In the case of this project under their chosen alternative only 15 miles will have the road bed torn up. Another 69 miles will be closed, Maintenance Level 1, either left to grow over, blocked with barriers, or tank-trapped after they fix potential resource concerns, e.g., culverts. The roadbed will remain in place and available for future use if necessary. Their ML 1 description says “1.2.3.1.1. Maintenance Level 1 (Storage) These are roads that have been placed in storage between intermittent uses. The period of storage must exceed one year. Basic custodial maintenance is performed to prevent damage to adjacent resources and to perpetuate the road for future resource management needs. Emphasis is normally given to maintaining drainage facilities and runoff patterns. Planned road deterioration may occur at this level.”
So yes, the 69 miles of road is not there for current motorized vehicle use, but it is not taken down to the level of decommission and can still be reopened if necessary. The 15 miles proposed for decommissioning is far better than the 42 proposed by the Joint Conservation and Recreation Group’s Alternative which was thankfully not considered in the Ranger's decision.
But yes, the feds do seem to make a bigger deal out of things then they need to, resulting in much higher cost and lack of action due to too much caution over being challenged on anything they do. But that's the nature of the lawsuit-happy society we live in.
