Forest Roads
Issue:
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Good road design and
construction contributes
to visual quality of forest
practices. |
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Well maintained forest roads
improve visual quality. |
Photos: Texas Forest Service |
Design, location, construction, maintenance, and use of forest roads impact visual quality.
Objective:
Soften visual impacts associated with the design, construction, maintenance, and use of forest roads.
Consideration:
- Traffic, patterns, seasons, and safety.
- Management activities and objectives.
- Noise, dust, rutting, and mud.
- Cost to accommodate visual quality.
- Water quality.
- Proximity to recreation areas.
Avoid:
- Tracking mud onto paved highways.
- Steep grades
- Rutting and damaging roads
- Erosion and sedimentation
Recommended Practices:
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Use appropriate road surface material.
Photo: Jim Finley
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When necessary, use mats or gravel
at entrances to public roads.
Photo: Westvaco Corporation
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Reduce visual penetration with
appropriate road alignment.
Photo Weyerhaeuser Company |
Level #1: Least Sensitive
- Control water movement with proper techniques such as crowning, wing ditches, and broad based dips.
- Encourage utilization of all merchantable timber within right-of-way.
- Scatter right-of-way debris.
- Minimize both the number and width of roads necessary to meet management objectives.
- Maintain roads.
- Close temporary roads upon completion of use.
- Provide appropriate access control to minimize unauthorized traffic.
Level #2: Moderately Sensitive
- Control water movement with proper techniques such as crowning, wing ditches and broad based dips.
- Utilize merchantable timber within right-of-way.
- Scatter debris outside of right-of-way.
- Minimize both the number and width of roads necessary to meet management objectives.
- Maintain roads.
- Close temporary roads upon completion of use.
- Provide appropriate access control to minimize unauthorized traffic.
- Reduce visual penetration with appropriate road alignment.
- Use appropriate road surface material.
- Locate roads to minimize visibility from nearby vantage points, such as scenic overlooks and waterways.
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Level #3: Most Sensitive
- Control water movement with proper techniques such as: crowning, wing ditches, and broad based dips.
- Utilize merchantable timber within right-of-way.
- Burn, screen, or bury road-clearing debris, such as stumps, rocks, and boulders; so that it is not visible.
- Minimize both the number and width of roads necessary to meet managements objectives.
- Maintain roads.
- Close temporary roads upon completion of use.
- Provide appropriate access control to minimize unauthorized traffic.
- Reduce visual penetration with appropriate road alignment.
- Use appropriate road surface material.
- Locate roads to minimize visibility from nearby vantage points, such as scenic overlooks and waterways.
- Minimize the number of road approaches to highways.
- Shape and seed ditches and exposed areas.
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School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences Extension
602 Duncan Drive · Auburn University, Alabama 36849
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