us
pleas ant ly, irres istibly, alon g. Finally, at th e
wilderness b oundar y, we are greeted b y this sign:
Welcom e Cr. Tr. Uns afe for Hor se Travel Beyon dSpar tan Cr. 5. Its th e revenge o f the biped s;
weve reached cou ntry where n either machines
nor hors es will work!
And t his, I think, is a sp lendid place to plop
down on a log, my feet in a ten -inch p ath way
designed truly for th e hum an animal, and read a
few mor e pa ssages from Th oreau s Walking. And
this, by ch ance, is what my e ye falls on from Henr y
the Radical:
When s ometimes I
am reminded that the
mechanics and s hop-
keepers st ay in their
shop s not o nly all theforen oon , bu t all the
afternoon too, sitting
with cross ed legs, so
many o f the m as if the
legs were mad e to sit
upon, and not to stand
or walk upo n I think
they deserve some
cred it for no t having all
committed s uicide long
ago.
But this is not footpa th countr y.
In fact , w i th i ts pa tchw ork of clea rcuts a nd i ts
sw itchba cked roa ds s l icing a nd dicing ever y ridge
in sight and bleeding erosion d ow n the slopes, this
i s one of the most indus tr ia l iz ed mounta in
landsca pes I have ever seen.
Photo courtesy of Roads Scholar Project.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
12/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200212
Wildlands CPRAnnual Report
From th e impacts o f the energy crisis on p ublic land s,
to th e Bush Administra tion rollback of pro tections like the
road less rule, to the even ts of Septe mbe r 11, its be en a year
of adver sity and ch ange for ever yone in the U.S. Even so,
Wildland s CPR feels tha t we have nume rous o pp or tunities
for p ositive change in pu blic lands m anagement and we are
pus hing for mo re wildland re sto ration, more o ff-road vehicle
restrictions and especially more road remo val. Read on to
learn abo ut our p rogram s and s taffing from 2001.
Sta ff a nd Boa rdWhile Board chan ges hap pen every year, we also had
some significant staff changes in 2001. In Sept. Leslie Hannay
left to pur sue music and oth er career ideas, and though we
miss he r terr ibly, we are th rilled to h ave Jennifer (Jen) Barr y
on bo ard as o ur new Program Assistant. Shes been keeping
us organized and working on member ship recruitment andmarket ing. Ronni Flanner y, our s taff repr esen tative to the
Natural Trails & Water s Coalition, also left in Septe mbe r s o
we hired Lisa Philipp s, who moved to Montana from ru ral
Colora do whe re she h ad b een fighting ORV abu ses on p ublic
lands. On the ORV front , Jacob Smith dec ided to p urs ue
work with the Center for Native Ecosystem s, an organization
that he h elped found several years ago. So Jacob went to
halftime an d is now s plitting his job with Tom Platt. Tom
and Lisa are b oth working out o f our Misso ula office. Finally,
we have n ow sp ent 6 mon ths looking for a Scientific Coord i-
nator and still havent found o ne.
On our Board, long-time director s Rod Mondt and
Sidney Maddo ck both stepp ed d own after being involved
with Wildlan ds CPR sinc e its ince pt ion in Feb ru ar y 1994. Wecant than k them eno ugh for their 7 years of dedication.
Their p ositions were filled by Dan Stotter and Dave Havlick
in early 2002. Dan is a lawyer with Bahr and Stott er law firm
in Eugene, OR. In add ition to wo rking on environment al
case s, Dan was the auth or o f the Road-Ripper s Guide to Off-
Road Vehicles and has been o n our advisory committee for
year s. Dave is a long-time Wildlan ds CPR affiliate (form er
editor ofThe Road-RIPorter, author of other rep orts , and
former Roads Scholar Project Coordinator for Predator
Conser vation Alliance) . Dave is th e aut hor of the Island
Press bo ok, No Place Distan t: The effects of Road s an d
Moto rized Recreation on Americas Pu blic Land s.
Programs
RoadsIn 2001 we brou ght a stro nger balanc e between o ur ORV
and Roads programs, than ks to t he tireless efforts of Marnie
Criley, our Roads Policy Coordinato r. After getting her feet
wet with workshop s and the road less and roads policies in
2000, Marnie advanced o ur roa d remova l camp aigns in many
ways in 2001. Marnie was inst rum ental in organizing the
first Forest Restor ation Summit in Boulder, CO. From th ere,
she joined the st eering committee and helped shep herd
thro ugh a set of restor ation pr inciples, culminating in a
follow-up sum mit in Feb ru ar y 2002. In add ition, Wildlands
CPR became actively engaged with t he Alliance for Sustain-
able Jobs and the Environmen t (ASJE), again to e levate road
removal as a viable resto ration op tion. Marnie now co-
ch airs t he New Initiatives Wor king Grou p for ASJE, and h asspo ken at teac h-ins for union wor kers forging new
alliances to develop an active con stituency for road removal.
Marnie has also been keep ing things going on the
science front. In August , we discuss ed pr ioritizing road
removal. With par ticipation from key organizations includ-
ing Pacific Rivers Council, The Wilderness Society, Predator
Conser vation Alliance, Sky Islands Alliance an d nume rous
scientists, we began to co ordinate our efforts and d evelop
hydrologic and terrest rial based priorities. This process has
begun t o move forward thr ough a Wildlands CPR fund ed
critique of the Clearwater National Forests roa d rem oval
program as a case stu dy. As soon as the new Science
Coordinator is on board , this process will be top priority!
