road riporter 5.6

8/14/2019 Road RIPorter 5.6

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IThe Road-R PorterBimonthly Newsletter of the Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads. November/December 2000. Volume 5 # 6

continued on page 4

The moun tains and valleys of this region

provide a wide range of habitats, from succu-

lent desert to spruce-fir forest within a m atterof miles. The Sky Islands geograph ical loca-

tion combined with its topograph ical com-

plexity make for an extremely diverse ecosys-

tem, housing more m amm al and reptile

species than an ywhere else in the UnitedStates.

The beautiful, wild, and unprotected Dragoon Mountains. Home and

rest ing place of the Apache Chief Cochise. Photo by Matt Sk roch.

Rewilding

By Matt Skroch, Sky Islands Alliance

(Islands)

the

Sky

Islands region of

southeast Arizona,

southwest NewMexico and Northern Mexico is a spectacular

thea tre in wh ich our glorious natural world

plays. Situated a t the convergence of the

Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madres, and

the Sonoran and Chihuah uan Deserts, the SkyIslands harbor an explosion of life.

The Sky


2/16

The Road-RIPorter November/December 20002

2000 Wildlands CPR

WildlandsWildlandsWildlandsWildlandsWildlands CCCCCenter for PPPPPreventing RRRRRoads

Wildlands Center for PreventingRoads works to prot ect and restorewildland ecosystems by preventingand removing roads and limitingmotorized recreation. We are a

national clearinghouse and network,providing citizens w ith tools and

strat egies to fight roadconstruction, deter motorizedrecreation, and promote road

removal and revegetation.

Main OfficeP.O. Box 7516

Missoula, MT 59807(406) 543-9551

[email protected]

Colorado Office2260 Baseline Rd., Suite 205

Boulder, CO 80302(303) 247-0998

[email protected]

DirectorBethanie Walder

Development DirectorTom Petersen

ORV Grassroots AdvocateRonni Flannery

ORV Policy Coordinat orJacob Smith

Roads Policy Coordinat or

Marnie Criley

Program Ass ociateLeslie Hannay

NewsletterDan Funsch & Jim Coefield

Interns & Volunteers

Kinza Cusic, Jen Dacy , Dan ielleGardner, Nicole Olmstead,

Am y Wright

Board of DirectorsKatie Alvord, Karen Wood DiBari,

Sidney Maddock, Rod Mondt,Cara Nelson, Mary O'Brien,

Ted Zukoski

Advisory Committ eeJasper Carlton, Libby Ellis,

Dave Foreman, Keith Hammer,Timothy Hermach,

Marion Hourdequin, Lorin Lindner,Andy Mahler, Robert McConnell,

Stephanie Mills, Reed Noss,Michael Soul, Dan Stotter,

Steve Trombulak, Louisa Willcox,Bill Willers, Howie Wolke

From the Wildlands CPR Office...

ReWilding t he Sky, p. 1, 4-5Matt Skroc h

DePaving the Way, p. 3Bethanie Walder

Odes to Roads, p. 6-7

Barry Lopez

Legal Note s, p . 8-9TJ Brown

Regional Reports

p. 10-11

Bibliography Notes, p . 12-13Leslie Hann ay

New Resources for

Road Rippers, p. 14

In this Issue

Fall has settled into th e Missoula valley and w e are an xiously awaiting th e

winter storms, and h oping the erosion in bur ned areas won t be too severe. By

the tim e you receive this newsletter, well have elected a n ew presiden t,congressp eople and state officials. Lets hop e we have a new m ajority who su ppo rt

land protection an d restoration. This issues cover story looks at road rem oval in the

Sky Island s of the south west an area wh ere we trained volunteers in road inven-tory and r emoval. Its great to see such a su ccessful project, and we hop e youre as

inspired as we are by the wo rk of th e Sky Island Alliance.

ThanksAs always, we want to th ank all of you wh o recen tly donated to Wildlands CPR.

We especially want to than k those wh o passed on nam es of friends wh o m ay be

interested in o ur wor k. Weve sent out over 100 letters and h ope w ell get a positiverespon se don t hesitate to send m ore n ame s if youd like. Thanks also to the

Foun dation for Deep Ecology for a grant to su ppo rt our w ork - we greatly app reciate

their continued sup port.

WelcomeWildlands CPR is happy to wel-

come th ree new interns this semester.Danielle Gardner and Kinza Cusic joinus from th e Environm ental Studies

graduate pro gram at the University of

Montan a. Danielle is comp leting apreliminary assessm ent of fire lines

looking at line d ensity an d reh abilita-tion while Kinza is assessing roads in

wetland ecosystem s, with a focus on

prevention an d mitigation. Back onfires, Jen Dacy will collect data on the

effectiveness of fire suppression . Theirwork should app ear in future issues of

The Road-RIPort eras part of our

Bibliography Notes series. Weve alsobeen hap py to have Nicole Olmstead

volunteering on our bibliographicdatabase for the past few mon ths. And

Amy Wright is h elping Jacob with

Skidm arks. Thanks to all of you.

Odds-n-EndsSpeaking of the database, our lon g overdue u pdate is near ly complete; we are

considerin g how to best m ake it available on th e web. With regard to the web, weve

finally chan ged our ad dress to: www.wildlandscp r.org. In other n ews, Marn ie justcompleted a month-long tour of the southeast, leading workshops in Alabama, South

Carolina, Georgia and Kentu cky, presen ting slide sh ows and mee ting with othe r

groups. Thanks to all who tu rne d out; were looking forward to increasing our

presen ce in the south east. Ronni will be contacting many of you within thene xt few wee ks to talk about ou r Nation al ORV Coalition . We hope youlllike wha t were doing an d becom e active mem bers of the Coalition.

CorrectionA nu mb er of editing chan ges were mad e to Colin Chisholm s essay in The

Road-RIPorter, 5.5, One Inch Tall, that altered the ten or of the piece. We now

offer the original version o f One Inch Tall on our web-based version ofTheRIPorter, 5.5. Please go to www.wildroc kies.org/WildCPR for Colins origina l essay.

