From steep, forested slopes to high alpine meadows to cool, clear trout streams running through deep canyons, the Boise National Forest represents a remarkably diverse assemblage of intact Western habitats. Located in west-central Idaho, this lush forest harbors more than 300 species of vertebrates, including healthy populations of large, wide-ranging species - elk, wolves, and bears - which find room to thrive. Its waters provide essential spawning, rearing, and migration habitat for Chinook salmon, bull trout, and other critical fish species.
Yet even here the encroaching presence of humans is never far away. As in many public lands across the nation, a half-century of extensive road construction has unmistakably altered the landscape of the Boise National Forest, now crisscrossed by 5,477 miles of inventoried roads. Originally constructed from timber and mining activities and used today for outdoor recreation as well, roads have fragmented the land and put wildlife at risk.
The Wilderness Society's report, Reconnecting the Landscape: A Transportation Management Opportunity in the Boise National Forest, examines the breadth of this transportation network and explores its possible ecological effects. The authors of our study, forest ecologist Michele Crist and northern Rockies (Idaho) regional director Craig Gehrke, conducted a spatial analysis that documents what already has been lost due to roads - and identifies a remarkable conservation opportunity.
Their findings reveal a system of roads within the forest concentrated in particular areas, leaving large blocks of unroaded or nearly unroaded forestlands relatively untouched. Many of the unroaded sites lie within Wilderness Areas or Inventoried Roadless Areas, which only highlights the special role these classifications play in providing habitat for large wildlife species and preserving ecosystem processes. The conclusion is obvious. The best way to ensure that the forest's major ecological values remain intact is to protect the unroaded character of these landscapes.
If the Forest Service is serious about the restoration agenda laid out in the Boise National Forest's land management plan, decommissioning roads is probably the single most important action it can take to achieve those goals. Our report includes detailed recommendations to guide the agency in that process. It calls for protecting sites currently without roads from development, closing unnecessary roads, and focusing restoration activities in four "Priority Areas" that will yield substantial ecological values. The long-range objective is to balance protection and access, wildlife and recreation to ensure that this magnificent national forest remains healthy and whole - and will continue to benefit people and other species in perpetuity.