In sum, the ro ads p rogram has evolved to bu ild abroader constituency for road removal while also expan ding
our sc ientific und ers tand ing of road re moval. Its been an
exciting an d incredibly bu sy yea r, and in 2002, well be
adding economic research as well.
Off-Roa d VehiclesIn 2001 we implemen ted our off-road vehicle progra m
thro ugh two d istinct avenue s: Wildland s CPR pro gram sta ff
and Natur al Trails & Wate rs Coalition (NTWC) progr am s taff.
Many of our larger program goals are now being add ressed
through the Coalition, nonetheless, we maintain indepen-
dent m otorized recreation staff and we implement ou r own
pro grams to co mpliment th e Coalitions. For examp le, we
pro vide policy analysis for m emb ers of both Wildland s CPRand t he NTWC. We act as a clear inghouse for information
and s trat egies regarding off-road vehicle issu es for our
memb ers an d the co alition, too. And finally, with our
particular expertise on Forest Service issues, we are co ordi-
nating a camp aign to revamp off-road vehicle managemen t
on Fores t Ser vice land s nationwide. This is the focus of
Jacobs wor k, while the po licy analysis, strate gic con sulta-
t ions and workshops have been passed on to h is successor,
Tom Platt.
In th e last two years , we have s een a major s hift in
Fores t Service thinking, a direct res pon se to our ORV effor ts.Graphic by Mark Alan Wilson.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
13/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 13
The agency h as pu blicly acknowledged th at off-road vehicles
mus t be limited to des ignated r oute s. While this is a victory,
it also p resents a challenge for th e future and th e focus for
our current efforts. How do we ensure that routes are
des ignated thr ough a full and o pen NEPA pro cess a nd ar e
based on s ound science regarding ecological impacts? The
Fores t Service app ears t o favor a proces s tha t allows off-
road vehicle use to continue on rou tes that h ave been
created by ORV users without author ization.
Na tura l Tra ils & Wa ters Coa litionNatural Trails and Water s effort s were focuse d o n
communications and Park Service issues for the majority of
the last year an d a h alf in 2002 we are expan ding our
effor ts to en comp ass mo re BLM and Forest Service issu es.
The Coalition developed excellent communications tools
and p ublications, hosted a lobby week, distributed nearly
$60,000 in minigrants for off-road vehicle work, de veloped a
radio advertisement and respond ed to the needs of grass-
root s activists. Throu gh Natural Trails and Water s, Wild-
lands CPR has me t on e of our pr imary goals: facilitating a
greater u nde rst and ing of off-road ve hicle issu es amo ng local
and national decision-makers an d media represen tatives.
ClearinghouseWildland s CPR had a ho st of stud ent inter ns in 2001 who
completed critical research th at we are now p roviding to
activists around the coun try. We conducted research on
forest highways, oil and gas extr action and e xploration,
helicopter recreation impacts, mitigation efforts and much
more. We also upgraded our website and made it more
acces sible. We pub lishe d the Road-RIPort er on a bimonth ly
bas is, tho ugh with the first issue of 2002 we began a tr ans i-
tion to q uarterly printing.
Organiz ationa l DevelopmentWildlands CPR invested in organizational developm ent
in 2001 in two ways : first, thro ugh ou r p articipation in th e
Combined Federal Camp aigns and; second , by focus ing on
members hip development. Jen worked closely with Tommy
to increase renewals, promote new members hips, increase
distribution of the Road-RIPorter and other wise p romote
Wildland s CPR. The boa rd also made a comm itment to
increasing Wildland s CPR memb ers hip. As for the Combined
Feder al Camp aign, this year we h ave also app lied to b e apar t of numerou s sta te camp aigns, including Californ ia,
Colorad o and Nort h Carolina. If you are a sta te emp loyee in
any of those s tates , or if you are a feder al employee, or you
know someone who is, tell them to ch eck box # 2380 on their
CFC form !
ConclusionIn 2001, Wildlands CPR experienced more stea dy,
directed growth. Our staff stayed at abo ut the sam e size,
though we still want to add one more po sition. Our budget
grew by appro ximately 25%, as did ou r fundraising. Our
members hip remained stab le, and our issue and p rogram
work was challenging but succes sful. We strength ened th e
foun dat ion of the Natural Trails an d Water s Coalition; wedevelop ed relationsh ips with non-traditional allies to
promote res toration; we consulted with grassroot s groups
around the cou ntry; we identified and p articipated in
strategic litigation, and we r amped up o ur efforts to p romote
road rem oval as a viable comp onen t of resto ration. While
we experienced setb acks, mostly through th e Bush Adminis-
tration rollbacks on roadless protection and off-road vehicle
regulations, we feel stro ngly tha t now is the time to promo te
wildland pro tection by limiting off-road vehicle abus es an d
new road constru ction while simultaneously promoting
restoration th rough intensive on-the-ground ro ad removal.
We ho pe yo ull cont inue to join us in thes e fights!