Our sincere ap ologies to Colin. Wildlands Center for Pr eventing Roa ds.


3/16

The Road-RIPorter November/December 2000 3

Habitat fragmentation, though discussed

frequently in the context of conservation

biology, is quite an ab stract term. Itsimpact, ho wever, became all too con crete h ere in

Missoula a few mon ths ago, when a key non -motorized hum an transportation corridor was

severed.

Missou la is split in two by the Clark Fork River.On the rivers south side a trail run s for m ore th an

five m iles, from the center of town east into HellgateCanyon and th e foot of Moun t Sentine l. You can

access all sorts of walking, biking and oth er no n-

mo torized activities from that trail, as we ll as

down town and the University. With foresight,planners also designed three p edestrian bridges thatcross the r iver an d feed into th e trail system.

For th e next th ree years th e Orange St. bridge,

one of Missoulas main auto b ridges, will be u nde rrecon struction. And durin g that constru ction theyve

erected a fence a cross the river trail whe re it passesun der the Bridge.

Anyone who lives west of the br idge (the

majority of the trail lies to th e east) now h as to take asignificant detour when trying to get from one part of

the trail to the other. Stand ing on the sidewalk,amidst h eavy traffic, waiting to cross, the concep t of

habitat fragmentation becomes all too personal.

Even at a legitimate crosswalk, few cars actu ally stopfor pedestrian s. The alternative is to travel thro ugh

town an d on bu sy streets, instead o f along the r ivertrail.

But at least we, as hum ans, can read the signs

that explain h ow to follow the detour. We can rea d inthe n ewspaper that construction is expected to last

three yea rs. I can resign myself to finding a different, less scenic, less

pleasant, less fast, but still viable route to an d from differen t parts o f

town.What do I do, however, if I am an anim al? What do I do wh en I or

my an cestors have been traveling the sam e route for lifetimes and thoseroutes, tho se corridors, are severed by roads an d clearcuts. While

habitat fragmentation may be inconvenientto me as a p erson, it can be

deadly to wildlife.Habitat fragmen tation is a real thing, not just an abstract concep t. It

interru pts and ch anges the lives of animals. Roads an d othe r linearbarriers to travel are the pr imary cause. If elk migrate from the dep ths

of Hells Canyon in the winter, to the heights of th e Seven Devils Moun-

tains in the su mm er, and w e choo se to build a road along the last

portion of unro aded area in their m igration corridor, the impact will bereal, not just conceptual. Those elk will have to find a n ew route to theirbreeding and su mm er feeding groun ds - if ther e is on e. And th ey dont

have an aerial map to p eruse to figure ou t the shor test, safest distance

between two points.And so it is with som e un accustom ed clarity that I think about

hab itat fragmentation e verytime I go from th e west to the ea st of OrangeSt. I look across the fen ces at the p lace I want to be, but I cant get there

from h ere. I think, wistfully, how easy it used to b e to go for a lun ch-

time ru n along the river. I wonder what animals think when th eirhab itat is fragmen ted. I won der how th ey find new rou tes to travel and

how they figure out which rou tes are safest. I wonde r if hu man s aremo re or less creatures of habit than o ther wildlife. I rethink my efforts

to protect wildlife and wildlands from th e habitat fragmentation cau sed

by roads an d I realize that we h ave a long, long way to go.Perh aps it would do us all som e good to have our pe rsona l habitat

or migration/transpo rtation corridors severed for a while. Perhaps itwould help us m ore clearly understand the n eed to protect more intact

hab itat where it still rema ins. Even if I dont like my n ew travel routes,

at least I can still get where I want to go safely - unfortun ately, the sam eis rarely true for wildlife.

Urban Corridors Bethanie Walder


4/16


5/16


. . . this was t he first opp ort unity to dig

into t he ground and spill all of those hours

of toil onto t he bed of a road that w ill

never be driven again.

Taking InventoryIn respon se to the bu rgeoning road density on the forest and the

inaccuracy o f the cur rent ro ad inventory, the Sky Island Alliance em barked

on a volunteer-based inventory of the Coron ados road system. Beginningin 1998 , SIA set out to com pile the mo st up to date, on-the-groun d inventory

of system an d non -system roads on th e forest. Today, after 6000 volunteer

hours and almost 200 folks participation, the inventory h as been com-pleted arou nd m uch of the forest. The inventory pr ocess has literally given

face to our or ganization. It is the qu intessential activity that taught u s somuch about the n ooks and crann ies of the forest, something we could never

have learn ed elsewhere. It is the anch or behind ou r voluntee r participation,

allowing our members to get a first hand perspective on issues concerningthe forest. It is the cen ter of public interest, along with agency concern .

And m ost of all, our field events weave us into the land scape an d rem ind usjust how im por tant con servation activism is.

Today, with a fairly large p ortion of our inventorycomp leted, its a now wh at? question . With the

exten sive information collected, we were almostoverwhe lmed with the po ssibilities of how to use it. A

Wildern ess Bill? Well yes, we can con fiden tly draft

bound aries, focus on areas needing protection, an d goto Con gress with a sou nd p roposal (after more p ublic

outreach !). But coming back to a more encom passingoutlook o f ecological health acr oss the region, we

realized that m uch m ore will be needed to ensure

long term protection of species that not only use wilderness, but also theroaded , developed, and less than p ristine areas. Hence we return to roads

and , more imp ortantly, road closur es.

