USDA FOREST SERVICE

With a mission of "caring for the land and serving the people," the USDA Forest Service recognizes the need to balance the conservation of natural resources with the need to ensure that nearby communities are not denied the economic benefits of living near a National Forest. The USDA Forest Service has several programs that complement community transportation with the goal of improving rural community sustainability. The programs are designed to assist communities’ located within or adjacent to National Forests, and to assist communities that wish to use wood-based resources as an alternative for transportation infrastructure.

ROAD MANAGEMENT

There are few more irreparable marks that can be left on public lands than to build a road. The USDA Forest Service's overriding objective of road management is to work with local communities to provide a forest road system that best serves the management objectives and public uses of national forests and grasslands while protecting the health of affected watersheds.

Individual national forest lands will employ a scientifically-based road analysis procedure to assess environmental and social issues and concerns associated with maintaining, constructing, reconstructing, and decommissioning National Forest System roads. Because of the potential impact on local communities, this process will include extensive public involvement at the local level. Potential economic impacts to nearby communities as a result of local road decisions will be addressed and documented in an appropriate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document.