“It’s the enabling ingredient to everything!”
Dan Kipervaser, shared stewardship coordinator for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBS), shared the above “sediment” recently about a core material for forest restoration: rock.
In adequate amounts and convenient locations, rock is a necessary lifeline for timber operations, as well as countless other activities on a national forest. Many rock pits across the national forests in Oregon and Washington (also known as U.S. Forest Service Region 6) were abandoned at the turn of the century following several years of budget cuts.
Santino Pascua, a zone engineer for the south zone of the MBS, shared that while MBS staff would ideally maintain as much as 920 miles of forest roads annually, budget restrictions have compressed this number all the way down to just 168 miles in 2023. There are 2,390 road miles weaving through the MBS. As unfinished projects have piled up, the MBS has racked up an estimated $5 million in deferred road maintenance.
Pascua explained that due to current costs and timber markets, some timber sales barely break even, much less generate enough funds to cover the high upfront costs of investing in rock pit re-development.
Stockpiles of crushed rock produced by the now-shuttered pits had been used up long before the summer of 2023. Region 6 forests could no longer afford to crush and stockpile new rock; the MBS had not produced any rock through a public works contract for 20 years. Without active rock pits, rocks had to be shipped in from outside sources, which increased the financial and time costs of most projects and made some projects financially infeasible. Important projects languished on the shelf for years while safe public access and forest health continued to decline.
The tide began to turn over the summer, however, as one key rock pit came back online thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and DNR. The Forest Resilience Division at DNR provided a total of $150,000 for rock-pit redevelopment in the south zone of the MBS. The Region 6 office saw an opportunity to leverage their funds and added an additional $300,000 to make the project a reality at the scale needed to make a difference on the ground.
After a USFS geologist tested several abandoned pits for rock feasibility, one pit located a few miles east of Greenwater was chosen as the clear winner. The reborn rock pit is located near popular recreation areas for camping, hiking, fishing, and target shooting, as well as several potential future timber sales. Crews started cutting and crushing rock at the end of May of 2023, and completed work by mid-August. In total, the project produced 34,000 cubic yards of rock.
The cost savings were almost immediate. Taking advantage of economies of scale and a central location, the MBS crushed rock cost $13 per cubic yard. For comparison, rock shipped in from off-forest can cost more than five times as much. Local contractors have already started using the rock – they had placed more than 2,000 tons of fresh gravel on local roads by the end of August. Staff believe this new rock stockpile can support projects for the next 15 years.
While rock is most obviously needed for the creation, repair, and maintenance of forest roads, it opens new possibilities for so much more:
Rock means timber and restoration
Most timber sales are put out to bid with the condition that the contractor “rock the roads” to the sales. This not only ensures that the roads are safe for timber hauling, but also protects nearby streams from erosion caused by traffic and rain. This same rock is also needed when installing a fish passage to remove barriers to salmon migration. The price of purchasing and hauling tons of rock to repair road infrastructure is one of the most significant pain points on the MBS and can often determine whether a contractor bids on a project, let alone whether a timber sale is profitable.
With a new rock source now located in a central spot within the on the south zone of the MBS, area projects will cost less both in terms of time and resources. This also means timber sales are more likely to sell, and thus generate revenues that the MBS uses to fund habitat and watershed improvement projects – a compounding benefit to the forest.
Rock means match
While the rock itself does not equate to dollars, it can serve the same purpose as direct funds, acting as a matching contribution in grant applications. For example, according to Pascua, the MBS can now offer materials to offset the costs of repairing damaged roads after a significant flood event through the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program. Similarly, rock can be used as in-kind match for an agreement with Weyerhaeuser to share maintenance and repair costs for roads used by both the company and the public.
Rock means partnerships
Over the years, MBS staff have had to turn down many excellent offers of support from groups and individuals due to tight budgets and a lack of staff capacity. Thanks to the newly available rock, many of these collaborative projects will become a reality. For example, a horseback riding group in the area has wanted for several years to help improve trails in the region. While the group is willing to volunteer their time and equipment to make improvements, rock was never available for the projects. The MBS can now provide the rock for those, and many other projects driven by volunteer- based recreation organizations.
Rock means roads
With a limited budget, the MBS has had to take a triage approach to forest road maintenance – putting funds only toward roads that receive the greatest public use and delaying maintenance and repair for all others. Some roads have been left unmaintained for years, or even decades as a result. Thanks to the shared investment in redeveloping a rock pit, staff can begin working through the backlog, which means safer roads and more comfortable rides for the visiting public, a reduced risk of washouts and riparian habitat damage, and improved access to restoration project areas.
Rock means safer and more effective wildland fire operations
Wildland firefighters use networks of forest roads to access and fight wildfires. Well-maintained roads are required for large engines to utilize these direct access points to emerging incidents. Rock and gravel are also a non-combustible material used by wildland firefighting teams to build fire control lines, which help to contain or redirect an active fire. Gravel can also be used to build control lines for potential future fire operations.
Rock means recreation
Roads carry visiting recreators to trailheads, lakes, vistas, and campgrounds throughout a forest. Without a rugged, high- clearance vehicle, visitors are taking chances with their suspensions when traveling anywhere off the main road system. The roads leading to and around the Ranger Creek Campground, for example, are considered some of the worst on the south zone of the MBS. For the first time in 30 years, the MBS has rock to repair those and other roads.
Long-term planning to maintain network of national forest roads
“We’re still actively looking for partners that can help us unlock this critical resource that supports everything from recreation to restoration,” Kipervaser said.
In addition to years of delayed maintenance on the MBS, all western Washington national forests, including the Olympic and Gifford Pinchot, are experiencing more frequent large erosional debris events on an annual, if not seasonal, basis. These emergency events cost each forest huge amounts of time and resources when they are already low on funds.
As overdue challenges collide with new crises, the need for innovative partnerships and creative solutions is greater now than it has ever been. The MBS is working to develop its own long-term, sustainable solutions. For example, the MBS is examining how best to secure a road maintenance crew, as well as the heavy equipment needed to do much of the roadwork and maintenance, rather than contracting out the work. Staff with the MBS are also researching how to procure mobile rock crushing equipment.
“The MBS has a reputation in the Pacific Northwest region as a national forest that can put funds to good use,” further explains Pascua. “When there are additional funds to spend, we know we can spend it, and spend it well.”
EAR TO THE GROUND WITH DNR & COMMISSIONER FRANZ 