Rewilding with Road RemovalGiven the d windling amo un t of wildn ess, protecting ex isting roadless

areas com bined with strategic road closur es are essential to the rew ildingconcep t. In November of 199 9, SIA team ed up with Wildlands CPR and

Round River Ecological Services for a ro ad-closing worksho p to kick o ff our

camp aign by obliterating the first of many ro ads. We traveled to the

Dragoon Mounta ins of southeast Arizona . Home and resting place of thefamou s Apach e Chief Cochise, the Dragoon s are a prim e examp le of anun protected wilderness comp romised by a slew of wildcat roads. One road

in particular, a on e mile stretch intrud ing into a 33,000 acre road less area in

a perenn ial stream d rainage, was the focus of our closure. With 25 volun-teers and on ly $150 in materials the road became a thing of history within 8

hou rs. The goal was not on ly to effectively close the road, bu t also toreha bilitate the road su rface. Spades, shovels, augers, boulders, and bodies

This photo was taken in

October of 2000. Notice the

revegetation behind thevertical mulch and in the

middle of the road. Due to

heavy use by horses and

hikers now, the two t racks are

still being used for side

by side travel.

attacked the road with a sen se of vengean ce.

While the auger was decompacting the road

surface, check dam s were built in gullies, verticalmulch was laid to encourage seed germination,

and barriers were con structed to effectively stopall mo torized traffic. One neighbor sup porte d the

work so m uch that h e dealt the final blow by

constru cting an impassible, non -barbwire, steelfence runn ing 50 yards across the beginning

(with a gap for foot access). At the e nd of the d ay,we sat to contem plate, and soon realized . . . this

is on ly the beginn ing! For so man y of ourvolunteers, this was the first oppor tun ity to diginto the grou nd a nd sp ill all of those ho urs of toil

onto th e bed of a ro ad that w ill never be dr ivenagain. Mom entary satisfaction was ours, and the

scope an d foreshadowing of future events like

this soon sunk in.

Now, one ye ar a fter th e first closu re, SIA isworking to close 30 more roads arou nd th e

forest. Many of them are wildcat roads, some of

them are system roads, but all of them deserve tobe perman ently shut down. Road closures are

the b iggest step we can take towards rewilding

our landscap es. Com bined with policy rework-ing, restoration, an d reintrodu ction, road closures

will reinvent our long lost hum ility andhelp ensure that hu man s will not bear

the h eavy burden o f total ecologicaldevastation.

Matt Skroch is t he Field Coordinator for Sky

Island Alliance. Reach him at 520.624.7080.

[email protected]

Wit h the right tools, anyt hing is possible. Photo by

Bethanie Walder.

Photo by Matt Skroch.


6/16


Odes to Roads

We need a pause th e like ofwhich weve never had inWestern civilization. We needto ha lt at watershed junctures, like th is oneinvolving the disposition o f Utahs p ublic

lands, an d ask not on ly what is fair, just an dreasonable, but what is enduringly wise.

The durable wea lth of public lands liesbeyond private bounty. Our principal task

should not be to create n ew wealth bu t tomanage the wealth we already have andwhich, for a variety of reasons, we cann ot

perceive.

In theory, publicly owned lands arepublicly managed lands. In practice, themanaging public comprises two opposing

forces that governm ent m ust reconcile:

those with a specific economic interest an dthose withou t. As politics changes in theUnited States, one or th e oth er of these twofactions construes itself more (or less)

influential in sh aping public land p olicy.

Neither group, of course, is ever in anunassailable position of authority, but

public land decisions show a clear pa ttern.Land of little or no p erce ived econom icutility tends to get protected; land showing

any potential for econom ic profitbecauseit may support grass or timber or m ay

harbor minerals or wateris contested. (Itis also true in an econom y like ours that theimperative to develop inevitably forces a

subdivision of the public land unde r con sid-eration, thus en suring that at least some

land is always released for development.)

We need a pause in Western societybecause th e decision to develop a stretch ofpublic land cant be reconsidered, an d at

present, were making these irrevocabledecisions in preemptive, fearful haste.

Nearly anyone who has atten ded a p ublicland h earing, in w hich op posing sidessquare off over econ omic issues and wh at

are qu ite accurate ly called sp iritual issues, isappalled by the ru deness and contem pt that

often ch aracte rize testimony. A disinterestedobserver feels saddened an d emb arrassed

by the witless rhe toric, the false airs andvituperative retorts, the blind allegiance ofsome individuals in governm ent, in th e

environmental movemen t, in indu stry.Citizens w ho sp eak from th eir hearts in-stead of the ir wallets are too often dis-

missed by hearing committees as irrational.

Waiting on WisdomBy Barry Lopez

Wildlands CPR file photo.

. . . the decision to develop a st retch of

public land cant be reconsidered, and at

present , were making t hese irrevocable

decisions in preempt ive, fearful hast e.


7/16


We are n ot, of course, in dire n eed ofroads, transmission towers, dams, reser-voirs, and gas pipe lines. We are in dire need

of courte sy. We are in dire n eed o f a broad lyintelligent conversation about hum an fate.

We are in n eed of a tho rough and piercing

review of our plan for hum an econ omicdevelopm ent, a plan that at best is a hu gely

expensive speculation about human needs.

We are not debating wilderness herein trying to decide th e fate of Utahs un de-veloped pu blic lands. The te rm is too re-

strictive. Were debating the future directionof Western civilization, and our issue cou ld

not be m ore serious. A brutal, pointedlesson of hum an h istory is that unh ealthy

civilizations d ie. Civilizations tha t arephysically, spiritually, or economicallycorrosive fall apart. Their p eop le wither. If

we do not want to pass away as a civiliza-tion, let alone as a Western nation, we n eedto recast our discussion so th at it is this, not

wilderness, tha t is at stake. We n eed to seewhat a grave decision the release of public

land for development is. If our centralconcern s remain wh o wins in thesedisagreemen ts, or wh at sorts of conces-

sions will please the most people, twenty

years from n ow well be looked upon asfools. In a m oment th at called for discerningintelligence, we will be seen a s peop le whosettled for a fight over con trol, a venal and

pedestrian asp iration.

The wisest thing now, it seems to m e, isto regard un developed lands as an asset an dto protect every acre of lan d possible.

