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Funding Cut for Effective Forest Service Water Quality Program Additional Contact: Mike Anderson, The Wilderness Society, mike_anderson@tws.org , 206-890-3529 SEATTLE (January 17, 2014) – Conservationists applauded continued congressional funding to reduce environmental impacts from U.S. Forest Service roads, but warned that much more work is needed. The Washington Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI), a coalition of several state agencies, tribes, and more than a dozen conservation and recreation organizations, including The Wilderness Society and WildEarth Guardians, continues to advocate for this important program. In the Pacific Northwest, erosion from old logging roads is the number one water quality problem facing most the region’s national forests. The compromise appropriations bill, expected to be signed by the President today, allocates $35 million to the Forest Service’s Legacy Roads and Trails program to fix problem roads – a reduction of $10 million from last year.
“We’d like to thank Senator Patty Murray and the rest of the Pacific Northwest delegation for their work to preserve this critical program – without them, the cuts might have been even deeper,” says Bethanie Walder, Public Lands Director for WildEarth Guardians and member/representative of the WWRI. “And while we’re glad to see Legacy Roads and Trails survive these tough fiscal times, it is important that it thrive.” If Legacy Roads and Trails continues on this downward trend, popular projects like the one that restored the Teanaway River in Washington’s Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will not happen. Fishing clubs, partner agencies, and volunteers worked with the Forest Service to restore the river and partners were critical in bringing nearly $166,000 to the table in matching funds to make this project a success. Likewise, in the Olympic National Forest, Legacy Roads and Trails has supported collaborative efforts to restore the Skokomish River – the most frequently flooded river in Washington State. Erosion from old logging roads in the Skokomish watershed has declined by 65 to 80 percent as a result of Legacy Roads and Trails projects, according to Forest Service studies. “Projects like the ones to improve the Teanaway and Skokomish Rivers are happening across the state as a result of Legacy Roads and Trails,” says Mike Anderson, senior policy analyst with The Wilderness Society, steering committee member of the WWRI, and coordinator of the Skokomish Watershed Action Team. “Because of the budget cut, the public can expect to see fewer projects like this in our national forests.” In Oregon, the Siuslaw National Forest may not finish the Eckman Road project as a result of this $10 million cut. This road—a key road for community access—is a chronic source of sediment. Failing or ineffective culverts on the road are also blocking fish passage. Legacy Roads and Trails funds would allow the Forest Service to make essential improvements to the road to ensure it will provide safe access, and that it will not be damaged or washed away by storms. The project would also reclaim unneeded sections of the road to improve water quality. “With insufficient funding, benefits to coho, steelhead and cutthroat will be lost, further damage to the road could occur, and local contractors like ‘Just Bucket Excavating’ could lose much needed work. Road improvements to ensure safe access could also be postponed,” says Walder. Started by former Congressman Norm Dicks in 2007, Legacy Roads and Trails has received as much as $90 million in annual Congressional appropriations. The severity of the recent cuts will dramatically limit its effectiveness. Oregon and Washington alone hold over 90,000 miles of U.S. Forest Service System roads – that’s 24% of the entire Forest Service road system in just two states. “Legacy Roads and Trails is a proven program that creates jobs, provides clean water, and ensures safe access to popular recreation. Funding the program should be a no-brainer, the only question should be how much more money it deserves,” says Anderson. ### The Wilderness Society is the leading public lands conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than 500,000 members and supporters, TWS has led the effort to permanently protect 110 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org WildEarth Guardians works to protect and restore wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers in the American West. Founded in 1989 and now with 43,000 members and supporters, WildEarth Guardians vision is of a world where wildlife and wild places are respected and valued and our world is sustainable for all beings.wwww.wildearthguardians.org |
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