The US Forest Service said this week that it wants to open more roads and trails on public lands to off-road vehicles and other motorized traffic.
The change would scale back restrictions that had been enacted in 2005 to protect natural areas in response to rising use of off-road vehicles on a multitude of unofficial roads. Under the proposed rule, those unsanctioned paths could be reopened to vehicles unless there is a documented reason that they should remain closed. Hikers and skiers could also end up sharing popular trails with all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.
In a Federal Register notice, agency officials said that they planned to expand public access to National Forest Service lands by presuming that any roads, trails, trailheads, and airfields are open to vehicles unless restrictions are required by law, needed to manage competing uses, or necessary to manage other documented issues.
The USFS said that the rule change would help to improve recreational access to forests and grasslands. It would require that the agency review restricted routes that could be reopened as well as create a process for considering the creation of new routes that would expand public access using off-road vehicles and other equipment. That could include limited access for hunters to retrieve game, dispersed camping, firewood collection, and snowmobile travel.
“The proposed regulations would specify whether each use would be authorized through a route or area designation, a written authorization, or a categorical exemption and would establish applicable geographic, seasonal, vehicle-class, and resource-protection conditions,” the agency said.
In addition, the rule would exempt certain electric bikes from motor vehicle restrictions within National Forest lands.
Department officials said in the notice that the 2005 Travel Management Rule required that the US Forest Service identify and publish routes where the public can use motor vehicles and prohibit vehicle use outside of those areas, and a 2015 rule added rules to govern over-snow vehicle use on USFS-managed lands with sufficient snowfall.
Outdoor Alliance said this week that the Travel Management Rule has helped to manage the impacts of vehicles, ensure environmental sustainability, and protect the experiences of all visitors. It also helps the agency to manage the costs of an “increasingly unsustainable road system.”
By establishing an “open unless designated closed” policy on roads, trails, and other access points, however, the government could force land managers to open popular hiking and skiing trails to vehicles without full consideration of the effects on humans and the environment. In addition, presuming that unofficial roads, trails, and airstrips should be open to the public could further fragment national forest landscapes, it said.
The organization also noted that the rule would rescind criteria that the USFS uses to minimize user conflicts and impacts on sensitive environmental resources such as wildlife, soils, and water quality, and it would establish a national policy of allowing forests to authorize off-route vehicle travel. It also would remove public input opportunities for trail and road reclassification.
The USFS is accepting comments on the proposal through Sept. 23.
The USFS also moved earlier this month to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which has since 2001 prevented road development, logging, and mining in 45 million acres of public lands. The agency said that the change could allow more timber harvesting and resource extraction.
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