Planning to determine low-volume road standards, long-term needs, and environmental risks and trade-offs

Inventories of forest roads are used to manage road networks by chronicling existing road conditions and flagging areas that require attention. Tools are needed to integrate the environmental performance of forest roads, as captured in a road inventory, into the management of these roads. This study used a combination of a multicriterion decision analysis tool (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and a timber transportation model (NETWORK 2000) to determine road standards to minimize both environmental and economic costs. This analysis technique is applied to a forest road network in western Oregon.