1/FY 1998: Purchaser Credits will not be used in FY 1998. Dollars shown are estimates for the Purchaser Election Program (PEP). The mileage shown is an estimate of permanent road work to be done by timber purchasers and under PEP. See the Purchaser Credit Program narrative in the "Reconstruc tion and Construction" appropriation section.

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Inspect And Oversee The Work: The costs of engineering work needed to administer FRP, PCP, and PEP funded road reconstruction and construction
contracts after award (including construction staking and inspection of work), to ensure contract compliance and correct payment for work performed.
Rights of Way: The cost of preparing and actual purchase of rights-of-ways.

Improve Existing Roads And Bridges: Road improvement (reconstruction) includes betterment, realignment, and restoration, as defined below:
1. Betterment - Improvement of an existing road or bridge to a higher standard than the original. This is usually done to reduce sediment runoff, safely
accommodate increased traffic, or meet the requirements of modern vehicles.

2. Realignment - Reconstruction that results in the new location of an existing road or portions thereof. This is usually done to improve safety or reduce
the environmental impacts of the existing road.

standard. 3. Restoration - Reconstruction of an existing road on the same location, or reconstruction or replacement of a bridge at the same location, to the original

Augmentation: FRP funds added to PCP and PEP to satisfy the following situations:

1. Where the standard and cost of a road required for timber removal under the immediate sale is lower than the standard necessary for other resource
uses or subsequent sales. Then, the Forest Service adds augmentation funds to pay for the higher standard. As an example, higher standard roads are
sometimes needed to safely allow both recreation and commercial traffic.

2. Where the timber value is too low to provide the minimum return to the U.S. Treasury (base rates). Funds may be used to finance a portion of the road
cost up to 50 percent of the normal profit margin, as determined by the Forest Service appraisal.

1998 Explanatory Notes

USDA Forest Service

• Objectives

The primary objective is to reconstruct and repair trail tread, bridges, cribbing, waterbars and other components of the existing trail system to better serve the growing demand for hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, biking and OHV use on the national forests. Another objective is to construct and/or reconstruct connector trails which link NFS trails to trails on other ownerships and to recycle road or rail grades to trails (Rails to Trails and Roads to Trails).

• Program Description

The National Forest System (NFS) provides over 133,000 miles of trails, accounting for over half of the Nation's inventoried trail system. This trails infrastructure provides recreation opportunities and public access to the national forests and grasslands.

The trails program emphasizes repair and reconstruction work to reduce the current backlog, ΠΟΥ exceeding $267 million. Substandard trails resulting from age, heavy use, poor location and lack of maintenance have resulted in management decisions to allocate 90 percent of all trail dollars to such work as bridge replacement, trail relocation, tread replacement, drainage structures, and barrier removal.

New trail construction projects account for only 10% of all allocated dollars and are used in responding to the increasing needs of recreationists, including persons with disabilities. The two fastest growing outdoor activities between 1982 and 1995 are Hiking (+93 percent) and Backpacking (+73 percent), according to the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment. The NFS trail system now accommodates over 33 million RVDs each year.

The NFS trails program supports outdoor products industry annual sales of $10 billion for items such as as footwear, backpacks, mountain bike sales and outdoor accessories. It also provides the infrastructure needed for over half of the 8,000 recreation service partners, and outfitter-guides operating on NFS lands. See

the "Recreation Management" and "Wilderness Management" sections within the NFS appropriation for a discussion of the trail maintenance program.

Program for FY 1998

This funding level would allow reconstruction and construction of 2,100 miles of trail and the associated bridge and drainage structure, compared to 1,696 in FY 1996. We would focus on reconstruction of trails in areas where heavy use has created resource impacts.

Emphasis will continue on addressing the trail maintenance and reconstruction backlog. Our FY 1995 estimate of $267 million of deferred maintenance and reconstruction backlog is based on field inventories and includes heavy maintenance and trail reconstruction to restore trails to established trail standards. This reconstruction is a one-time restoration and repair to correct maintenance that has been deferred in the past. This work also includes realignment of segments for environmental reasons, upgrading to accommodate different users, or rebuilding trail facilities to standard. The Intermountain Region will support the 2002 Winter Olympic Games through emphasis in their trail reconstruction program on projects in northern Utah due to the selection of Salt Lake City as the site for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Trail related work that will accommodate the venue sites will be undertaken with extensive partnerships developed with Olympic sponsors.

• Objectives

To require the timber purchasers to reconstruct or construct needed transportation facilities.

• Program Description

Under the Purchaser Credit Program (PCP), timber sale contracts require the purchaser to reconstruct or construct roads needed to remove the purchased timber. The amount of timber sales revenue foregone by the U.S. Treasury is estimated to equal the cost of PCP roads. Although there is no appropriation of money for PCP roads, Congress establishes an obligation limit each fiscal year.

FRP funds include costs in support of the PCP, such as planning, survey, design, and construction engineering. It is critical that roads continue to be located and designed properly and that actual construction is properly supervised. About $35 million in FRP appropriated funds were used to support the PCP program in FY 1996.

Where provided by timber sale contracts, timber purchasers earn timber purchaser credits, thereby reducing the amount they must pay in cash for the timber.

• Program in 1998

The budget proposes to phase out use of purchaser credits to reconstruct or construct roads and bridges needed to provide access for timber sales. Road costs will be treated similarly to all other purchaser costs associated with the timber sale and will be reflected in the competitive bids made for sales. Timber sale contracts will continue to specify construction and reconstruction of permanent system roads. FRP funds will continue to be used to ensure that purchaser financed roads meet standards for safety, resource protection, and economic efficiency. It is estimated that $37 million in FRP funds will be used for this purpose in FY 1998.