Legacy Roads Fund Restores and Protects Portland’s Water Supply

The hum of excavators is a familiar sound to those few who visit the forest around the tributaries of the Bull Run River and the shimmering reservoirs that supply water to the City of Portland. Old, rusty culverts are being pulled up, and road surfaces ripped apart on mile after mile of old roads originally built for logging. This effort is part of ensuring clean drinking water and healthy streams for Oregonians, and is possible because of the Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Initiative. The program was created by Congress in 2008 and funded at $40 million nationally to address the serious environmental problems stemming from old and under-maintained forest roads.

Few people realize the potential that old logging roads like these have to harm water quality and fish habitat all across the nation, said Chris Frissell, senior staff scientist with Pacific Rivers Council. With more severe weather patterns expected due to global warming, its more critical than ever to get public forest watersheds in the best shape possible.

The initiative was championed by Washington Congressman Norm Dicks after winter storms in 2007 led to disastrous road failures, shutting down travel and damaging watersheds. The initiative received bi-partisan support nationwide, including from members of the Oregon Congressional delegation, and a portion of the money made it to Mt. Hood National Forest.

The Legacy Roads funding is allowing us to complete work weve been chipping away at for a long time because we only get funding in fits and starts, said Forest Supervisor Gary Larsen, The Forest Service has an obligation to do whats necessary to protect water quality from potential problems caused by old roads and rusty, failing culverts. Larsen went on to say that, It is a pleasure working with the City of Portland Water Bureau in management of the Bull Run Watershed. I take pride in the strong partnership we have developed with the Water Bureau and its Commissioner, Randy Leonard.

The kind of work going on in Bull Run is needed in critical watersheds elsewhere in Mt. Hood National Forest and on other federal lands across the West, says Deb Wechselblatt, Campaign Manager for Bark, the Portland-based Mt. Hood watchdog group. Its refreshing to see our taxpayer dollars being used to create green jobs and doing some really important work that will ensure future generations have clean water and healthy streams.

Funding is expected to continue in fiscal year 2009 to continue addressing this pervasive, long-term problem, although emergency reallocation of funds for fire suppression emergencies often curtails funding intended for watershed restoration projects.

The City of Portland is extremely pleased that the Forest Service will be able to complete most or perhaps all of the last remaining road decommissioning in the Bull Run water supply drainage this year, said Dick Robbins of the Portland Water Bureau, Congressional protection from logging only got us part of the way to full protection for the Bull Run taking out these old roads is a key step. The City has taken over responsibility for virtually all of the permanent road network in the Bull Run. Completion of the road decommissioning program will be a major milestone in our long-term partnership with the Mt. Hood National Forest.

The infusion of local jobs makes the projects even more popular. We take pride in what we do, said Leonard Collins the local contractor doing road work for the national forest, Doing this job right means leaving the land in better shape than we found it, and we feel really good about that. Mr. Collins and his two sons have been part of an Estacada family business specializing in road remediation and removal for many years.