OAR 629-625-0910: State-led Abandoned Roads Inventory

(1) The department in consultation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shall lead a cooperative effort to identify abandoned roads. The purpose of this effort is to identify abandoned roads and bring them into compliance with the forest practice rules to reduce the potential of abandoned roads to produce chronic sediment and increase the risks of mass wasting and stream diversions. (2) After identifying abandoned roads, the department and cooperators shall identify abandoned roads with a high level of risk to waters of the state or infrastructure. The State Forester shall provide the results of the inventory to landowners no later than January 1, 2026. The department shall use the following criteria listed in order of importance to identify risk levels: (a) Ongoing stream diversion at stream crossings. (b) Diversion potential at stream crossings. (c) Likelihood of hydrologic connectivity. (d) Comparative risk of chronic sediment produced. (e) Risk of contribution to mass wasting. (f) Other criteria as determined by the department in consultation with other state and federal agencies. (3) Following the identification of high-risk abandoned road segments, the department in coordination with landowners shall identify high-priority abandoned road segments from the list of high-risk locations. Considerations for designating a segment as high priority shall include: (a) Importance of the HUC-6 watershed to recovering salmonids; (b) Number of stream crossings based on full-densified stream network; (c) Cost of improvements in comparison to the benefits; and (d) Other criteria as determined by the department in consultation with other state and federal agencies. (4) Landowners shall complete a field verification of all high priority abandoned road segments identified in section (3). (a) The department, Department of Environmental Quality, and Department of Fish and Wildlife shall, when necessary, review landowner verifications of high priority sites and improvement plans. (b) Landowners shall include the following information in their field verification of high priority abandoned road segments: (A) Confirmation that the high-priority site is on an abandoned road. (B) Determination whether the segment is diverting the stream or has diversion potential. (C) Determination regarding whether the segment is actively contributing sediment or has a high risk of contributing significant quantities of sediment to waters of the state. Indicators of risk of contributing significant quantities of sediment may include: (i) A sediment deposit reaching the high-water line of a defined channel of a flood prone area; (ii) A channel that extends from a road drainage structure outlet to the high-water line of a defined channel or a flood-prone area; (iii) Evidence of surface flow between the drainage structure outlet and a defined channel or a flood-prone area; (iv) Turbid water reaching all typed waters, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, wetlands, inlets, and canals during runoff events; (v) Evidence of direct sediment entry into a watercourse or a flood-prone area from road surfaces or drainage structures and facilities (e.g., ponded sediment, sediment deposits, delivery of turbid runoff from drainage structures during rainfall events); (vi) Gullies or other evidence of erosion on road surfaces or below the outlets of road drainage facilities or structures, including ditch drain (relief) culverts, with transport or a high likelihood of transport to a watercourse; (vii) Native-surfaced roads exhibiting erosion; (viii) Native-surfaced roads composed of erodible soil types (e.g., granitic soils); (ix) Rilled, gullied, or rutted road approaches to crossings; (x) Existing ditch drain (relief) culverts or other road drainage structures with decreased capacity due to damage or impairment (e.g., crushed or bent inlets, flattened dips due to road grading); (xi) Decreased structural integrity of ditch drain (relief) culverts, waterbreaks, or other road drainage structures (e.g., excessive pipe corrosion, breached water-breaks, or rutted road segments); or (xii) Ditch scour or downcutting resulting from excessively long undrained ditches with infrequent ditch drain (relief) culverts or other outlet structures or facilities. This condition can also result from design inadequacies (e.g., spacing not altered for steep ditch gradient), inadequate erosion prevention practices (e.g., lack of armoring), or ditches in areas of erodible soils. (D) Analysis of net benefit for waters of the state to improve the abandoned road segment. (E) Determination regarding practicability of alternatives to improve the abandoned road segment and address the following risks: (i) Ongoing stream diversions at stream crossings; (ii) Diversion potential at stream crossings; (iii) Likelihood of hydrologic connectivity; (iv) Comparative risk of chronic sediment produced; and (v) Risk of contribution to mass wasting. (F) The alternatives may include vacating the segment, no action, and any other reasonable alternative. Landowners shall propose the most practicable alternative as part of the annual report. (5) Landowners shall add the verified high-priority abandoned road segments to the Forest Roads Inventory and Assessment initial inventory. (6) Landowners shall improve the abandoned road segment as part of the Forest Roads Inventory and Assessment process when, in consultation with the department, the following criteria are met: (a) The high-priority location is an abandoned road; (b) The high-priority location is actively contributing or has high risk of contributing significant quantities of sediment to waters of the state; (c) The improvements would be a net benefit to waters of the state; and (d) Improvements are practicable.