Travel Management
An overhead view of a forest road crossing a stream with a newly installed culvert that allows for fish passage, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
(USDA Forest Service)The Forest Service manages more than 371,000 miles of roads, which provide crucial access for outdoor recreation, forest management activities, emergency response, and permitted resource extraction. Over time, increased public use of forest roads and less available funding to maintain them raised concerns about how certain road use was impacting fish and wildlife habitat in National Forests. In 2005, the Forest Service published the Travel Management Rule (36 CFR part 212), which aimed to balance motorized recreation with natural resource protections and other forest values.
Under this rule, each National Forest must identify the minimum road system needed for safe and efficient travel and for administration, utilization, and protection of National Forest lands. In determining this, National Forests must incorporate science-based analysis to identify roads that are no longer needed to meet forest resource management objectives. Additionally, each National Forest must develop a Motor Vehicle Use Map. These maps display the roads, trails and areas that are open to motorized travel on each National Forest. Only the routes shown on the Motor Vehicle Use Map are open to public motor vehicle travel.
Regional Travel Management Planning & Implementation Pause
In 2025, the Pacific Northwest Region paused travel management proposals in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) projects that would reduce public access within the region. This temporary pause allows us to align with the ongoing national review of travel management policy.
The pause applies only to new decisions that would limit access—it does not reopen closed roads or reverse past decisions. Existing regulations, including the Travel Management Rule, remain in effect. Routine road maintenance, safety work, and modifications required by forest plans will continue as usual.
We’re committed to protecting public access and using taxpayer resources efficiently. Once the national policy review is complete, we’ll revisit access-related decisions with updated guidance.
Pacific Northwest Regional Forester’s memo - June 25, 2025
Frequently Asked Questions
Each national forest maintains a road network to provide multiple-use access to public lands. Management of the transportation system aims to balance motorized recreation with natural resource protections and other forest values.
The Forest Service manages transportation systems in alignment with law, regulation and policy, including the 2005 Travel Management Rule and each national forest’s land and resource management plan.
The 2005 Travel Management Rule requires each national forest to identify a transportation system that balances environmental protection and recreational opportunities (36 CFR part 212).
- The Travel Management Rule includes three subparts:
- Subpart A: internal analysis of a sustainable forest transportation system documented in a Travel Analysis Report.
- Subpart B: designation of roads, trails and areas for motor vehicle use on national forest lands through a published Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM).
- Subpart C (2015): designation of roads, trails and areas for the use of over-snow vehicles on national forest lands through a published Over-Snow Vehicle Use Map (OSVUM).
- Changes to the transportation system can be included in project proposals in alignment with standards and guides in a forest’s land and resource management plan.
- NEPA decisions that alter designated routes are added to the forest’s Motor Vehicle Use Map on an annual basis.
Current travel management policies are under agency and departmental review. To ensure consistency, the Pacific Northwest Region’s regional forester directed all national forests in Oregon and Washington to pause related actions until the national review is complete.
The region wants to avoid making decisions that may need to be changed. This helps the agency to be efficient with taxpayer dollars, continue to protect public access, and reduce future project complexities.
Pacific Northwest Region regional forester’s memo “Interim Guidance for Travel Management Proposals and Decisions” issued on June 25, 2025, suspends new travel management decisions on the ground on National Forest System lands within the Pacific Northwest Region. The interim direction suspends new planning and implementation of the Travel Management Rule and project road actions that reduce public access. Which means:
- All Travel Management Rule analysis processes are on hold within the region.
- Projects that are still in the environmental analysis process must be evaluated to align with the intent of the regional forester’s memo that outlines interim guidance for travel management proposals and decisions.
- If removing road actions from a proposal substantially changes the project’s purpose and need, national forests should consider reinitiating public scoping with updated project information.
Emergency closures and site-specific road actions to protect natural resource values are not affected by this pause. Natural resource protection actions are typically proposed through individual projects and include public involvement opportunities.
- Changes to the transportation system in projects will be limited to those that are deemed necessary to safely implement mission critical work or fulfill requirements in a forest’s land and resource management plan.
- Forest supervisors will brief the regional forester on any projects that include site-specific road actions prior to moving forward with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis.
- Existing regulations, such as the Travel management Rule, remain in effect. The regional forester’s memo will not reopen roads closed through prior travel management analysis processes or NEPA decisions.
Forests may implement prior NEPA decisions to close roads if the change is necessary or required through a forest’s land and resource management plan.