Forest Road Construction: A Step by Step Process

Posted on June 26, 2019 by James M. Hunsucker IV

Step 1: Boots on the Ground

This part of the process allows one to take note of any existing thoroughfares on a given property. A lot of times, an old-road can be opened back up to serve as all or a portion of what we call the main forest road. Situations like this certainly make things easier for all involved. Almost always, though, there will be segments that entail starting from scratch. This is a good opportunity to get to know your landowner and get a better feel for the land you’re working on.

Step 2: Aerial & Topographic Map Assessment

Once an inventory of any existing roads has been taken, both aerial photos and topographic maps must be studied, any planned path measured up against them. Often times, Steps One & Two happen in conjunction with each other, newer Apps like HuntStand or OnX Hunt greatly improving our in-the-field workflow by reducing the need for paper maps.

Step 3: Assessing Individual Watersheds for Stream Crossings

Example Contour Map found on the Moore County, NC GIS Website

This step involves studying contour maps to estimate the number of acres that flow into an area proposed for a stream crossing. You can find Contour Maps on your county’s GIS Website. You’ll then use the Polygon Measuring tool to estimate the acreage flowing into your proposed stream crossing. We recommend completing this process a minimum of 3 times for each stream crossing site and then taking the average. You can then use this portion of the North Carolina Forestry BMP Manual to calculate the size and number of pipe you’ll need to accommodate a specific watershed: Part 3 – Stream Crossings

See the links at the end of this publication for more information on assessing watersheds

Step 4: Flagging the Proposed Path

Simple enough, this step involves using high-visibility flagging spaced 15-30 feet apart in most cases. The objective is to keep all equipment operators on the right track! Timber-stand density will effect the distance between flagging.

As a timberland manager or landowner, you want to cash in on any aesthetically pleasing aspects of your property, making a forest road meander through and/or adjacent such areas – this can be a significant boost to the realty value of a property while also serving to impact your own pride in ownership or enjoyment. At the same time, you also have to pay close attention to topography and conditions on the ground that can save you thousands of dollars in earth moving costs or those associated with future problems that stem from putting a road in the wrong spot.

Step 5: In comes the Feller Buncher & Skidder

The Feller Buncher Working on Cutting out a Main Forest Road

In the best possible case, having a logger ready to go once a final path is settled upon will allow for a more complete merchandising of any wood products found within the proposed path. The buncher operator would cut and set aside the merchantable stems that can then be moved out of the desired path by the skidder operator. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. Loggers are rarely available to jump right into a project.

Step 6: Dozer & Excavator

For our most recent project, Step 5 had to follow step 6 at first. Unique circumstances will call for a rearrangement of the order of things on certain jobs. During this process, due care must be taken to fully mitigate stump holes and remove ALL top soil from the proposed roadway. A failure to do so will result in your road doing to rock what the cookie monster does to cookies. Topsoil can be re-spread over logging deck sites or other areas like those used for the creation of edge habitat or wildlife food plots.

But, what about the wood that has to be pushed over and out of the way? Will it all go to waste? Any wood pushed over in the process, even some that could be classified as merchantable, can be very valuable on the down-side of slopes by creating a barrier to further minimize erosion. In addition to adequate crowning and ditching of the roadway, water bars can be installed to divert the flow of water away from the center of your road and into a turn-out – Here’s a good PowerPoint I found online regarding water bars and turnouts – WaterBars & Turnouts (Downloads to your Mac or PC).

Step 7: Ordering Pipes for Stream Crossings & Other Supplies

Early in the process, while the dozer and excavator are at work, it’s wise to order any pipes or stabilization supplies like Erosion Control Mats, Straw Wattles, Ground Stakes, Seed, Fertilizer, Lime, & more. Planning ahead and ordering supplies early will ensure that equipment operators aren’t waiting on you to secure any necessary materials. It will also ensure that you are ready to perform Step 8 on a moments notice – something often necessary to beat rain and keep erosion to a minimum. Because we appreciate small-business and fully embrace keeping business local if humanly possible, we recommend Carthage Farm Supply/Southern States for most of the roadwork supplies you may need in and around Moore County, NC.

