Maine Land Conservation Assistance Network

This guide is designed for landowners in the northeastern United States who will use a tractor and ordinary earth moving equipment to build the simplest access roads on their property, or who will contract for these services. Logging roads on small woodland properties are usually constructed by the logging contractor, sawmill operator, or by a road contractor. This guide applies to low-speed forest roads with a 12-foot-wide running surface that are needed only temporarily or only during certain times of the year. Recommendations in this guide cover basic planning, construction, drainage, maintenance, and closure of such forest roads. The recommendations incorporate best management practices, which are designed to reduce nonpoint-source pollution, as can occur during road building.

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