---
kind: "section"
citation: "16 U.S.C. § 538a"
title: "16"
title_heading: "Conservation"
number: "538a"
heading: "Forest Service Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/16/538a"
units:
  - "Chapter 2 — National Forests"
  - "Subchapter I — Establishment and Administration"
---

# §538a. Forest Service Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program

- (a) **Establishment—** The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall establish the Forest Service Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program (referred to in this section as the “Program”).
- (b) **Activities—** In carrying out the Program, the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall, [taking](/usc/16/3102.md?p=18) into account foreseeable changes in weather and hydrology—
  - (1) restore passages for fish and other aquatic species by—
    - (A) improving, repairing, or replacing culverts and other infrastructure; and
    - (B) removing barriers, as the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) determines appropriate, from the passages;
  - (2) decommission unauthorized user-created roads and trails that are not a National Forest System road or a National Forest System trail, if the applicable [unit](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=4) of the National Forest System has published—
    - (A) a Motor Vehicle Use [Map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) and the road is not identified as a National Forest System road on that Motor Vehicle Use [Map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1); or
    - (B) a [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) depicting the authorized trails in the applicable [unit](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=4) of the National Forest System and the trail is not identified as a National Forest System trail on that [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1);
  - (3) prepare previously closed National Forest System roads for long-term storage, in accordance with subsections [(c)(1)](#c-1) and [(d)](#d), in a manner that—
    - (A) prevents motor vehicle use, as appropriate to conform to route designations;
    - (B) prevents the roads from damaging adjacent resources, including aquatic and wildlife resources;
    - (C) reduces or eliminates the need for road maintenance; and
    - (D) [preserves](/usc/16/698u–1.md?p=2) the roads for future use;
  - (4) decommission previously closed National Forest System roads and trails in accordance with subsections [(c)(1)](#c-1) and [(d)](#d);
  - (5) relocate National Forest System roads and trails—
    - (A) to increase resilience to extreme weather events, flooding, and other natural disasters; and
    - (B) to respond to changing resource conditions and public input;
  - (6) convert National Forest System roads to National Forest System trails, while allowing for continued use for motorized and nonmotorized recreation, to the extent the use is compatible with the management status of the road or trail;
  - (7) decommission temporary roads—
    - (A) that were constructed before November 15, 2021—
      - (i) for emergency operations; or
      - (ii) to facilitate a resource extraction [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4);
    - (B) that were designated as a temporary road by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1); and
    - (C)
      - (i) in [violation](/usc/16/620e.md?p=11) of [section 1608(b) of this title](/usc/16/1608.md?p=b), on which vegetation cover has not been reestablished; or
      - (ii) that have not been fully decommissioned; and
  - (8) carry out [projects](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) on National Forest System roads, trails, and bridges to improve resilience to extreme weather events, flooding, or other natural disasters.
- (c) **Project selection—**
  - (1) **Project eligibility—**
    - (A) **In general—** The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) may only fund under the Program a [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) described in paragraph [(3)](#b-3) or [(4)](#b-4) of subsection (b) if the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) previously and separately—
      - (i) solicited public comment for changing the management status of the applicable National Forest System road or trail—
        - (I) to close the road or trail to access; and
        - (II) to minimize impacts to natural resources; and
      - (ii) has closed the road or trail to access as described in [clause (i)(I)](#c-1-A-i-I).
    - (B) **Requirement—** Each [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) carried out under the Program shall be on a National Forest System road or trail, except with respect to—
      - (i) a [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) described in [subsection (b)(2)](#b-2); or
      - (ii) a [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) carried out on a watershed for which the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) has entered into a cooperative agreement under [section 1011a of this title](/usc/16/1011a.md).
  - (2) **Annual selection of projects for funding—** The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall—
    - (A) establish a process for annually selecting [projects](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) for funding under the Program, consistent with the requirements of this section;
    - (B) solicit and consider public input regionally in the ranking of [projects](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) for funding under the Program;
    - (C) give priority for funding under the Program to [projects](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) that would—
      - (i) protect or improve water quality in public drinking water source [areas](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A);
      - (ii) restore the habitat of a threatened, endangered, or sensitive fish or wildlife species; or
      - (iii) maintain future access to the adjacent [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) for the public, contractors, permittees, or firefighters; and
    - (D) publish on the website of the Forest Service—
      - (i) the selection process established under [subparagraph (A)](#c-2-A); and
      - (ii) a list that includes a description and the proposed outcome of each [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) funded under the Program in each fiscal year.
- (d) **Implementation—** In implementing the Program, the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall ensure that—
  - (1) the system of roads and trails on the applicable [unit](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=4) of the National Forest System—
    - (A) is adequate to meet any increasing demands for timber, recreation, and other uses;
    - (B) provides for intensive use, protection, development, and management of the land under principles of [multiple use](/usc/16/531.md?p=a) and sustained yield of products and services;
    - (C) does not damage, degrade, or impair adjacent resources, including aquatic and wildlife resources, to the extent practicable;
    - (D) reflects long-term funding expectations; and
    - (E) is adequate for supporting emergency operations, such as evacuation routes during wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters; and
  - (2) all [projects](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) funded under the Program are consistent with any applicable forest plan or travel [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k).
- (e) **Savings clause—** A decision to fund a [project](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-4) under the Program shall not affect any determination made previously or to be made in the future by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) with regard to road or trail closures.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 88–657, § 8, as added Pub. L. 117–58, div. D, title VIII, § 40801(a), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1094.)

## Notes

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Wage Rate Requirements

For provisions relating to rates of wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics on projects for construction, alteration, or repair work funded under div. D or an amendment by div. D of Pub. L. 117–58, including authority of Secretary of Labor, see section 18851 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.