Watershed Restoration Initiative for Washington State National Forests

Washington State Dept. of Ecology released this guide to how to deal with one of the worst impacts of logging -- the "legacy roads," which were left behind by logging operations and continue to "bleed" sediment into streams and perpetuate landslides in cuts and fills. 

Photo of a typical culvert washout, from the report. Note the person wearing a red hard-hat at the bottom of the picture, for scale.

 

N3C co-authored the report along with 18 other groups. It's available online at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0710023.pdf

6 Steps to a Solution:

1. Increase funding in 2011 to meet the need.
2. Right size the system. Identify a minimum road system.
3. Prioritize the work: Target projects to get the biggest bang for the buck.
4. Create green, local, family-wage jobs.
5. Dedicate adequate monitoring funds to the Forest Service.
6. Provide adequate Forest Service staff to support project partnerships.