Step 8: Stabilization of Stream Crossings & new Roadway

Wildflowers & Wildlife Friendly Seeds Incorporated into our Stabilization Seed Mixture

This is the most labor intensive part of Forest Road Construction for the timberland manager or landowner. Newly moved dirt requires stabilization as soon as possible. As such, we often have to make things happen quickly. This can include choreographing the delivery and application of rock to serve as a base for the portion of the road that will see vehicular traffic.

Erosion Control Matting rolled into place along a new stream crossing

For the sides of the roadway and ditched areas you’ll need to lay down some lime, seed, and fertilizer. Also, along the run of your ditches, you’ll need to use rock or Straw Wattles that will serve to slow the flow of water downhill, which will help to reduce erosion along your roadway. The distance between wattles is directly related to the slope of the land you’re working on. For Stream Crossings, we put down a layer of Erosion Control Matting and then apply our Lime, Seed, and Fertilizer. The Matting is PIVOTAL on steep areas as it holds the seed and soil in place when it would otherwise wash down to the bottom of the slope with the first hint of rain. We’ll also utilize bales of wheat straw to help cover areas where matting isn’t as practical. Additionally, it is UBER important to solidify the sides of all pipes with rock, a rip-rap or similar-sized material working best.

Step 9: Keep a Regular Check on any newly created Roadway

We highly recommend keeping a regular check on any newly created forest road or firebreak, especially at first. There’s no set time and we fully understand that there will be periods of weeks or even months where a low-impact woods-road may see little or no human interaction. At first, though, regular check-ups can be a ~~life~~ road saver, literally. Any problems can be addressed swiftly saving you money in the long-run.

The Pros:

Accessible Land is MORE Valuable – In more ways than One
Improved Forest Aesthetics
- Pride in Ownership
Improved Recreational Enjoyment
- White-Tailed Deer Hunting
- Wild Turkey Hunting
- Fishing
- Wildlife Viewing & Photographing
- Trail Riding
- Walking/Running
- Biking
A solid, Main Forest Road, especially one with “All-Weather” Designation, leads to higher valued wood products
Allows for the compartmentalization of a larger tract or parcel of land into smaller management units. This can be important for accomplishing certain wildlife management objectives or other conservation activities. It also affords the landowner an easier path to having and managing multiple timber stands for different uses or wood products. Ex. A main forest road and interconnecting firebreaks or tributaries allow for much easier and safer management of individual timber stands by serving as a divider. One side of the road or firebreak might be managed for the production of White Oak Stave Barrels while the other side is loblolly pine plantation.
Leads to a much safer execution of any Prescribed Fire Plan or series of plans. Read more about Prescribed Fire here: Rx Fire

The Cons:

Forest Road Construction can be Expensive
Requires regular maintenance
Removes some acreage from Timber Production

Concluding Remarks

A beautiful cascade along a newly constructed forest road. It’s not an accident we decided to cash in this wonderful feature the property had to offer!

Forest Road Construction and maintenance is as important to the management and appreciation of timberland over time as are the natural resources themselves – When one is lacking the other suffers and vice versa. The pros of creating and adequately maintaining a network of thoroughfares across a given landscape significantly outweigh the cons.

Although the creation of a main forest road and firebreaks certainly removes land from timber production, you’re talking minuscule amounts. For example, a 40 foot wide main forest road running 3696 Linear Feet removes only 3.4 +- acres from production. In 9 out of 10 cases, this would translate into losing no more than $10,000 over the course of a 35-year loblolly pine rotation. Is this acceptable to you? It should be!

The takeaway – no woods-road or firebreak will be 100% perfect all of the time regardless of where you put it or whether or not you’ve done everything by the book. If you own or manage timberland, you’ll find there’s always something that needs fixing or improving. But, carefully planning and carrying out the creation of a sound network of thoroughfares and keeping them maintained can literally mean money in the bank down the road. In the end, choose your path wisely – cash in on the natural draw your property has to offer and make your lands accessible. You’ll be glad you did!