WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, July 30, 2015
Major Road reclamation Project Approved on Montana Public Lands

With substantial public support, Montana national forest approves 70 miles of road obliteration
Contact: Bryan Bird (505) 699-4719

Great Falls, MT – After receiving over 120 letters of support from Americans across the country, the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana approved 70 miles of road obliteration. The watershed restoration work will provide a significant boost to Montana’s wildlife and water quality. The Forest Service has undertaken a systematic, national effort to identify what motorized roads and trails are still needed and designating where and when motorized vehicles may travel on those roads and trails.

The U.S. Forest Service manages one of the largest road systems in the world - 375,000 miles in total - 9 times as much as the Federal Highway System. The oversized road system was built during a time of elevated logging. The agency is now backlogged with more roads than it needs or can maintain under current budgets.  Unmaintained motorized roads and trails fragment wildlife habitat, pollute pristine water sources and lead to poaching and increased accidental wildfires.

The Forest Service has begun to address the problems associated with its antiquated and deteriorating roads. The massive effort to restore the national forest system and improve wildlife habitat, water quality and other benefits for the American public will take many years and increased budgets from Congress. The Jefferson Chamberlin road obliteration project is just one of many across the national forest system. The project is located in the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana, south of Great Falls.

Photos of wildlife using reclaimed roads. Credit WildEarth Guardians