Motorized Travel Management - Need For Change
Need For Change
The proliferation of unplanned, unauthorized and non-sustainable roads and trails created by cross-country travel adversely impacts the environment, leading to the need for regulating unmanaged motor vehicle travel.
This project will not analyze nor change winter over the snow motorized travel.
The purpose and needs of the Travel Management proposed action are summarized below:
There is a need to designate a sustainable system of roads, trails and areas open to motor vehicles that will provide legal public access, enhance regulation of unmanaged motor vehicle travel, protect resources, and decrease motorized conflicts on National Forest System lands.
Changes are needed to National Forest System road and trail systems to designate motor vehicle route access to dispersed recreation opportunities such as camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and to designate corridors for motorized access to dispersed camping. Some dispersed recreation activities depend on motor vehicle access. Dispersed recreation activities accessed by motor vehicles often utilize short spurs that have been created primarily by the passage of motor vehicles. Many such unauthorized user-created? routes are not part of the national forest transportation system. If these access routes are not added to the transportation system and designated on the motor vehicle use map (MVUM), or if corridors for motorized access to dispersed camping areas are not designated, regulatory changes noted above would prohibit their use and preclude motor vehicle access to many dispersed recreation activities.
There is a need to provide diverse motor vehicle recreation opportunities such as 4X4 vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, passenger cars as well as OHVs operated by both licensed and unlicensed drivers. Part of this diversity includes designating a system of reasonably safe motorized mixed use? on national forest roads that recognizes Washington state law regulating motor vehicle use.
There is a need to amend existing Okanogan and Wenatchee Forest Plan direction applicable to road and trail management to be consistent with the Travel Management Final Rule
To learn more, read the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests Motorized Travel Management Proposed Action Scoping Document [PDF].