If you’ve been out on the trails in parts of Washington this summer, you’ve probably noticed the trucks and machinery rumbling along those bumpy forest roads. But contrary to what you may think, they aren’t building more roads or clear cutting the forest. Rather, they are working to restore parts of the state’s National Forests.
Decades of forest logging roads wind all over the National Forest land, and these roads, many not even in use, are starting to cause problems with erosion and runoff. With the help of $15.2 million in federal stimulus money given to the US Forest Service, the State of Washington, partnered with the Forest Service, has been able to provide jobs and hire workers to restore the forests, watersheds, and fisheries that are affected by these abandoned logging roads.
The project, Legacy Roads and Trails, was started by a coalition of 18 interest groups that pursued support in the House with Rep. Dicks, part of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee in the House. The program gained support and now addresses restoration and water quality issues in areas where abandoned logging roads have caused runoff and erosion.
Economists for the Forest Service have estimated that when all the funding is spent, almost 400 jobs will have been created. (Based on the figure that roughly 24 jobs are created for every million dollars spent). The program has grown, and now is being implemented across the country, with approximate $90 million in funding from the government.
If you want to read more about where the money is being spent, and what areas are being restored, you’ll find that information in the press release on the Washington Department of Ecology website.
