Forest Road Construction is an essential part of managing timberlands. It’s also essential to the longterm profitability of a timberland asset – Access is Key. In most cases, over the course of one to two lifetime’s, a property will change hands. That means that you or your children will likely be a part of the transfer, the passage of that bundle of sticks from seller to buyer. Beforehand, a focus on accessibility is a worthwhile endeavor. The benefits to owning a property with a network of sound woods-roads and firebreaks are many. As we meander through the inner-workings of constructing a forest road we’ll highlight the pros and cons associated with it.
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
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
As a timberland manager or landowner, you want to cash in on any aesthetically pleasing aspects of
Step 5: In comes the Feller Buncher & Skidder
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. 
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
Step 8: Stabilization of Stream Crossings & new Roadway
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.
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
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!
Here are a couple of helpful links to aid in your road building needs:
How to Read a Topographic Map and Delineate a Watershed
How to read a Topographical Map
Stay tuned for more on the creation of forests roads and firebreaks!