Resource/Sales: .07%
Misc. Inco me: .01%
Financial ReportProgram Expenses$317,091.32
Program Income
$390,282.93Roads Pr ogram : 21.1%
Motorized Recreation
Program : 21.8%
Natural Trails &
Wate rs Coalition: 28.4%
Clearinghouse
Program: 8.9%
Organizational
Development and
Fundr aising: 15.7%
Administration: 4.1%
Gra nts : 93.65%
Contribut ions: 3.06%
Inter est Earne d: 1.98%
Members hip: 1.24%
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
14/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200214
Welcome to a ne w feature of the Road RIPorter, the Roads
Program Update. This update will appear in each issue
to keep you abreast of the newest happenings withWildlands CPRs Ro ads Program.
Roads Analysis ProcessThe Roads Analysis Proc ess (RAP - FSM 7712.1)
is a key comp onen t of the Fores t Ser vices new
Roads Policy. All fores ts are requ ired to co nd uct a
Roads Analysis this year to d etermine the minimum
road system need ed on their forest. And while
pub lic input isnt req uired, RAP is the key place
where activists should put forth th eir road con-
cerns and ro ad closure requests. Just this month,
Wate rs he d Cons ulting, LLC out of Whitefish ,
Montana co mpleted a critique o f the RAP for
Wildlan ds CPR. By th e time t his Road RIPorterisout, that critique sh ould be up on our revised web
page. See also this issues Po licy Primer on RAP
(page 8-9).
Clear w at er Na tiona l Fores t ProjectThe seco nd p art o f Water sh ed Consu ltings
cont ract with Wildlands CPR was to e xamine theClear water National Fores ts (Idaho) r oad re moval
program. Watershed Consulting conducted litera-
ture re views, inter views, and field invento ry work
to asses s the obliteration program on th e Clearwa-
ter National Fores t (CNF) and c omp are road
analysis meth ods used previously on th e CNF to the
nationa l Road s Analysis Proces s (RAP). This projectis nearing completion and we should have so me
preliminary results on the web page soon.
Forest Resto ra tion PrinciplesOne year ago sever al organizations, including
Wildland s CPR, spo nso red the Fores t Activist
Restorat ion Summit in Boulder, Colorad o. That
summit, whose par ticipants included forest
activists along with a few key scientists, forest
practitioners and community forestr y groups, was
held to d evelop eco logical principles for forest
restoration and add ress the social and economic
compon ents of a progressive restoration agenda.
Wildland s CPR was a ctively involved in t he year-
long proces s of writing the se Restora tion Principles
and p utting forth ro ad removal as a key compon ent.
The Citizens Call for Ecological Fore st Resto ra -
tion: Fores t Restor ation Principles an d Criteria is
prop osed as a national policy statement to guide
sound ecological restoration p olicy and projects.
This Febr uar y, we held a follow up meeting in
Spokane, Washington to bring restoration practitio-
ners and community forestr y advocates into the
dialogue, and to discuss strategy for the Principles.
While we didnt make much h ead way on the Pr inciples, we did have
meaningful discussions ab out how en vironmental groups, p ractitio-
ners and community forestr y groups can build trust and work
togeth er towar ds t he goal of ecologically and so cio-econ omically
sound restoration. By the end of the third day we had committed to
following up o n th is initial effort . This joint wor k may include ap pro -
priations efforts and on-the-ground monitoring of restoration p rojects.
We had some good roads d iscussions and initiated a ro ads working
group to b ring together th e strengths of various environmental
organizations and practitioners.
Socio-Econom ics o f Roa d Oblitera tionWildland s CPR has beco me very involved with Alliance for
Susta inable Jobs and the Environment, a networ k of individua ls and
organizations dedicated t o b uilding a world where nat ure is pro-
tected, the worker is respected , and unrestrained corp orate po wer is
rejected, through grassroots education, organization, and action. We
joined ASJE last sp ring, and Marnie is n ow th e co -chair of their New
Initiatives Working Group , which focus es on fores t rest ora tion,
primar ily in nor the rn California, Oregon an d Wash ington. Marnie will
be p romoting high s kill/high wage road removal jobs as a key compo -
nent o f a restoration jobs economy in th e Pacific Northwest.
Wildlands CPR also plans on contracting out an economic stud y
of the job creation po tential of carrying out a national road decom mis-sioning progr am as called for in th e Forest Services Roads Policy.
Upco ming Events for the Roa ds Program :
April 6-7 - ASJE Annual meeting
Apr il 18-20 - The National Forest Prot ection Alliances con ference
RESTORING PUBLIC LANDS: Rec laimin g th e Conc ep t o f Fores t
Restoration, Boulder, Colorado
Late June - Roads workshop with South ern Appa lachian Biodiversity
Project in Ash eville, Nor th Carolina
Roads Program UpdateSpring 2002
By Marnie Criley, Roads Policy Coordinator
Photo by Bethanie Walder.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
15/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 15
Like our sibling Ro ads Program, W ildlands CPRs
Off-Road Vehicle Program will offer a brief update on the
latest happenings in each issue ofthe Road-RIPorter,our quarterly newsletter.
Tri-Sta tes Off-Roa d Vehicle PlanThe Forest Service last summer adop ted an off-
road vehicle management plan covering nine
National Forest units in Monta na and the Dakotas.
