Horsley Witten Group, Protectores de Cuencas

Unpaved Road Standard for Caribbean and Pacific Islands

2021

NOAA; National Marine Fisheries Service; Office of Habitat Conservation

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first guidance manual aimed at improving the longevity of unpaved road surfaces in Pacific and Caribbean island jurisdictions. On small, steep islands, the unpaved road network can be one of the biggest sources of sediment transport to nearshore marine ecosystems. Given the beatdown coral reefs are taking globally, the least we can do is improve water quality conditions so these critters can focus their survival efforts on recovering from disease and adapting to warming temperatures, ocean acidification, and overfishing. Public works officials, residents, and visitors agree that there are real economic advantages to keeping dirt where it belongs. Loss of road surface materials every time it rains is, literally, money down the drain. This guidebook is intended to help users identify the cause of unpaved road erosion; develop a strategy for addressing the problem; and implement that strategy on a specific road, or on a larger, ecologically-meaningful scale (i.e., watershed or municipality). This guide does not provide extensive detail on road BMPs, which is covered in other publications (see references). Rather, the focus is to recommend design standards and appropriate practices to minimize erosion, improve drainage and accessibility, and reduce the long-term maintenance burden. More importantly, this guide offers suggested elements for building or improving municipal road programs to ensure that unpaved roads do not become a sediment source or public nuisance. "

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

FY2016; CRCP Project: 30033; Project Title: Reducing LBSP threats from unpaved roads on Culebra Island; Principal Investigator: Lisa Vandiver