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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

WA to receive $6M in federal funding to repair roads, improve fish passage, maintain trails

By Gregory Scruggs Seattle Times

When rangers head up Forest Road 7030 toward the Kelly Butte Lookout Trailhead in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest outside Greenwater, Pierce County, they must contend with a rocky road that narrows where sections have washed out down a steep hillside. That tricky mountain navigation may soon involve less white-knuckle driving thanks to $40 million in federal funds newly allocated to the Department of Agriculture to fix up old forest roads.

President Joe Biden’s administration was set to announce Friday morning a list of national forest projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in November, which restored the coffers of the Legacy Roads and Trails Program. Washington will receive $6.3 million to repair roads, improve fish passage for Chinook and steelhead, and build and maintain trails in the Snoquera region between Snoqualmie Pass and Mount Rainier National Park.

“This program is so important because roads that are small and remote, but falling apart and impacting water systems, never get funded for repair or removal,” said Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, via phone. “The focus is not on the size of the road or how many people use it, but its impact on water quality, fish habitat and recreation.”

The large line item for Snoquera reflects the program’s legislative roots in Washington.

Former Rep. Norm Dicks spearheaded the law that created the Legacy Roads and Trails Program in 2008. Over 10 years, the program funded the maintenance of 18,000 miles of forest roads, restoration along 17,000 miles of stream, repairs to 137 bridges and improvements on 5,000 miles of trails.

But Congress did not reauthorize funding in its 2019 appropriations. Schrier proposed a bill in 2021, co-sponsored by Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, to restore funding, which was later incorporated into the infrastructure bill.

The announcement also allocates $25.5 million over five years to fund the newly established Collaborative Aquatic Landscape Restoration Program. Washington will share $1.4 million with Oregon for fish passage and habitat projects between the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Rogue River-Siskiyou national forests.

The $65 million tranche comes on the heels of $503 million in new Forest Service funding for outdoor recreation infrastructure that was announced in June, both of which will help chip away at the agency’s deferred maintenance backlog.

“You are seeing a significant uptick and progress being made, but by no means are we over the finish line,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told The Seattle Times via videoconference. “The morale of the Forest Service has improved because now they have the resources and capacity to see through projects on the ground.”

Repairing crumbling forest roads in remote areas is about more than making them easier for vehicle travel. Washed-out roads block streams and destroy fish habitat.

“There is a backlog of projects that resulted from the lack of funding during the Trump administration and we’ve had many large rainstorms and floods that have damaged thousands of miles of roads and rivers so the funding will be very welcome to the state,” said Mike Anderson, senior resource analyst and litigation coordinator for The Wilderness Society’s Washington state office.

The Snoquera region, a checkerboard of public and private land with existing roads and trails that were impacted by the 2017 Norse Peak fire, is an initial beneficiary where investment will have long-term effects.

“We see this as an opportunity to think decades into the future about what recreation can look like for this region,” said Washington Trails Association CEO Jaime Loucky. The organization has put more than 11,000 hours of volunteer trail maintenance into Snoquera since 2018, with a focus on improving wildlife habitat and the health of the surrounding forest.

Vilsack, who previously served as agriculture secretary from 2009 to 2017 in the Obama administration, touted the Biden administration’s priority to rebuild the rural economy and address issues like wildfires and droughts that are exacerbated by climate change.

“There is a greater sensitivity and awareness of investing in natural resource infrastructure,” he said.

When those federal investments come to public lands projects, meanwhile, they can catalyze additional funding from conservation organizations and private landowners.

“Putting our investment there means The Nature Conservancy and others pile on resources, which brings local jobs,” Schrier said. “It’s a win all around.”