Working Paper 12: Restoring Forest Roads

Restoring unused and abandoned forest roads is an important step in the rehabilitation of natural ecosystem processes. The USDA Forest Service estimates that there are over 435,000 miles of road within the national forest system, 52,000 miles of which are unclassified and not maintained for vehicle use. Temporary forest roads can facilitate ecosystem restoration by providing access for equipment and by serving as firebreaks. But they also have the potential to cause an array of ecological problems. Many agency land management plans call for closing and rehabilitating unneeded roads. This publication presents an overview of the ecological problems forest roads can cause and a guide to traditional and novel methods that can be used in their restoration