February 22, 2008

Northwest Forests to Receive Road, Trail Repair Funds

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USDA Forest Service
Pacific Northwest Region

Press Release: National Forests in Washington and Oregon will receive $8.37 million tor repairing recent storm damage, maintaining and repairing roads and trails, decommissioning unnecessary roads, and improving fish passage through an effort led by Washington Rep. Norm Dicks.

Dicks, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, created the Legacy Roads and Trails program by adding $40 million to the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The money will fund critical maintenance and restoration work, especially in areas where forest roads may pose risks to water quality and threatened or endangered wildlife species.

"Particularly in the Pacific Northwest, which has been battered by unusually-strong storms in the past two years, our subcommittee recognized the substantial backlog of road decommissioning and restoration projects that are essential for ecosystem protection as well as protecting public health and safety," Rep. Dicks said. He said the legacy roads initiative "would also repair trails and help restore fish passage in streams blocked by washed-out roads throughout the National Forest System."

The Forest Service is targeting these funds for priority watersheds, including the East Fork Lewis, Methow, Skokomish and Seattle rivers in Washington and the Alsea, Middle and North Fork John Day, Sandy, and North Fork Umpqua rivers in Oregon. These new funds will complement other restoration activities throughout the region. In Washington State, for example, $855,000 will fund work on the Olympic National Forest, including decommissioning roads and replacement of a culvert that blocks access to upstream habitat. An additional $285,000 will decommission unneeded roads on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. On the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon, $440,000 will be used to install a new bridge that will provide fish passage and to decommission roads such as in the Bull Run watershed, source of Portland's drinking water.

"This is urgent work to repair damage from storms and protect streams and fish," Regional Forester Linda Goodman said. "We thank Congressman Dicks, his colleagues and our partners who are making this possible."

The appropriated funds will leverage more than $2 million in monetary and in-kind donations from a number of partners, allowing forests to complete more restoration work, Goodman said. National forests in Washington and Oregon sustained more than $49 million in uncompensated damage from storms over the past two years.

Officials said more than $3.46 million was being allocated toward projects in Washington State, including $1.68 million in Puget Sound forests. More than $4.7 million will be spent on national forests in Oregon. Another $200,000 will be directed towards monitoring and oversight.

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