Six Rivers National Forest

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News Release:
Partnership in Watershed Restoration
[Shield]: US Forest Service

US Forest Service
Six Rivers National Forest

Contact:
Julie Ranieri
(707) 441-3673
jranieri@fs.fed.us

Eureka, April 29, 2008

With the declining fisheries of the Klamath River, restoration efforts are a high priority for the Six Rivers National Forest and the Yurok and Karuk Tribes.

[Photograph]: Karuk Tribal members decommissioning Forest road.
Karuk Tribal members decommissioning Forest road.
In partnership with the Tribes, the Forest successfully obtained a $483,000 grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Off-Highway Division. This grant funds the decommissioning of 42 miles of road in tributaries to the Klamath River, specifically the Blue, Pecwan and Bluff Creek watersheds, on the Orleans Ranger District. As part of the cost-share partnership with this off-highway vehicle road restoration grant, each Tribe will contribute approximately 30% of the total project costs. In addition to this grant, the Forest also obtained a $311,000 California Department of Fish and Game Fisheries Restoration grant for road decommissioning in the Bluff Creek watershed, of which the Karuk Tribe is contributing an additional 35% of project costs.

Forming partnerships between the Six Rivers National Forest and the Karuk and Yurok Tribes has proven to be an effective method for garnering competitive grant funding to restore fisheries habitat through road restoration efforts. In addition to contributing funding, the Tribes provide skilled restoration specialists to implement the work, thereby keeping jobs within the local communities.

Road decommissioning improves watershed condition by reducing storm-driven, road-related failures, and reduces the risk of spreading Port-Orford cedar root disease. Funding also needs to be spent on key roads necessary for public and administrative access to ensure these roads are resilient to storms and result in minimal impacts to water quality and fish habitat. A new federal program, Legacy Roads and Trails, has been funded nationally to address water quality and fisheries concerns and deferred and back-logged road maintenance. The Six Rivers National Forest obtained over $1 million in legacy road funding that will be spent on road and trail related water quality improvements and road decommissioning.

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