Wyden urges support of forest roads, trails program

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Wednesday urged the U.S. Forest Service to continue its Legacy Roads and Trails program that addresses plugged culverts, landslides, and washouts of roads and trails in our national forests.

Wyden and two other senators wrote Interim Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen to ask that her agency continue tracking and reporting annual accomplishments under the program.

“For 10 years, the Legacy Roads and Trails program has played a necessary and complementary role to the Forest Service’s general road maintenance program by targeting roads and trails that are contributing to water quality impairment in watersheds with threatened, endangered, and sensitive species or community drinking water sources,” they wrote.

Since 2008, the program in Oregon and Washington has funded maintenance or improvements on 6,229 miles of roads, maintenance or improvement on 69 miles of trails, retirement of 1,037 miles of excess roads, and the restoration of more than 100 stream crossings.

Joining Wyden in the letter are Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) andTammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)

The letter is available here.