While osten sibly proh ibiting cross -coun tr y ORV
travel, the plan esse ntially grandfather ed all
existing routes, whether created legally through a
planning process or illegally throu gh repeat ed and
des tru ctive vehicle use . Fur ther more , it will be
near ly imposs ible for res pon sible ORV riders to
determine which rou tes are legal and which arent,
since the agency decided that legal routes are thos etha t were established be fore Januar y 1, 2001. There
are no map s and no signs to aid in this seemingly
imposs ible attem pt at classification. Wildlands CPR
and Pred ator Cons er vation Alliance were joined by
five othe r organizations in appealing the decision;
the Forest Service recently denied our ap peal. Our
coalition is no w cons idering legal action to force
the Forest Service to limit mot orized vehicle use tolegally des ignated routes, which would s ubsta n-
tially redu ce th e environm ental impact s o f ORV use
and m ake responsible riding on th ese National
Forests poss ible.
BLM Vegetative RestorationEnvironm enta l Imp act Sta tement
The BLM in Octob er initiated a s weeping
Environmental Impact Statement p rocess on
vegetation, watersh ed, and wildlife hab itat treat-
ments across sixteen western stat es. While we
app reciate BLMs inte rest in evaluating exotic weed
prob lems and restoring native vegetation o n a large
scale (p art of BLMs s tated objective), the agency
seem s intent o n ignoring virtu ally all of the caus es
of noxious weed invasion and other impacts to
plant communities, instead focusing on controlling
prob lems once they occur. Of course an y land
manager worth their salt knows that preventing
prob lems, especially problems as insidious as
exotic weed invasion, is considerably cheaper,
easier, and m ore effective than t rying to rep air
dam age once it has oc cur red. Yet the BLM has s o
far refused to con sider ORV use, the m otor ized
activities associated with energy development, and
other caus es of exotic weed spread and o ther
impacts . Wildlands CPR and t he Natura l Trails and
Water s Coalition are working to p ush the BLM to
take advantage of this opp ortun ity to really grapple
with how their man agement d ecisions affect nat ive
plant commun ities acros s th e West.
Big Cypres s Na tiona l PreserveOur ba ttle to s ave Big Cypres s National
Preser ve in sout her n Florida from off-road vehicle
devas tation continue s. The Park Service now faces
a legal challenge from motor ized use group s
claiming that t he n ew off-road vehicle managemen t
plan illegally rest ricts th eir use of the area. While
the p lan reduces off-road veh icle use and employs
several reasonab le protections for the fragile
swamp e cosys tems , it by no mean s eliminates off-
road vehicle acces s. Settlement negotiationsbetwee n th e ORV group s and the Par k Service
unexp ected ly fell apa rt in Janu ary 2002; the lawsuit
is now procee ding. Wildlands CPR joined o the r
memb ers of the Natural Trails & Water s Coalition in
interven ing in th e lawsuit.
Upc om ing Event s for
the ORV Program:March 15 - Deadline for scop ing comment s on
the BLMs Revised Notice of Inten t to prep are a n
Environmen tal Impac t Statement an d Forest Plan
Amendment s on cross-countr y motorized travel on
the Apac he-Sitgreaves, Coconino, Kaibab, Pres cott ,
and Tont o National Fores ts in Arizona an d NewMexico.
March 29 - Deadline for scop ing comment s on
the BLMs Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environ-
mental Impact Statement for th e Conservation and
Resto ra tion of Veget ation , Wate rs he d, and Wildlife
Habitat Treatments.
April 27 to May 1- Ann ua l ORV Lobb y Wee k
with Natu ra l Tra ils & Wate rs Coalition in Wash ing-
ton DC. Conta ct Lisa Ph ilipp s
(lisa@wildlands cpr.org, or call her at o ur main
office) for m ore info abou t par ticipat ing.
Photo by Bethanie Walder.
ORV Program UpdateSpring 2002
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
16/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200216
Bibliography Notes sum m arizes and highlights
some of the scientific literature in our 6,000 citation
bibliography on the e cological effects of roads.
We offer bibliographic searches to help activists
access im portant biological research relevant to
roads. We keep copies of most articles cited in
Bibliography Notes in our office library.
The number of seismic tests for oil and gas con ducted on pu blic
lands in the United States is increasing, and this sho uld concern
anyb ody interes ted in con ser ving wildlife, plants and vegetation, soil,
and th e very character of these lands. As domes tic oil and natural gas
exploration increases, geophysicists seek to m ap and under stand
underground d eposits that may hold valuable hydrocarb on resources.
Seismic testing is the ir preferred met ho d, and on e result is a pro lifera-
tion of linear bar riers across th e landscape.Seismic testing evolved from the discovery th at when earth quakes
occur, it is pos sible to capture th e sound waves created and use th e
data to map geoph ysical features th at lie underground . Much of what
we know about the Earths core, mant le, and crust is the res ult of this
discover y, and it follows that man-made seismic, or soun d, waves can
also be used to map subs urface geologic formations and locate stores
of oil and na tur al gas. However, as seismic tests b ecome mo re preva-
lent, there is growing concern about their impacts seismic testing
req uires intensive cross -coun tr y travel, often with veh icles th at weigh
60,000 to 80,000 pou nds .
How Its DoneTo con duc t a test u sing the pr eferred Thre e-dimens ional (3-D)
seismic meth od, long cables ar e first laid along a receiver line. Next,dynamite blasts or Thumper trucks (also called vibrasise trucks) are
use d along a sou rce line to create wha t is essen tially a man-made
earth quake, sending energy into the earth . The energy waves bounce
off of the sub surface formations and back to th e surface where they
are captured by geoph ones, which are connected b y the receiver
lines to a dogho use , or da ta receiving truc k. Knowing the frequenc y
at which th e energy is created, it is p ossible to analyze the frequency
of the returning waves and create a map of the sub surface area.
