Unprotected Roadless Areas Mapped in Upper Peninsula National Forests
Recently, 2 reports were released by Defenders of Wildlife (DOW) and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery (NWR) on unidentified, unprotected roadless forests in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The reports are the result of a GIS mapping project undertaken by Pacific Biodiversity Institute (PBI), under contract with DOW and NWR. The project covers the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, which encompass nearly 2 million acres of forests and wetlands in this remote Great Lakes peninsula.
PBI found numerous problems with both national forest's roads, trails, and roadless area data. This includes inconsistent and incomplete mapping of roads and roadless areas, poor spatial and classification accuracy of some roads and trails, and a high proportion of unclassified roads. PBI documented many examples of these problems through maps of Forest Service data overlaid on orthophotos. By simply reviewing the Forest’s GIS data in relation to orthophotography, PBI was able to provide substantial improvements to Forest Service data. Analysis based on these improvements lead to dramatically different conclusions about the miles of road, road density, and acres of roadless areas in the National Forests.
Regarding the Hiawatha, PBI reached this conclusion about their road system and roadless area analysis:
The most recent Forest Service data shows 4,338 miles of road within National Forest land on the HNF, with a road density of 3.09 miles per square mile. Using our road data improvements we calculated 5,573 miles of roads with a road density of 3.97 miles per square mile – a 22% increase in road miles and density. The Forest Service’s RARE II roadless areas and the 2005 Forest Plan Revision Draft EIS map 7,820 acres of roadless lands within the Hiawatha National Forest. Using improved roads data and a clear methodology for consistent mapping of roadless areas, we found 439,500 acres of roadless lands within roadless areas of 5,000 acres or greater. In addition, we found many smaller roadless areas less than 5,000 acres in size.
Regarding the Ottawa National Forest, the following conclusions were reached:
The most recent Forest Service data shows 6,194 miles of road within USFS lands (1,551.62 square miles), with a road density of 3.99 miles per square mile. Using our data improvements we calculated 6,844 miles of roads with a road density of 4.41 miles per square mile – a 10% increase in road miles and density. The Forest Service’s RARE II roadless areas and the 2003 Forest Plan Revision Potential Forest Roadless Inventory map 60,520 acres of roadless lands within the Ottawa National Forest (excluding the Cyrus H. McCormick Experimental Forest). Using improved roads data and a clear methodology for consistent mapping of roadless areas, we found 327,482 acres of roadless lands within roadless areas of 5,000 acres or greater. In addition, we found many smaller roadless areas less than 5,000 acres in size.
DOW and NWR used these reports as a basis for our appeals of the newly adopted National Forest plan revisions for the Hiawatha and Ottawa. We also envision this mapping effort as a basis for new Wilderness proposals, and to implement better conservation strategies in these important Great Lakes national forests.