The San Dimas Technology and Development Center (SDTDC) of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, developed the soil and water road-condition index (SWRCI) to provide a roadcondition assessment tool for watershed- and project-scale analysis. SWRCI is intended to be a rapid-assessment tool for soil scientists and hydrologists to use to identify effects of roads to soil quality and function, as well as impacts to water quality and downstream values. The SWRCI desk reference is a companion document to the SWRCI field guide and rating form. The desk reference: Provides a description of each road attribute (road-surface shape, road-stream connectivity). Identifies the questions the attribute addresses for a project- or watershed-scale road analysis. Identifies related indicators and the usefulness of the attribute in identifying road impacts to soil and water resources with referenced research findings.