Rural roads are vital to rural communities, nature recreation users, and for fire and other disaster emergency response and evacuation. These roads are often located in forested and rangeland settings and may be owned and/or managed by governmental or private parties.
The UC Forest Research and Outreach website offers many wonderful resources, including the Rural Roads Webinar Series. From their website:
“Rural roads in California are associated with several environmental impacts. They have been identified as a major source of sediment production in watersheds supporting beneficial uses. They can provide the means by which exotic plants and animals and pathogens are spread into wild lands. Roads fragment the landscape and adversely affect wildlife habitat. Vehicles traveling on rural roads are responsible for thousands of road-killed wildlife every year.”
The webinar series will provide viewers with:
- a broad overview of the environmental issues associated with rural roads in California.
- a description of the fundamental principles of rural road construction, re-construction and operations.
- a description of practices used to minimize the environmental impacts of road construction, operations and maintenance.
- review methods used for road assessment and inventory to identify problems and maintenance or re-construction or restoration needs.
Check the sitefor upcoming webinars. Previous versions have been archived on the website.
