St. Joe Ranger District Travel Management Plan
Update on the status of the St. Joe Travel plan, April 15, 2010
Under the 2005 Travel Management Rule, each National Forest is to designate roads, trails, and areas that will be open to the public, identify the type of wheeled motorized vehicles that are allowed to use these routes, and publish this information on a Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). Once the map is published, cross-country wheeled motorized vehicle use will be prohibited.
Greetings from Chuck Mark, District Ranger of the St. Joe Ranger District:
I would like to give you an update on the St. Joe Travel Management Environmental Assessment (EA) and decision. My staff and I considered your comments on the EA, incorporated some of your suggestions, and responded to all of the comments. The interdisciplinary team reviewed the EA, incorporated necessary clarifications, and documented further analysis, where appropriate. I greatly appreciate your continued efforts to help us understand your desires for travel management.
I have made a preliminary decision on the St. Joe Travel Management Plan, and we are currently in informal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on my decision. Once consultation is complete, the updated St. Joe Travel Management EA and my decision will be published and made available to the public.
We anticipate that the St. Joe Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), the first step in implementing the Travel Plan, should be available late in 2010. The MVUM will display those roads and trails designated for public motorized use, specifying vehicle class and time of year, where appropriate on the St. Joe Ranger District. Cross-country motorized use will be prohibited off designated motorized routes, except in limited areas for dispersed camping. The MVUM will be free to the public, and it will be the principal education and law enforcement tool for travel management. It will be the responsibility of forest users to get Motor Vehicle Use Maps from Forest Service offices or websites and to ensure they are only using motorized vehicles on routes designated for their particular motorized vehicle.
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Project Timeline
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Distribution of EA:
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September 11, 2009
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EA Comment Period:
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September 12 to October 13, 2009
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Decision:
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When consultation with USFWS is complete
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Publication of Motorized Vehicle Use Map:
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Late 2010
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Thank you for your contributions! I want to thank all of you who took the time and made the effort to help us develop the alternatives considered in the EA. I appreciate the contributions of the St. Joe Focus Group and the greater public who provided input over the last two years.
When will the Forest Service make a decision for travel management on the St. Joe? When consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is complete.
Where can you view the maps for this project? We did not send the 18 maps that went with the EA except on CD because it is so expensive to print them. Your own personal copies of the maps are available on CDs, online, or printed at a very small scale on 11" X 17" sheets of paper. Call the St. Joe Ranger District if you would like maps on a CD or printed on 11" X 17" sheets of paper. Paper copies of the larger maps are currently available for review at:
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St. Joe Ranger District in St. Maries, Idaho
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St. Joe Ranger District near Avery, Idaho
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If you have questions , contact the St. Joe Ranger District at 208-245-2531
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--Chuck Mark, District Ranger
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