Road Maintenance with Threatened, Endangered, or Sensitive Plants

This publication provides an overview of the process the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service-as a Federal agency-must follow to comply with all the laws and policies for road maintenance when threatened, endangered, or sensitive (TES) plants exist or are discovered. It begins with a brief overview of the process, and then explains the directives, laws, misconceptions, and apparent conflicts that often arise when implementing road maintenance activities that may impact listed plant species. As a Federal agency, we are required to follow Forest Service Manual (FSM) and Forest Service Handbook (FSH) direction on all roads and comply with the Highway Safety Act (HSA) when performing road maintenance activities on level 3 and higher roads. Likewise, compliance with environmental laws is not only required, it is the right thing to do.