American culture, more than any other inthe world, has been shap ed by the image of

private exploration of pu blic land. The

opportun ity to still have that experience isdeeply important to our sense of hop e. And

what you might call the principal, whatsleft in the account, is down to a pittance.

If we do n ot take the time now to un der-

stand where th e diminishmen t of wilder-ness in America is taking us, the day willsoon arrive when it will not matter. We will

have given up a vision of heaven to betwere not em barked on a trip to h ell. The

United States is a na tion of staggeringwealth. We can easily afford to con servewhat weve been given and to wait patiently

for a wisdom that so far has eluded us, a

wisdom tha t will enable us toconvey this gift, not simplyconsume it.

(reprinted with permission of the author)

Wildlands CPR f ile photo.

Barry Lopez w on the 1986 National Book Award in non-

fiction for Arctic Dreams. His work gives equal weight to

short stories and to narratives about landscape and ideas. Of

Wolves and Men won t he John Burroughs Medal for natural

history writing. His other books include Crossing Open

Ground, The Rediscovery of North America, and Crow and

Weasel. Lopez has received a Guggenheim fellowship, a

Lannan Award, and an Award in Literature from the

American Academy of Art s and Letters. He lives along the

McKenz ie River in Oregon.

The wisest t hing now, it s eems t o me, is t o

regard undeveloped lands as an asset and to

prot ect every acre of land possible.


8/16


Originating with th e 186 6 m ining law, RS 2477 has

become a m ajor headache for federal land m anagement

agencies and conser vationists alike. In 1 976 Congress repea ledthis ou tdated statute with p assage of the Federal Land Policy

an d Mana gement Act (FLPMA), ho wever, Congress left ope n alooph ole by recognizing prior and existing rights. Off-Road

Vehicle (ORV) enthu siasts are using this looph ole an d attem pt-

ing to drive a legion of ORVs throu gh it on phan tom road s.For background see The RIPorter 2.5.

Phantom roads include cattle trails used b y the ran ching

community, wash bottoms that drain the Colorado Plateau,

hor se an d foot trails leading to an cient min ing claims, vehicle-

created routes in the national forests, abandoned loggingroads, and two-track routes in the desert that fan out with n oapparent destination. Unfortunately, counties in the western

states, spurr ed on by industry-backed ORV enth usiasts, are

trying to convert th ese an cient routes into ORV highways byusing the antiquated statute. In recent month s, as the Bureau

of Land Managem ent (BLM) has closed areas to mo torized u seto pro tect their pr istine n ature, several lawsuits have bee n filed

claimin g that RS 2477 r outes exist within tho se closures.

Pristine Coastline ThreatenedOne lawsuit was recently filed against the Arcata BLM

District in Northern California; plaintiffs include the California

Association of 4 Wh eel Drive Clubs, Lost Coast 4 x4s, The Blue

Ribbon Coalition, an d oth er recrea tion group s. At issue is the1998 closu re of an area kn own as Black Sand s Beach w ithin

the King Range National Conservation Area (KRNCA). The BLMclosed this 3.5-mile section of undeveloped beach to motor-

ized use to protect unique resources and recreation, and to

provide con sistent m anagem ent for the en tire KRNCA coast-line, most of which is man aged for primitive and ba ck-country

recreation. The Plaintiffs contend th at the closure violated thefollowing laws:

The Federal Land Policy and Managem ent Act, which

requ ires the agency to recognize and p rovide for legitimate

pub lic uses of the area, including motorized access;

The National Environ mental Policy Act (NEPA), by failingto con duct an Environm ental Impact Statemen t, failing to

consider altern atives to the proposed action, and failing to

determine wheth er the p roposed action m ay have a significanteffect upon th e human en vironm ent;

The Mining Act of 1866 (RS 2477), by restricting or

eliminating existing rights-of-way along or a djacent to th e

wave slope at Black Sands Beach;

The Rehabilitation Act (which precludes d iscrimin ationagainst an individual su ffering a disability), by p reventing a

disabled individual from p articipating in an activity conducted

by an Exe cutive Agency.

ORV use ha d be en a con troversial issue in the KRNCA (and

especially the u nde veloped beach ) since its designation in

1970. User conflicts and incursions into non-motorized areaswere well docu men ted an d led to th e closure. BLMs action was

supported by a myriad of conservation groups, users of theKRNCA, Congressional representatives, and the California

Coastal Com mission. Because of th is overwh elming sup port

and the p otential implications for all pub lic lands, conser va-tionists have interven ed to su ppo rt the BLM. Parties to th e

intervention include th e Natural Resources Defense Council,Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and the California Wilder-

ness Coalition; attorneys from the California Environ me ntal

Law Project represen t these grou ps. No h earing or tr ial dateshave been set, though m any eyes will be watching this case as

it unfolds.

RS 2477/Phantom RoadsBy TJ Brown

The wild King Range in California. Photo courtes y of BLM.


9/16


The Big Dogs Come Out to PlayAnoth er RS 2477 issue is raising its ugly head in south ern

New Mexico. At issue is, again, a closure by th e BLM, bu t th istime the routes in question are within the Robledos Mountains

Wildern ess Study Area (RMWSA). In th e last d ecade th eRMWSA had become a popular playground for extreme ORVs

- 4 Whee ler ma gazine called th e routes within th e RMWSA

hardest of th e ha rdcore. Only extrem ely mod ified vehiclescould m ake it, as the advent o f locking differentials allowed

vehicles to traverse steep an d rocky terrain th at was imp os-sible n ot long ago. With this new techno logy and the p romo-

tion of these routes in m otorized pub lications and by local

four-wheel-drive clubs, the use within the RMWSA drasticallyincreased along with degradation of the resource.

BLM perso nn el noticed these new rou tes in 1997 an d,

after closer insp ection, identified significant adverse impacts.