An earlier te sting me tho d, 2-Dimensional (2-D) s eismic, is con -
ducted by p lacing a receiver line acros s an area of land, and creating
energy along that s ame line. In oth er words , the receiver line and the
source line are the same. This creates a cross-
section al pro file of the un dergro und form ations, as
data is co llected along only one line.
3-D seismic yields a picture tha t sh ows a
volume of ear th, which is much mo re valuab le. In
cond ucting a 3-D test , a numb er of receiver lines
are placed parallel to each o ther acros s a land-
scape. The lines run at an angle (often perp en-
dicular) to the so urce line 1, in a brick pat ter n. To
create the necess ary energy, two method s are
generally emp loyed. In the vibr asise metho d, four
trucks move in tand em along the sou rce line, stop
at a pred eter mined po int, lower a self-cont ained
platform, and vibrate in unison, send ing energy
into the earth. This is repeated hun dreds or
thous ands of times in the course o f one test. If
dynam ite is us ed, a drill rig creates a shot h ole
(50-100 feet deep ) along th e so urce line, into which
a charge is placed . The charge is set off to create
energy in what is called th e sh ot ho le meth od,
and th is process is repeated over th e entire testing
area. In ad dition to s ourc e vehicles, ATVs are a lso
used du ring each test. These are driven along the
receiver lines to t roubleshoot p roblems.
Clearly, seismic testing is a vehicle-intensive
process . In order t o collect the most valuable
data, it is no t pos sible for the s ource lines to run
along existing roads. With both metho ds (sh ot-
hole and vibrasise) it is necessary for a numb er of
vehicles to drive cross -coun tr y, causing potent iallysevere ecological impacts.
Unde r t he National Environmen tal Policy Act
(NEPA), federal agencies are r equ ired to analyze
the po tential impacts of propo sed act ivities. In all
seismic pro jects st udied for th is review, Environ-
mental Assessm ents (EAs) were cond ucted, which
are less th orough th an Environmental Impact
Statem ents (EISs). These doc umen ts outline the
pot ential impacts to wildlife, soil, and vegetation,
among other s, and offer mitigation meth ods to
minimize th e effects.
A review of EAs co ndu cted by th e Bureau of
Land Management ( BLM) for pr ojects in th e Moab,
UT and Green River Basin, WY areas reveals t hatBLM findings of no significan t impa ct d raw largely
on anecd otal evidence an d d o not rely on verified
science o r cited r eferences. In th ese EAs, inter-
views, internal agency documents , and ob serva-
tions from past p rojects are used to conclude that
the impacts from s eismic testing will be tem porar y
and non-severe. In contrast, the documented
science on linear distur ban ces like ORVs and ro ads
is quite extensive, and s uggests th at long-term
damage is occurr ing.
Shake, Rattle & RollUnderstanding Seismic Testing
By Erich Zimm erman n
Photo courtesy of the Southern Utah Wilderness Coalition.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
17/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 17
Ecological ImpactsUse of ORVs, for examp le, destr oys hab itat an d forage for wildlife
and disturbs threatened and endangered species. The impacts to
soil and vegetation include comp action, which causes erosion and
reduced plant growth, as less water is able to penetrate t he sur face.
Ruts may also b e caused if vehicles op erate when the ground is wet,
which can cause even greater prob lems with comp action and water
run off. The he avy vehicles used in 3-D seismic testing create t wo-
tracks that run across th e landscap e. If these tr acks are not elimi-
nated, unaut horized use of recreational ORVs may occur once tes ting
has end ed, and the impacts to wildlife, soil, and vegetation will be
even more pronounced.
ORV use is known to d estroy vegetation th at ser ves as n atural
soil-pro tective element s, even after o ne p ass of a vehicle (Wilshire
1983). This impa ct beco mes more significant as the num ber o f trips
over a n area increa ses ( Payne et a l. 1983). In arid re gions , ORVs h ave
been foun d to increas e water ru noff and er osion (Hinckley et al.
1983), a result of soil comp action and decr eases in soil poros ity and
infiltrat ion capacity (Webb 1983). Impa cts were found even wh en us e
of such veh icles was slight, and th e first pas ses o f a vehicle over a
landscape were found to b e th e mos t dam aging (Iverson et al. 1981).
It is estimated that recovery from soil compaction and a natur al
retur n to bu lk den sity, strength and infiltrat ion capac ity make take a
cent ur y to occur. In add ition, invasive vegetative sp ecies were foun d
in compacted areas within a few years, but native species were much
slower to retur n ( Webb & Wilsh ire 1980).
The impacts of roads, seismic lines and other linear d isturbances
have a n umb er of impacts on wildlife po pulations , including indi-
vidual disrup tion, habitat avoidance, social disruption, habitat
disruption o r en hancement, d irect and indirect mo rtality, and effects
on pop ulation. These impacts h ave received subs tantial treatment
and at tent ion (Jalkotzy, et al. 1997). Stud ies also show th e dram atic
effects th at road s have on t he mo vement an d mor tality of wildlife
(Form an & Alexand er 1998; Trom bu lak & Frissell 2000), and th e
balance of this evidence is so s trong that p olicies have been enacted
to red uce roa d de nsities in national fores ts to p rote ct wildlife
(Hourdeq uin 2000).
