Mary Ann Davies, Project Leader
More and more Americans are using off-highway vehicles (OHVs) to enjoy the national forests and grasslands. When OHV recreation is managed carefully in the right places, it is an appropriate use of national forest roads, trails, and areas, but unmanaged OHV recreation can damage land and resources.
Many national forests have not had guidelines for OHV travel-management signs. Some forests used these signs to designate open routes, while other forests used the signs to identify restricted routes. The lack of consistent guidelines was confusing (figure 1) and contributed to problems of public compliance with regulations. Enforcement was difficult. The Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service (EM–7100–15) was revised in December 2005 to help achieve a consistent, effective, and economical sign program that meets Forest Service objectives (figure 2).
Figure 1—Signs can be confusing when they are not consistent.
Figure 2—Signs that follow the revised guidelines
for OHV travel management are consistent,
making them easier to understand.
In 2005 the Forest Service published a new rule, Travel Man-agement; Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use (36 CFR Parts 212, 251, 261, and 295), providing for motor-vehicle access to National Forest System lands. The final rule requires each forest and grassland to designate roads, trails, and areas for motorized use by making decisions at the local level after appropriate public involvement, environmental analysis, and documentation.
Motor-vehicle-use maps will identify roads, trails, and areas that are open to motorized use. Signs indicating motor-vehicle closures or restrictions are not required for enforcement. As a practical matter, signs may need to supplement the motor-vehicle-use maps, drawing attention to some closures. Every effort should be made to ensure that all designated routes have route identification signs that correspond with the map. Some major changes in the guidelines for OHV signs are:
- Travel-management signs will follow the standards and guidance contained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the Sign and Poster Guide-lines for the Forest Service (EM 7100–15).
For example:
- Sign colors have changed from a brown legend on a white background to a black legend on a white background.
- Signs on open roads maintained at levels 3, 4, or 5 need letters that are at least 4 inches tall.
- Symbols for uses that are not allowed should be displayed. These symbols have a red slash across them. Symbols for allowed uses should not be displayed.
- Travel management symbols should be placed in the order specified in the guidelines to ensure consistency.
Each region and forest is required to have an up-to-date sign plan for roads and trails.
Forest Service employees can view and print a copy of the Sign and Poster Guidelines for the Forest Service on the Forest Service’s internal computer network at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/programs/signs.htm.
Anyone can view the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), 2003 Edition, on the Internet at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/.
For further technical information, contact Mary Ann Davies at MTDC.
Phone: 406–329–3981
Fax: 406–329–3719
E-mail: mdavies@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC’s documents are available on the Internet at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/ (Username: t-d, Password: t-d)
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees can search a more complete collection of MTDC’s documents, videos, and CDs on their internal computer network at:
