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US Forest Service
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Eureka, August 3, 2007
According to District Ranger Bill Rice, watershed restoration work on the Orleans Transportation and Road Restoration Project has begun in the Bluff Creek watershed in the Orleans Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest. "I am able to begin the implementation of this project thanks to funding from outside grants and partnerships," said Rice. California Department of Fish and Game, Fisheries Restoration Grant Program recently awarded the Six Rivers National Forest nearly $393,000 to implement 13 miles of road decommissioning in the Bluff Creek watershed. The Karuk Tribe of California is also partnered with the Forest, contributing approximately 30% of the total project implementation costs. In addition to contributing funding, the Karuk Tribe has skilled restoration specialists who help design and implement the road decommissioning work. Decommissioning roads improves watershed condition by reducing storm-driven, road-related failures, and reduces the risk of spreading Port-Orford cedar root disease.
The Six Rivers National Forest has over 3000 miles of road and over 660 of those miles are located on the Orleans Ranger District. "As a result of declining road maintenance budgets, we took a hard look at the Forest Service roads needed for public and administrative access and those roads that have a high risk to aquatic habitat and species," said Rice.
The Orleans Transportation and Road Restoration Environmental Assessment assessed management options for keeping and maintaining roads, decommissioning roads, designating routes and identifying motorized and non-motorized trails within the Orleans Ranger District in a manner that is affordable, manageable, and sustainable as well as has minimal negative effects on the land, water quality, and fisheries. This decision includes maintaining 457 miles of road on the transportation system, decommissioning 202 miles of road, and converting approximately 6.5 miles of road to non-motorized trail.
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