Impa cts of seismic testing have been largely ignore d. This is
starting to chan ge, however, as more attention is paid in areas wherethe t esting is most p revalent, espe cially Utah a nd Wyoming. It is
important th at the lack of under standing and information about the
process es and impacts of these projects be so lved, and greater
pub lic press ure placed on th e federal agencies cond ucting these
reviews. Given the d ocum ented impacts of ORV use o n wildlife, soils,
and ve getation, it is impe rative that the BLM and o the r federal
agencies pay greater attent ion to these p rojects and the effects they
are having on our federal lands. It also needs to be d etermined
whether the two-tracks created during seismic testing are used for
recreational purp oses o nce testing is comp leted.
The abs ence of scientific research on these issues is disturb ing,
and u ntil more stu dy is done, it is h ard to justify that th ese impacts
are shor t-term and unimpor tant. One way this might be corrected is
to force th e BLM to cond uct EISs when cons idering seismic projects ,which would result in much greater scrutiny and require a higher
thre sh old of scientific eviden ce be fore d eter mining tha t a pro ject will
have no impact.
Footnotes1. Actua l cables are p laced along a receiver line, but a s ource
line is a t heo retical line along which vibras ise tru cks will drive or
dynamite blasts will be placed to create the energy necessary.
Erich Zimm erman n is a graduate student in Environm ental Studies at
the University of Montana.
References
Forman, R.T.T., and L.E. Alexande r. 1998. Roads an d
their major eco logical effects. Annu al Review of
Ecology and Systemat ics 29:207-231 in M.
Hourdequ in. Ecological effect s of road s.
Conservation Biology. 14(1):16-17.
Hinckley, B.S., R.M. Iverson , and B. Hallet.
Accelerated water erosion in ORV-use areas. In
Environ mental Effect s of Off-Road Vehicles:
Impacts and Managemen t in Arid Regions. R.H.
Webb & H.G. Wilshire, ed s. 1983.
Hourdequ in, M. Ecological effects of roads.
Conservation Biology. 14(1):16-17.
Iver so n, R.M., B.S. Hinckley, and R.M. Web b. 1981.
Physical effects o f vehicular disturb ances on
arid landscapes. Science. 212:915-917.
Jalkotzy, M.G., P.I. Ross , and M.D. Nasse rden . 1997.
The effects of linear developments on wildlife: a
review of selected scientific literature. Prep.
For Canadian Association of Petroleum
Prod uce rs . Arc Wildlife Ser vices Ltd., Calgary.
115pp.
Payne, G.F., J.W. Foster, and W.C. Leininger. 1983.Vehicle impac ts o n North ern Great Plains ran ge
vegetation.Journal of Range Management. 36(3):
327-331.
Webb, R.H. and H.G. Wilshire. 1980. Recovery of soils
and vegetation in a Mojave desert gho st town,
Nevada, U.S.A.Journal of Arid Environments.
3(4):291-303.
Webb , R.H. 1983. Comp action of des er t so ils b y off-
roa d ve hicles. In Environmen tal Effects o f Off-
Road Vehicles: Impacts and Mana gemen t in
Arid Regions . R.H. Webb & H.G. Wilshire, eds .
1983.
Wilsh ire, H.G. 1983. The impac t of veh icles on d ese rt
soil st ab ilizers. In Environme nta l Effects of Off-Road Vehicles: Impacts and Mana gemen t in
Arid Regions . R.H. Webb & H.G. Wilsh ire, ed s.
1983.
Photo courtesy of the Southern Utah W ilderness
Association.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
18/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200218
Comments Needed onYellowstone Snowmobile Ban
The National Park Service ha s just released a new analysis of the
impact o f sno wmob ile use on Yellowsto ne an d Grand Teton National
Parks. The Park Service needs to h ear from you that it should not
back away from its o riginal decision, based on years of study and
overwhelming pub lic involvement, to protect these national trea-
sures b y phas ing out snowmobile use in the two p arks. Please call or
write th e NPS and ask it to CONFIRM the original ph ase out decision.
The new prop osal is b ased o n an environmental analysis which
was part o f the settlement of a lawsuit by snowmobile makers and
the s tates of Wyoming and Idaho s eeking to roll back th e sno wmob ile
ban . The Interna tional Snowmo bile Manufacture rs Association
request ed the stud y claiming that the ban had been bas ed on earlier
Park Service research that failed to con sider a new generation of
cleaner and quieter mach ines. In analyzing new d ata from the
industry, the Park Service rejected claims t hat snowmobile makers
are pr od ucing cleaner vehicles tha t will not distur b wildlife or p ollute
the air. The Park Ser vice concluded t hat mu ch of the inform ation was
largely unconvincing or dated.
The new p roposal includes four alternatives: 1) Phase out
sno wmob iles b eginning in Decembe r, with a full ban effective in th e
winter of 2003-04. 2) Begin p ha sing ou t sn owmo biles in 2003-04, with
a full ban in 2004-05. 3) Cap the num ber of snowmo biles at 500 and
make them meet stricter emission standard s b y 2005. 4) Cap the
number at 330, require stricter emission standards and req uire
sno wmob ilers to travel with a Park Ser vice guide.Take Action b y May 29th : The r eleas e of the SEIS be gins a p ub lic
comment p eriod and pub lic sup por t for the or iginal Park Service
decision is the o nly way it will be implemen ted . Please s up por t the
decision to p hase out snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand
Teton nat ional parks b y sending your commen ts via
email to: grte_winter_use_seis@nps .gov or sen d to :
Wint er Use SEIS, P.O. Box 352, Moos e, Wyoming
83012 by May 29, 2002.
