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Statement of Need: Few natural resource issues have attracted as much public scrutiny in recent years as the management of the National Forest road system. Few marks on the land are more lasting than those created by road construction. The 380,000 miles of classified National Forest System roads have been funded and constructed primarily through timber harvesting and the development of other resources to provide long-term access for use, management, and protection. In addition, the Agency estimates more than 60,000 miles of unauthorized, unplanned, and temporary roads exist on National Forest System lands. In the last 10 years, public interest in the national forest has shifted substantially toward recreation use and resource protection, while the level of commercial timber sold from the national forests has been reduced significantly. Consistent with this shift and in light of the backlog of road maintenance needs that are unfunded, and in concert with simultaneous revision of road management administrative direction, this final action will help ensure that additions to the National Forest road system will be those deemed essential for resource management and use; that, to the extent practicable, construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of roads will minimize adverse environmental impact; and finally, that unneeded roads will be decommissioned and, where indicated, ecological processes will be restored.

Alternatives: Six alternatives were identified through the scoping process and responses to the advance notice of proposed rulemaking, but four of those were considered to be outside the scope or inconsistent with the Agency objectives and were not analyzed in the Environmental Assessment. Only the proposed rule and policy with the transition requirements regarding road construction in roadless areas and a no-action alternative were analyzed in depth.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: In most cases, the anticipated costs and benefits associated with the proposed strategy are qualitative, as the proposal provides guidance for transportation planning, but does not dictate land management decisions. Therefore, for the most part, only the expected direction of change can be described. The only exception to this are the potential effects on timber harvest, in which case the maximum potential effects were estimated, assuming for the sake of comparison that no road construction or reconstruction would occur in inventoried roadless and certain unroaded areas. A qualitative assessment found more factors with expected net positive benefits than expected negative benefits (Table E1 of the cost benefit analysis). The proposed road strategy would clearly result in net benefits through improvements in water quality, wildlife and fish habitat, protection of wilderness areas and passive use values, and reductions of the spread of noxious weeds and invasive plants. More mixed effects are expected for recreation and heritage resources, with likely reductions in some types of roaded access and some improvements or maintenance of more wilderness-type environments. Access for public safety, law enforcement, and access would not be affected. Negative effects are expected from reduced timber harvest and reduced mineral exploration and extraction, particularly during the transition phase.

Risks: The final rule and policy would not directly cause specific risks to public health, safety, or the environment. However, especially during the interim period in which higher standards apply to any decision authorizing road construction in roadless and unroaded areas, the policy should reduce risks to certain environmental values.