Who uses the roads in national forests?
A Although many roads in national forests were originally built in order to access timber for management and harvest, these roads now support many other purposes. In 1996, 76 million Americans traveled on the national forest road system to access recreation spots. In fact, the #1use of national forest roads is driving for pleasure. And over 90% of roads in the national forest are open to the public. • Q How much of Idahos national forest lands have roads? A 65% of all national forestland in Idaho, more than 13.5 million acres is held in roadless or wilderness areas. Only 35% of our national forests have roads, 48% is unroaded, and 17% is held in wilderness areas. • Q Is road building a subsidy to the timber industry? A No. Think of it this way. If you own forestland and want to sell some of your trees, its up to you to provide access so that a logger can get to the trees. You can either pay a contractor to build the road, or you can pay the purchaser of your timber to build the road. I