In Febru ary of 199 8 BLM issued a n e mergen cy closure of theapp roximately 10 miles of routes w ithin the WSA, to prevent

furthe r degradation an d protect natu ral values. At the sam etime, BLM designated ap proxim ately 15 m iles of new m otor-

ized rou tes south of the ex isting WSA, to app ease th e m otor-

ized com mun ity. Of the n ew ORV area , BLMs Robledos

Moun tains Vehicle Managemen t Environ men tal Assessmen tstates that The r outes h ave been carefully selected to providecha llenging an d scen ic Off-Highwa y Veh icle (OHV) opportuni-

ties while screenin g these activities from view. These routes

are inten ded for both stock an d custom OHVs and the levelof challenge associated with some of the new routes would

exceed any existing routes in the Las Cruces area.

The Jun e 19 98 ed ition of Four Wheel & Off-Road maga-

zine no tes: With the closing of the two t oughe st trails at lastyears meeting, the Guardian and Wolf Run (within the WSA),

the Las Cruces Wh eelers knew th ey had to find som e biggerand better trails quickly. The results of these efforts were th e

opening of n o less than 5 new trails, rated either hard or

extreme. When you open that man y new h ardcore rock trails,the b ig dogs come ou t to play.

Unfortuna tely the big dogs still weren t satisfied. The

Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association and Las Cruces Four

Wheel Drive Club filed suit in June of this year, claiming thatthe routes closed were public roads established under RS

2477 . Conse rvationists disagree and are interven ing in th iscase to sup port the BLM. The New Mexico Wildern ess Allian ce

and The Wildern ess Society have joined forces and are

represen ted by th e Earth justice Legal Defense Fun d.

Both of the ab ove mention ed cases could have far reach-ing imp acts on all public lands. The y represent som e of the

first m ajor RS 2477 cases ou tside of Utah and Alaska (the

traditional hotbed s for this issue) and proba bly wont be thelast. ORV groups are sp reading the gospel of RS 2477 thro ugh-

out th e West and those concern ed with wildland protectionmust take note and fight to prevent a web of ph antom roads

from taking over our last remain ing roadless areas.

For activists, the implication s are twofold. First, it is

imperative that grassroots activists know about any pendingRS 2477 issues in the ir region. Activists should n ot rely on the

agencies to adequately defend against such claims. Moreover,because th ere is so little caselaw on RS 2477 , and no e spe-

cially favorable or un favorable pre ceden ts, every case is

important. Second, on -the-ground documen tation related topoten tial RS 2477 claims is critical. Knowin g about th e

existence, purpose, construction and maintenance histories,and similar information is extremely important when assess-

ing the validity of claims. Conven iently, this inform ation is

readily obtained while conducting roadless boundary surveysand ORV dam age surveys, and th e same b asic rules apply: be

systematic and precise, take well-documented photographs,and take thorough field notes.

For m ore information on phan tom roads/RS 2477 or torepo rt RS 2477 pr oblems, contact TJ Brown at the Coalition to

Fight Phan tom Roads, 303.650 .5818 x111 or e-mail

tj_brown @tws.org. CFPR is a project of: The Alaska Wilder-ne ss League, Earth justice Legal Defense Fund , Great Old

Broads for Wildern ess, South ern Utah Wildern ess Alliance an dThe Wilderness Society.

TJ Brown works for t he Coaltion to Fight Phantom

Roads, tracking RS 2477 issues and providing assitance

to comm unities fighting the ancient statute.

The last undeveloped stretch of California coastline. Photo courtesy of

BLM.

Exploring the wild coast, quietly. Photo courtesy of BLM.


10/16


Regional Reports

Mud Fest Update

On Saturday, September 23, 2000 m ore than 400

peop le in 200 SUVs, trucks, pickups, an d a ll-terrain

vehicles trespassed o n p rivate land in the CaribouCreek area n ear Nederland, Colorado, causing exten -

sive damage to three separate wetland areas. BoulderCounty Sheriffs officials are investigating the role that

a Denver radio station, KBPI, played in advertising the

mud fest that has left proper ty owner Tom Hendricksup in arms.

Nearly 25 acres o f the wetlands a re covered in tiretracks an d o il slicks left by off-road vehicles plowing

through the old peat bog. This high mo untain alpine

wetland lies at nea rly 10,000 ft. in elevation and is

prime habitat for the imperiled western boreal toad,migrating elk and birds, and a rare spe cies of willow.Hendricks hired an environmental consulting firm to

assess the dam age - repairs are expected to cost

tho usa nd s per acre. Two KBPI disc jockeys havereceived $50 fines an d the Sheriffs Departme nt is

considering charges against other mud fest partici-pan ts. The South ern Rockies Forest Network is

organizing a volun teer restoration effort.

For m ore inform ation con tact Jacob Smith,Wildlands CPR ORV Policy Coordin ator at (303) 247-

0998, E-Mail: [email protected].

Juneau Votes Down Road

BackgroundBern ers Bay - an area n orth of Jun eau in south east Alaska

- was p rote cted a s a Legislated LUD (land use design ation ) IIroadless wildland un der th e Ton gass Timber Reform Act of

1990 . A rose by an other nam e - LUD II areas are m anaged invirtually the same manner as federally designated Wilderness

in Alaska. They are mana ged to protect their wildlandcharacter in p erpetuity, they are withdrawn from comm ercial

timber harvesting, and they have strong restrictions on road

bu ilding. An exce ption for LUD II are as, however, allows th econstruction of roads to m eet transportation needs d eter-

mine d by th e State of Alaska, and set th e stage for a longbattle over a proposed road through Berners Bay - an impor-

tant fish, wildlife and recreation are a north of Jun eau. The

prop osed roa d would conn ect Jun eau to the town of Skagway.For m ore background, see The RIPorter 3.3.

UpdateJuneau Residents voted on October 3 between two options

for meeting transportation needs in the region: enh anced ferryservice or a road between the cities of Jun eau an d Skagway. A

nar row m ajority of voters (5840 to 5761) favored en han cedferry service over road con struction. Jun eau residen ts also

elected new m emb ers of the City and Borou gh of Jun eau

Assemb ly, which n ow con sists of 5 pro-ferry m emb ers out of atotal of 9 seats. Residen ts say th ey hop e this will settle the road

question , at least for th e ne xt several years.

