Book Recs for PNW Forest Road History and Policy?

[justme2024]

I'm not sure that this is the best place to post this, if it's not mods please take it down, but I think there is some overlapping interest here and I have not found much on my own. I basically wanted to learn more about the history and current policy surrounding PNW logging/forest roads and more broadly recreation and public access within PNW forests. A lot of the roads I use to access fishing/swimming/hiking spots I don't really know who owns/maintains them when they are unmarked and why some are open to the public and some aren't etc. I feel like there has to be a book out of a university press somewhere that gets into the nitty gritty of rural road management and history but I haven't been able to find it yet. If anyone has read anything similar or knows of any books that cover those topics in part I would love some recommendations. I feel like there's at least gotta be a few forestry history/policy books that cover the forest road system in a chapter or two somewhere too.

 

[Brian Miller]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!
This topic might be better suited for the General Discussion Forum.

I basically wanted to learn more about the history and current policy surrounding PNW logging/forest roads and more broadly recreation and public access within PNW forests.

A short typical PNW synopsis might be

https://www.americanhistoryusa.com/early-washington-and-logging-timber-industry/

For books maybe the story of Gifford Pinchot, founder and first chief of the Forest Service, under President Theodore Roosevelt.
"Gifford Pinchot and the First Foresters: The Untold Story of the Brave Men and Women Who Launched the American Conservation Movement"
by Bibi Gaston
"The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America" by Timothy Egan
"Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America's Public Lands" by John Clayton (preservation vs. conservation)

A lot of the roads I use to access fishing/swimming/hiking spots I don't really know who owns/maintains them when they are unmarked and why some are open to the public and some aren't etc

Reasons fishing/swimming/hiking spots aren't open for public can be a conflict with an owner's use, another public use, safety, and just the costs associated with allowing the public to be there that includes routine upkeep-maintenance, and loss of use plus repair of resources after abuse like littering, destruction of trees, and other vandalism. There are also liability costs for corporate and private owners.

A simple way to determine ownership is to get a subscription mapping program that runs on a computer for online research and planning at home, then syncs to a mobile device for offline use in the field like "Gaia", "onX". They have an ownership "layer" showing public (Federal, State, Local) & private property boundaries that overlays onto their basemaps containing the roads, trails, rivers, lakes... we are interested in. I haven't used "onX" but know that Gaia has a subscription for worldwide maps with points of interest data for hiking, fishing, hunting, offroad... activities I want for about the same cost onX charges for one state and one activity.

Once you know the ownership then you can do the research to find out if you can access it. That may involve going to a government or corporate website to find out if public access is allowed and any conditions required for access like passes and permits. It may also mean knocking on doors to meet and ask a private property owner.

Also, even if a river flows through private land you may still be able to fish it due to it being currently or in the past used for interstate-international commerce that would be considered "navigable waters". But that's a whole 'nother discussion.

 

[justme2024]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!
This topic might be better suited for the General Discussion Forum.

A short typical PNW synopsis might be

https://www.americanhistoryusa.com/early-washington-and-logging-timber-industry/

For books maybe the story of Gifford Pinchot, founder and first chief of the Forest Service, under President Theodore Roosevelt.
"Gifford Pinchot and the First Foresters: The Untold Story of the Brave Men and Women Who Launched the American Conservation Movement"
by Bibi Gaston
"The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America" by Timothy Egan
"Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America's Public Lands" by John Clayton (preservation vs. conservation)


Reasons fishing/swimming/hiking spots aren't open for public can be a conflict with an owner's use, another public use, safety, and just the costs associated with allowing the public to be there that includes routine upkeep-maintenance, and loss of use plus repair of resources after abuse like littering, destruction of trees, and other vandalism. There are also liability costs for corporate and private owners.

A simple way to determine ownership is to get a subscription mapping program that runs on a computer for online research and planning at home, then syncs to a mobile device for offline use in the field like "Gaia", "onX". They have an ownership "layer" showing public (Federal, State, Local) & private property boundaries that overlays onto their basemaps containing the roads, trails, rivers, lakes... we are interested in. I haven't used "onX" but know that Gaia has a subscription for worldwide maps with points of interest data for hiking, fishing, hunting, offroad... activities I want for about the same cost onX charges for one state and one activity.

Once you know the ownership then you can do the research to find out if you can access it. That may involve going to a government or corporate website to find out if public access is allowed and any conditions required for access like passes and permits. It may also mean knocking on doors to meet and ask a private property owner.

Also, even if a river flows through private land you may still be able to fish it due to it being currently or in the past used for interstate-international commerce that would be considered "navigable waters". But that's a whole 'nother discussion.

Hi Brian, thank you! I will look at the books that you've recommended. I know about apps like onX, I just wanted to learn more about the history of land development/ownership around here. Besides the patchwork pattern being a legacy of the railroads I don't know much about how the West Coast developed and why it still is the way it is especially in rural areas.

The navigable water conversation is super interesting. I'm kind of jealous of the Washington folks as it seems like their navigable waterways laws are a bit clearer than Oregon's, especially with the 2005 AG opinion sorta muddying the waters down here. In terms of figuring out legality I usually rely on the maps of log drives in here to figure out edge cases as streams logs used to be run down are the only ones I'm 100 percent certain are navigable/navigable-in-fact. Maybe someday some clarification will come out of the courts/legislature but until then I think I'll just play it safe and try not to wade through people's backyards lol.