A landowner's guide to building forest access roads

58 Pages·1998·8.4 MB·English

by  Wiest, R.L

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

USP To?
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Department of
Agriculture ot
Forest Service ee
Northeastern Area .
State and Private Forestry to See?
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ei tye EE NO fe
NA-TP-06-98
Radnor, PA
July 1998
A Landowner’s Guide to
Building Forest Access Roads
Richard L. Wiest
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Paul Karr (retired, USDA Forest Service) for doing the illustrations and for other significant contributions
to this publication; Roberta Burzynski for developmental editing, Wendy Harding for graphic design and layout, and Patricia
Dougherty for printing advice and coordination, all USDA Forest Service; and the following people who contributed signficantly
to this publication: Gene W. Wood, Clemson University; Lucas van’t Hoog and Stacie Thompson, Amoco Fabrics and
Fibers Company; Mike Phillips, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Joel C. Myers, USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service; Philip D. Pannill, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; and David J. Welsch, Richard R.
Buech, Curt Rosman, and James N. Kochenderfer, all USDA Forest Service.
Mention of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture of any product or service.
Cover photo: This quality forest access road has a properly constructed ditch and has been seeded to reduce erosion.
(Photo by James N. Kochenderfer)
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities
on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation,
and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who
require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)
should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten
Building, 14th and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity provider and employer.
Federal Recycling Program
Printed on recycled paper.
United States
Department of
Agriculture
Forest Service
Northeastern Area
State and Private Forestry
NA-TP-06-98
Radnor, PA
July 1998
A Landowner’s Guide to
Building Forest Access Roads
Richard L. Wiest