Gov. Tony Knowles decided against building the road in

January and was pleased with the ou tcome of the b allotquestion , said spokesm an Bob King. He thinks that th is was

an important vote because it sends a clear message that Juneau

residents sup por t a moder n fast-ferry system, King said.

The city advisory vote repr esents yet anoth er victory forthose th at have been involved in the decade s long fight against

a roa d alon g the sp ectacular Lynn Canal, North Americas

longest fjord, an d thro ugh th e wildlands in Berners Bay.Berners Bay is one of a very few areas protected as LUD II that

will ever face the thre at of road co nstru ction, since all lon g-distance travel in the sou theaster n po rtion of the state is by

airplane or ferry. Because th ey could face that th reat again in

the futu re, however, designating Bern ers Bay and the Uppe r

Lynn Canal as Wildern ess is the on ly sure way to perman entlysafeguard these areas against a future road proposal.

ContactMarc Wheeler, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council,

907-586-694 2, m ailto:[email protected] Mark Rorick, Sierra

Club - Jun eau Group , 907-789-5472, m ailto:[email protected] Schrader, Jun eau Marine Access Comm ittee, 907-789-126 9,

mailto:[email protected]

Sensitive alpine

wetlands

damaged by

renegade

off-road

enthusiasts.

Private

property and

conservation

values violated

who will

be held

accountable?

Photo by Vanessa Arbogast.

Photo by Vanessa Arbogast.


11/16


12/16


Bibliography Notes

Bibliography Notes sum marizes and highlights som e of the scientific literature in our

6,000 citation bibliography on t he ecological effects of roads. We offer bibliographic searches

to help activ ists access impor tan t biological research relevant to roads. We keep copies of

most articles cited in Bibliography Notes in our office library.

Despite a general lack of research on th e relationsh ip

between roads an d fire, available data indicates a stron g

correlation between the two. This correlation is demon stratedby the relatively high frequ ency of an throp ogenic fire relative

to fire cause d b y lightn ing, the difficulty in con trolling riskfactors in roaded ar eas, and th e tende ncy for fires to start near

roads. The perceived need for roads as a tool for fire supp res-

sion h as significant implications for pub lic lands p olicy. Thisreview discusses the extent an d adequacy of current data and

analysis on roads an d fire and o ffers suggestions for muchneeded additional research.

Natural vs. Human Caused FiresA prima ry indicator of a direct relationsh ip between fires

and roads is the high frequency of human-caused fires incomp arison to fires started by lightnin g. According to data

from th e Inter agency Fire Center co llected between 1988 an d

1998 , 88.1% o f all wildland fires were caused by h um ans, incontrast to 11.9% star ted by lightning (Departm ent o f Interior,

1999 ). There is a spectrum of anthropo genic causes of fires,ranging from pu rely accidental to hopelessly careless. Direct

causes include b urning carbon particles emitted from car

mu fflers, burn ing toilet paper, cigarette b utts, imp roper ly

contained o r extinguished cam pfires, burn ing vehicles, andarson.

Risk FactorsThe various causes of anth ropogen ic fire rely upon a

comm on mech anism for dispersal: roads. By facilitating

hum an access to otherwise remote areas, roads are a majorfactor in the incidence of anth ropo genic fires. With all but 4%

of our p ublic land already converted in som e form into ro aded

areas, the risk of fire starts o n p ublic land is considerable.Furtherm ore, current agency guidelines for road closure are

often far from effective at actually preventing th eir use byhu man s on ever mor e-powerful vehicles. Additionally, the

difficulty of controlling hum an b ehavior mak es limiting risks

of anthrop ogenic fires on roadsides problematic. With limitedbud gets available for en forcing pu blic land regulations, and

variable success in effectively closing roads to h um an traffic,behavior control by public education is often considered the

mo st effective mean s of controlling hum an fire risks (Wilson

1979 ). Such metho ds as posting warning signs and publicservice comm ercials, however, are m oderately effective at best,

and do n othing to prevent fires that are n ot caused by igno-rance. The destructive poten tial of roads, combined with th e

difficulty of regulating hu man use and behavior on or n ear

roads, renders prevention of un necessary roads and the

obliteration of roads in highly sensitive areas th e mo st

significant m eans to limiting fire risk associated w ith roads.

An indirect cau se of increased fire risk tha t is associated

with roads is the spread of weeds. It is well docum ented th atweedy species are abund ant in disturbed areas such as

roadsides (Milburg ad Lam ont, 1994; Kopecky, 1988; see also

Bibliography Notes, The RIPorter3.1 and 2.3). Increasedrunoff, frequent soil disturbance on and around roads, seed

dispersal by cars and an imals using roads as corridors, andopen conditions in the cleared areas around roads account for

the prepo nde rance of weeds along roadsides. This increased

richness in weedy species, combined with disrupted drainagepatterns and altered microclimates in the immediate vicinity

of mo st roads, creates a cor ridor of fire-susceptible vegetationalon g roads. According to DAnto nio & Vitouse k (1992), the

presence o f grass weeds tends to increase the frequen cy and

intensity of fire. This imp lies an increa sed suscep tibility ofvegetation to both anthropogenic and lightning-caused fires

along roadsides. Road main tenan ce and construction are alsoassociated with disruption and damage to soils and organic

matter, which can reduce soil moisture retention, thereby

creating more ar id conditions in these areas du ring fireseason s (Everett et al 1 994).

Where Fires StartIn his study of the effects of roads on wildfires in nation al

forests in California, Robert F. John son conclude d th at over 52percent of m an-caused fires occurred within 33 feet of a road

edge (Joh nson , 1963). Other studies showed similar results,reinforcing the correlation betwee n ro ads an d wildfire (Show

et a l 1941 ; California Division o f Fore stry an d USDA Fore st

Of Roads and Fire- by Leslie Hannay

Whet her directly or indirectly, roads constructed for tim ber harvest

seem to be correlated w ith increased fire risk. Photo by Aaron Coffin.