Please remind the Park Service that:
Americans want Yellowsto ne a nd Grand Teton
to rem ain peaceful places in winter wh ere bison , elk,
and other wildlife are not h arassed by noisy vehicles.
That snowmobiles in th e two n ational parks
continue to cause p ollution, make rangers sick, andprevent visitors from h earing the er uption of Old
Faithful or e njoying the solitude t hat Americans
expect from their national parks.
That the original, science-based phas e ou t
decision sh ould remain in place becau se it is the only
way to adeq uately prot ect th e nations first National
Park and near by Grand Teton nat ional park.
Chec k out the SEIS at this we bsite: www.winteruse planning.n et/
Photo by Bethanie Walder.
Wildlife Refuge SystemCommission GetsPro-ORV Chairman
The Bush Administration recently appointed
attorney Bill Horn t o ser ve as th e chairman of the
newly form ed Nation al Wildlife Refuge Cent enn ial
Commission. This Commiss ion, which had its first
meeting March 12, is ch arged with he lping to ch art
the course of the National Wildlife Refuge System
for th e next centur y.
Environmentalists are concer ned that Horn's
app ointmen t will make it mo re d ifficult to reign in
recrea tional sn owmob iling, ATV, and moto rbo at
use on refuge system lands. As a lead attorney
representing the International Snowmobile
Manufactur ers Association, swamp bu ggy user s in
Florida, and the Alaska State Snowmob ile Associa-
tion, Horn has consistently challenged government
decisions that limit ORV use on p ublic land s.
Other ap pointed Commissioners include
repr esen tatives from Walt Disney and Coors
Brewing Comp any. Wildlife refuges ha ve clear
mandate to p rotect wildlife and their hab itat; the
National Wildlife Refuge Syst em Imp rove men t Act
of 1997 clearly states "wildlife and wildlife conser-
vation must co me first ." The Natural Trails &Wate r Coalition (202/883-2300) plans t o clos ely
monitor Mr. Horn's work on the co mmission and
pub licize his actions.
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
19/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 19
New Study Confirmsthat Roads Harm Elk
The March -Apr il 2002 iss ue o f Rocky Mount ain
Elk Foundations Bugle Magazine details the
adver se effects o f road s on elk, providing the
results of both current and historic research of
Jack Lyon and others. The research demonstrates
that, although closing roads to motorized access
helped elk, bull ratio and h erd b alance is b etter in
areas th at have no road s at all. Accord ing to Alan
Christens en, th e Elk Foun dat ions Vice Pres ident of
Land s, The d ata s ho ws th at b ull elk will live up to
7.5 to 10 years in unroad ed areas In managed
areas with road closures, that life sp an drop s to 6.5
years . These findings parallel what is known for
the grizzly bear: even closed and gated roads harm
the sp ecies. This elk research will help supp ort
effor ts to limit total road d ensity, pro tect roa dless
areas, and restrict motorized access. In order to
pro tect wildlife h abitat, Christen sen said, We ne ed
to ta lk abo ut are a-wide closures to all vehicles.
Conservationists ChallengeWilderness Vehicle Tours
Three con ser vation group s filed a lawsuit
challenging the National Park Services d ecision to
author ize motor ized vehicle tours in the
Cumberland Island Wilderne ss. (SeeRIPorter6.2
cover stor y Drive Thru Wilder nes s.) The
Island, wh ich lies o ff Georgias s outh east coas t just
nor th of the Florida bord er, is the largest und evel-
oped b arrier island on the eastern seab oard. The
suit was filed Febr uar y 11 by Wilder ness Watch ,
Defenders of Wild Cumb erland , and Public Employ-
ees for Environm enta l Resp ons ibility.
The groups seek to s top th e NPS from autho -
rizing moto rized tou rs in th e Wilder nes s, citing a
strict Wilderness Act pro hibition o n th e use of
motorized vehicles except in rare cases s uch as
emergencies. The suit also alleges that the co m-
mercial nature of some t our s violates the Acts
limitation on c omm ercial use. While the Park
Service operates some of the tour s, most are
conduct ed by a private corpor ation.
According to George Nickas of WildernessWatch , This is th e only place in the cou ntr y where
the NPS drives to urists aroun d in the Wilderne ss. It
sets a terrible precedent for Wildernes s every-
where and flies in th e face of the Wildernes s Act.
Congress mad e it clear that the Cumberland Island
Wildernes s must be managed b y the same r ules as
all oth er Wilderne sses in the United States .
Restrictions, like thos e excluding motor veh icles,
were p ut in p lace to ac hieve th is goal. If we allow
motor vehicle tours here, then we could have them
anywhe re in Americas Wilder ness .
Wilder nes s Watch believes th at th is lawsuit is
the first action to c hallenge the National Park
Ser vice on motor veh icle use in Wilder nes s bas edon th e Wilder ness Act.
Wildlands CPR
Launches New Web Site
Photo by Rick Konrad.
See i t at ww w.w ildlands cpr.org!
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
20/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 200220
Concerns a nd Recommenda tions
Regar din g the
Roads Analysis Process
The roads ana lysis manual seems to ignore th e
fact that unro aded are as may contain unclassi-
fied roads an d remnan ts of roads th at still have
negative effects on ecological integrity.