Table of Contents |
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: Table of Contents
SET SE SI ERIS OB RAI PI HTB EB TSE SS SS TD LE SNS ET CRS NENT NSO CE
Stream Crossing Methods ......2.00:cc<sacsshenesse acnsestueeetcseceeuece tsyee eeot owened trese apeccneaet teenute aetn esete noeaenee doansnuls e 20
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Structures for Debris ‘Control ss253 52. oc e tea cee ee Som oe ec Dee ee ee 28
Recommendations for Wetland Forest Roads ii n.c..c-c-c.ccs.ccnrteenscilee ceeert aertst edreatev esneees tecele, aeneeee escaen 29
General Planning and Design .icicccsiecccc ss ccns-ceanane nen ssa escntenaty os wtenesanee sande tsed age aenee hte eeee Baten ee 29
CONSTIUCTION 9 Eat is iosaceccsesdeccasesauceerecsoesesuucoamsca taaerr ssitteh aceneeg neeeu seeectt tcnae ratwtee adeetsunpttdeaces he 29
Crossing Mineral:Soil: Wetlands i... 20. 20a caine tec e shes deacons cceeterranseseteaerd egtecee ncatoe netete araonrry 30
Crossing Shallow: Peat Wetlands 2.2.02... cccccoreceascvsnass snevecetcoceuen Grune sntuas noeeet sates cie renee ak at Sette atten aan 30
Crossing Deep:Peat Wetlands 0 nc. o2ic ites tacccscssreccsetverensrs ene oncerecectee sptecnseaie eenen eee teG ete ates =a 31
Methods for Crossing Wetlands’ Using Geotextiles fio. 2iiecccrenccceerenessecsseesecetvetcistets eeenrace saanee raeraessaue r 32
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Rock’ Drainage Layer .c..0c20.i.-tase vcemmsencuots nocqusateess geone ynasecsmsaceighceyeeeds etatesi iett gsa tvtee ehr eece aent sners 32
Lightweight Road* Fill in 2.ccaske cee aiec eves cates cucu dace dees theateo-a rectas’ trae uante sesh hcneee ieee cne ase 32
Crossing Wetlands in Winter «0220. ficccfetbe tian clad cai seuessactuctactererses1 dpnssuscasedeeer soso, chee etneec ane, et 32
Dealing With Beavers rerun. eccieeccadsccenecuece ncumennoeuncin een sihxcee senna antes taeler ee mpmeen sens en teen teint et enn ttrte tet at atte tae aaa 34
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ReINFOPCOE MONE oids scd5ei5 densetoece sda cwaes (4 unos teecenes tv cuanue ba teeas feds Meseosad tadeuenstencent eases te etnenetn tt oe te ori ta = teen na ar 38
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REfErenceS 5a s.ecessslecsaesiecsauiocccbaeaveststeaspscouceyceenitouine ctacarncouedatss tsaneeuesst ccende aeuc eoRTE se eaEa Eda utacna ecaenpa ee sesssnuve d 39
GIOSSANY eis esos rasuntccesccaencearnea sou stensanrieeens suse teeeecemermey ase tctcte tee tene rs eneese tenet rite ete nee eee ete ea 41
Conversion Chart y...2,cccc<csvsczcsue csortdocaacn oncenesss crceosoanbacnceecene- cec eansarencer caee cei euentneee ntatt ettR oneecnseetvcacses 43
Introduction —
SLL I SY A EE I UTR TN EEDA)
introduction
Roads provide needed access to of the year. Recommendations in this They can also save on the cost of
small woodlots; however, high costs, guide cover basic planning, construction and future maintenance
land disturbance, degradation of water construction, drainage, maintenance, by understanding what is involved and
quality, and destruction of fish habitat and closure of such forest roads. The by being able to provide information to
can all result from poor development, recommendations incorporate best a contractor.
construction, and maintenance of management practices, which are
forest roads. This guide was developed designed to reduce nonpoint-source Sections of this guide were adapted
to give private owners of small pollution, as can occur during road from other sources:
woodlots the basic information needed building.
Road Planning and Location, from
to avoid these problems and protect
Darrach et al. (1981) and
This guide also covers special
valued natural resources.
Haussman and Pruett (1978);
situations involving water that require
This guide is designed for individual consideration: streams with
Protecting Fish Habitat, from
landowners in the northeastern United or without migratory fish, beaver ponds, Furniss et al. (1991);
States who will use a tractor and and wetlands. Each of these situations
ordinary earth moving equipment to is covered in a separate section. Recommendations for Wetland
build the simplest access roads on their Landowners should read each section Forest Roads, from Minnesota
property, or who will contract for these that applies to their land. Department of Natural
services. Logging roads on small Resources (1995);
Geotextiles are also described ina
woodland properties are usually
separate section. These synthetic Dealing With Beaver, from Buech
constructed by the logging contractor,
permeable materials can be used (1985), D’Eon et al. (1995),
sawmill operator, or by a road
during road building in a variety of Wood and Woodward (1992),
contractor.
ways, from providing standard drainage and Wood et al. (1994); and
This guide applies to low-speed to performing specialized functions in
Geotextiles, from Amoco Fabrics
forest roads with a 12-foot-wide running wetlands. Using the information in this
and Fibers Company (1994a,b).
surface that are needed only guide, landowners can complete road
temporarily or only during certain times building projects to their satisfaction.
A Landowner’s Guide to Building Forest Access Roads
LEER OTRO EOIN OR DO
Planning and location are the most
important aspects of road
development. Poor planning or
location is associated with the following
most common causes of road failure
(Furniss et al. 1991):
Improper placement and
construction of road fills
Poor road
Insufficient culvert sizes location can
concentrate
Very steep road grades
runoff, which
ibteS nte aeed s
results in
Improper placement or sidecast of
excess materials increased —.
sedimentation,
Removal of slope support by and can have
long lasting
undercutting
effects and
Altering drainage by interception create long-
and concentrating surface and term road
maintenance
subsurface flows.
problems
Because roads are long-term (Furniss et al.
features, their location must be 1991).
carefully chosen, to meet the
landowner’s need for safe access,
avoid long-term maintenance
problems, reduce potential for
degrading water quality, and minimize
costs over the short and long term. At
a minimum, road locations should be
flagged and approved by the landowner
in advance of any construction,
including all temporary road locations.
This section on road planning and
location tells you how to map out a
road, then how to field check the
location and how to mark it on the
ground.