13/16


Service, 1968). Given the imp ortance of roads to the fire

supp ression cam paign, it is surp rising that these stud ies, over

30 years old, are the most recent analyses of the road problemin fire control. Their results, if not conclusive on their own ,

indicate a possible causal relationship between human-causedwildfire and roads, and support th e n eed for further research

on th e subject. Recent an alysis of this summ ers wildfires, for

exam ple, noted that all of the fire starts in the Skalkaho ValleyComp lex were in roaded an d developed areas, which ac-

coun ted for 93% of the total area bur ned (Morrisson et al2000 ). Increased attention to data of this kind is needed to

adequately assess the exten t of the impact of roads on

wildfires.

Rethinking PolicyAgency fire policy views road-building an d m aintena nce

as an essential tool in fighting wildfires (Show et al, 1941).

Roads, it is argued, in addition to serving as firebreaks, p rovideaccess to firefighters to rem ote wildlands, and thereby ser ve as

the founda tion of an ard ent policy of fire suppression . Whileit is true th at roads can serve as barriers to the sp read of fire,

this is not always the case, as was seen th is summ er, when

fires in Montan a jumped a cross major roads, including four-

lane Interstate 90. That roads pr ovide access to firefightersand their tank trucks is also true, but the question remains asto wh ether the be nefits of roads as a fire fighting tool outweigh

the extrem e fire risk that is associated with road s.

Research NeedsIn designing a network o f roads for fire p rotection on

pub lic lands, engineers in th e first half of the 20th centu ry

envisioned a system of roads that would be supp orted by an

arsena l of fire fighting appa ratus tha t could be dep loyed onshor t no tice in an aggressive front line attack on fires (Show et

al 1941). Given th e lack of recent research on th e relationshipbetween wildfires and road s, or on th e effectiveness of roads

as fire suppression tools, further research is needed to ad-

equately assess and reform current use of roads for firesupp ression. An effective and well-infor med critique of

current fire suppression practices will require research on thefollowing que stions:

Q. What are current s tat is t ics related to the

incidence of f ires near roads?

Q. What is the relat ive frequency of roadside f ire

s tart s as they relate to t raff ic volume?

Q. To what extent does road constr uct ion and

maint enance impact roadside vulnerabi li ty

to f ir e?

Q. What are the specif ic causes of anthropogenic

f ires? Are they caused by recreat ionis ts orindustr ial act ivi ty?

Q. Is there a correlat ion between f ires and ORV

use?

Q. What is the relat ive frequency of f ires s tar ted

in roaded versus roadless areas?

Leslie Hannay is the Program Associate for Wildlands CPR.

Editor s Note: Wildlands CPR has t wo interns researching road/fire

issues t his fall. Well keep you posted on t heir progress.

Bibliography

California Division of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, Region 5.

1968. Fire hazard reduction guide for roadsides. Calif. Dep.

Conserv. and USDA.

DAntonio, C.M. and Vitousek, P.M. 1992. Biological invasions by

exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle, and global change. Annual

Review of Ecological Systems 23: 67-87.

Everett, R.L.; M.E. Jensen; P.S. Bourgeron; W.G. Robbins; D.W.

Wolf; J.K. Agee; B.A. McIntosh; C.G. Johnson. 1994. Eastside

forest ecosystem health assessm ent. Pacific Northwest

Research Station , Portland, OR. USDA Forest Service Pacific

Northwest Research Station.

Hammer, K.J. 1986. An On-Site Study of the Effectiveness of theUS Forest Service Road Closure Program in Management

Situation One Grizzly Bear Habitat, Swan Lake Ranger

District, Flathead National Forest, Montana.

Johnson, R.F. 1963. The roadside fire problem. Fire Control Notes

24: 5-7.

Kopecky, K. 1988. Influence of roads on the synanthropization of

the flora and vegetation according to observations in

Czechoslovakia. Folia-Gedotanica-Phytotaxonomica 23

(2):145-171.

McKelvey, K.S. 1996. An overview of fire in the Sierra Nevada.

Status of the Sierra Nevada: Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project

Final Report to Congress: Volume II. Wildland Resour ces

Center Report No. 37. University of California, Davis.

Milberg, P. and B.B. Lamont. 1995. Fire enhances weed invasionof roadside vegetation in southwestern Australia. Biological

Conservation 73: 45-49.

Morrisson , P.H., J.W. Karl, L. Swope, K. Harma, and T. Allen. 2000.

Assessment of Summer 2000 Wildfires: Landscape History,

Current Condition, and Ownership.

Show, S.B., C.A. Abell, R.L. Deering, and P.D. Itchson. 1941. A

planning basis for adequate fire control on the southern

California national forests. Fire Control Notes 5: 1-59.

Wilson, C.C. 1979. Roadsides- Corridors with high fire hazard and

risk. Journal of Forestry, September 1979.

More research is

needed to establish

correlations between

roads and f ire, and

the resulting

landscpae changesthey affect.

Photo by Aaron Coffin.


14/16


Wildlands CPR along with m any oth er regional conserva-

tion group s are addressing a recent spate of vigilantism on our

pub lic lands. Over the past mo nth a Montan ans for Prop erty

Rights advocate h as used his talk radio station in Kalispell,Montan a to espou se Gate Open ing Days. An em ail sent outnation ally from John Stokes an nou nces the following:

Citizens fed up with the federal land closures an d locked

gates and federal extrem e environm ental po licies, will beperman ently man ually open ing as man y federal forest service

locked gates as possible October 20 , 21, and 22. No organiza-tion, no com mittees just citizens. They en courage all folks

around th e nation to do the same if they are of the same

attitude. This is a region wide civil protest an d th e gates arebeing open ed n ow in the dar k of the n ite (sic) withou t fanfare.