RAP should p lace more emph asis on road
removal or other decom missioning. Despite the
increased emphasis on decommissioning roads
in the final rule, the RAP discuss es ro ad closure
and de commissioning infreque ntly compared to
road construction and reconstruction. The roads
analysis docu ment is not consistent in its use of
the terms road closure and decommissioning.
The do cument fails to spec ify clearly what
decommissioning means.
The roads ana lysis manual should examine the
effects of closure and obliteration sep arately.
Too m uch power to m ake final decisions is left to
the fores t or line officer. Extern al and inter nal
techn ical review sho uld be requ ired.
Data sh ould b e ground -trut hed . The RAP
emph asizes the use of existing data to keep th e
analyse s co st-effective and efficient. However,
there ar e many case s in which existing data is no
longer current or where information from a
larger scale will not give a realistic portrayal of
what the cond itions are on the ground.
The ques tions in Appe ndix 1 pertaining to th e
effects of roads on the various ec ological, social,
and eco nomic considera tions generally only
add ress th e effects of existing roads and thepoten tial effects o f new roads. This appr oach
completely fails to recognize the n ew direction of
transportation management described in the
Roads Policy, which includes road removal.
No guidance is provided t o help investigators
prioritize roads for ob literation or o ther forms of
decommissioning.
Multiple spatial and temp oral scales sh ould be
emph asized. Once a specific scale is deter mined
for the analysis, issues per taining pr imarily to
other scales may be ignored. Long-term mo nitor-
ing and management sh ould be emp hasized
mor e in RAP. Long-term ec ono mic con sider -
ations, such as th e long-term cos ts of roadmaintenance, and the multi-billion dollar backlog
for forest road m aintenance, shou ld be included
with shorter-term considerations.
Activist Actions1) Find out wh ere your local fores t is with th e
RAP. Each RAP mus t b e co mp leted for level 3 to 5
roads (down to gravel/improved d irt) in the next
year or two, depe nd ing on the forest. Level 1 and 2
(undr iveable and unimproved dirt) must be
continued from page 9
analyzed next. Our su ggestion to all activists is to
get involved at th e stud y stage since the process
will be well und er way b y the t ime any pu blic
workshops are held.
2) Bring up the RAP at a ny Forest Ser vicemeetings, or in regard to a ny Fores t Ser vice
projects th at involve road constru ction. Any new
road co nstruct ion must go th rough RAP and an y
fores t p lan revisions m ust include RAP.
3) Provide the Fores t Service with informa-
tion you have on roads that shou ld be decommis-
sioned, including any photo o r inventory work
youve do ne. This inform ation is par ticularly
critica l at Step 3 of RAP.
4) Encou rage th e Forest Service to give
greater cons ideration to road removal. If you need
more information on road r emoval feel free to
con tac t Marn ie Criley in the Wildlan ds CPR office.
5) Provide th e FS with your con cerns regard-ing the RAP. Relate th e co ncer ns listed in this
summar y or check out our website for the
complete Critique of the RAP.
Am y is a riparian ecologist and wa ter quality
specialist with Watershed Consulting, LLC out o f
Whitefish, MT
8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 7.1
21/24
The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2002 21
Gar y Macfarlane has b een sa ving trees a nd p rotec ting wild
places from roads and ORVs for more than 20 years. Born and raised
in a small town in Utah , Gar y spe nt year s with th e Utah Wilder nes s
Asso ciation, succe ssfully closing areas on National Forest ( NF) an d
Bureau of Land Management lands to mot orized recreat ion. He
relocated to th e Northern Rockies in 1994 and h elped incorporate
Friends of the Clear water ( FOC), a hard -hitting group d edicated to
pro tecting the Clear water National Fores t in Idah o. Even in the h ars h
Idaho climate, Gary pr actices what he preach es. He doesn t own a
car, but ins tead b ikes 18 miles to a nd from work each day.
Gar y and Friends of the Clear water ar e working diligently to get
ORVs und er con trol on th e Clearwater and Nez Perce National
Fores ts. For examp le, two years ago the y foun d sub stan tial ORV
abuse in upper Fish Meadows in the North Lochsa Slope Roadless
Area (Clear water NF), and along with ot her co nse rvationists wer e
able to pres sure th e FS to initiate an emergency area closure. In
add ition, with th e he lp of a mini-grant from t he Natur al Trails and
Water s Coalition, Friends of the Clearwater joined forces last year
with the Great Burn Stud y Group to mo nitor th e Great Burn Wilder-
nes s Stud y Area. They have also mon itored Weitas Creek (Clear water
NF), Pot Mountain (Clearwater NF), and Meadow Creek (Nez Perce
NF) with a gra nt from Fund for Wild Nature. All thre e are road less
areas p rop osed for Wilder nes s. Gar ys colleague Chuck Pezeshki
explains how Garys commitment to careful docu mentation con trib-
utes to his su ccess in fighting ORV abu se: Gary h as a mas terful
command of both law and p olicy and h e backs u p h is office work and
NEPA review with meticulous ground -tru thing. Gar y is ou t in th e field
looking at stuff to make sure reality matches th ese docum ents. The
mon itoring repor ts are now b eing finalized and will be available in
early spring.
The Clear water NF is a travel mana gement fiasco. Its th e main
reason why Gary and the rest of FOC are so dedicated to their work.
The Forest Service allows motor ized us e in all recommen ded wilder -
nes s, theres no tr