Its time. Just do it and shut up.Wildlands CPR and 15 oth er organ izations in Montana

respon ded by send ing a letter to Forest Service Region 1 Law

Enforcem ent, Regional Forester Dale Bosworth, an d allMontan a Forest Supervisors. In the letter, we urged the Forest

Service to enforce existing laws and road closures, and see thatthose wh o destroy or attempt to destroy either p ublic or

private property be app rehended an d prosecuted to the fullest

exten t of the law. This letter wasnt only a respon se to theprop osed van dalism, but also to Forest Service quote s in the

med ia indicating they were n ot going to make a stron g effort totry an d stop these illegal activities. It is the r espon sibility of

the Forest Service and US Attorney to u ph old the law a nd

prevent an a ttitude of lawlessness from sprea ding into Mon-tana.

We do no t yet know the exten t of any vand alism, althou gh

pre limina ry indications are th at it was limited. However, the

concer n is th at if these vigilantes star t to feel they can get

away with reopening closed roads, then such local actionscould escalate into someth ing much bigger. For that reason,we en courage any one faced with similar thre ats of vigilantism

on public lands to m ake sure land m anagement agencies take

the threats seriously and address th em before they get out ofhand.

Finally, this latest rou nd of illegal gate open ings onceagain demo nstrates the in effectiveness of road closure gates

and the n eed for road obliteration and restoration.

New Resources for

Road-RippersWildlands CPR will soon be offering Science Notes, a

mon thly review of the m ost current research on topicsrelated to roads and ORVs. These short sum mar ies of

current articles will help to keep you u p to date on the m ostrecent e cological info about road s and ORVs. If you are

interested in r eceiving this mo nth ly electronic service,

please sen d an e-mail to: leslie@wildland scpr.org.

Lawlessness Spreads to Montana


15/16


Wildlands CPR Publications: Road-Ripper's Handbook ($15.00, $25 non-members) A

comp rehen sive activist m anual that includes th e five Guideslisted below, plus The Ecological Effects of Roads , Gather-ing Informat ion wit h the Freedom of Information Act , andmore!

Road-Ripper's Guide to t he National Forest s ($4, $7 non-mem-

bers) By Keith Hamm er. How-to pro cedu res for gettingroads closed and revegetated, descriptions of environ men -tal laws, road de nsity stan dards & Forest Service road poli-cies.

Road-Ripper 's Guide to t he National Parks ($4, $7 non-mem -bers) By David Bahr & Aron Yarm o. Provides backgroun don th e National Park System an d its use of roads, and o ut-lines ho w activists can get involved in NPS plann ing.

Road-Ripper 's Guide t o the BLM ($4, $7 non-memb ers) ByDan Stotter. Provides an overview of road-related lan d an dresource laws, and det ailed discussion s for participating inBLM decision-making processes.

Road-Ripper 's Guide to Off-Road Vehicles ($4, $7 non-mem-bers) By Dan Wright. A com preh ensive guide to redu c-ing the use an d abuse o f ORVs on p ublic land s. Includes an

extensive bibliography.

Road-Ripper s Guide to W ildland Road Removal ($4, $7 non-members)By Scott Bagley. Provides tech nical inform a-

tion on road construction and removal, where and whyroads fail, and how yo u can effectively assess road rem oval

projects.

Trails of Destr uction ($10)By Friends of the Earth and Wild-land s CPR, written by Erich Pica and Jacob Smith . This

repo rt explains th e ecological imp acts of ORVs, federal fund-ing for motorized recreation on p ublic land s, and the ORV

industrys role in pu shing th e ORV agenda.

Bibliographic Services:Ecological Imp acts of Roads: A Bibliographic Database (Up-

date d Feb. 1998) Edited by Reed Noss. Com piled b y Dave

Augeri, Mike Eley, Steve Humph rey, Reed Noss, Paul Pacquet& Susan Pierce. Contains ap prox. 6,000 citation s includ-

ing scientific literature o n erosion, fragmentation, sedim en-

tation, po llution, effects on wildlife, aquatic an d h ydrologi-

cal effects, and other information on the impacts of roads.Use the ecological literature to un derstand an d develop roaddensity standards, priorities for road removal, and other

road issues.

Database Searches We will search th e Bibliograph y on thesubjects that interest you, and provide results in IBM or

Macintosh form at (specify software), or on pap er. We alsohave prep ared a 1-disk Bibliographic Summ ary with resu lts

for comm only requested searches. Finally, we offer the full

bibliography. However, you mu st ha ve Pro-Cite or a com -patible database pro gram in order to use it.

Bibliography p rices Prices are based on a sliding scale. Callfor details.

WILDLA N DS CPR MEMBERSH IP/ORD ER FORM

Please send this form and your check (payable to Wildlands CPR)to the address below. Thank you!

Wildlands CPR PO Box 7516 Missoula, Montana 59807

Prices include shipping: for Priority Mail add $3.00 per item;for Canadian orders, add $6.00 per item.

International Membership $30 MinimumAll prices in U.S. Dollars

Ask about reduced rates for items ordered in bulk.

Phone/E-mail

Affiliation

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Address

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Type of Member ship: Individual Organization

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Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads

P.O. Box 7516

Missoula, MT 59807

Visions...

Non-profit OrganizationUS POSTAGE

PAID

MISSOULA, MT 59801PERMIT NO. 569

The Road-RIPorter is printed on 100% post -consumer recycled, process chlorine-free bleached paper.

The pav ing of t he Kinshasa Highwayaffected every pers on on eart h . . . It has

already cost at least t en million lives . . . In

effect I had wit nessed a cr ucial event in theemergence of AIDS, the transformation of a

thread of dirt into a r ibbon of tar.

- Richard Preston, The Hot Zone, 1994

W ildlands CPR mem ber Greg Gordon and his Sierra Institu te st udents on an ORV invent ory project in Muddy Creek, San

Rafael Swell, Utah. Sierra Inst itut e photo.

road riporter 5.6

Documents