This chapter explains how to incorporate the Forest Service Outdoor Recreation Accessibility Guidelines (FSORAG) and Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines (FSTAG) into the outdoor recreation environment.

Suppose you are assigned a project to reconstruct a picnic area or campground, or to design a trail. Based on information from the previous chapters, you know that you'll be using FSORAG and FSTAG rather than Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS). As you read through the FSORAG and FSTAG, however, you may have questions about how to apply all the conditions for departure, provisions, and exceptions to the provisions of the guidelines. The purpose of this chapter is to explain how designers should apply the guidelines and to help them understand the rationale behind each of the provisions.

Terminology

Some terms used in the FSTAG and FSORAG may not be familiar. The terms include:

• Conditions for Departure from the guidelines are circumstances found in natural environments that may make compliance with the provisions difficult.
  
  
• Exceptions to the provisions are allowed under certain circumstances and are identified in paragraphs labeled "Exception" in the FSTAG and FSORAG.
  
  
• Scoping means figuring out when, how much, and where the guidelines apply.
  
  
• Technical provisions state what is required to be done.

The following terms describe construction and maintenance work:

• Construction is building a new trail, recreation site, or facility where there was none before.
  
  
• An alteration of a trail is a change in the original purpose, intent, or function for which the trail was designed.
  
  
• An alteration of a recreation site, building, or facility is a change to a portion of a recreation site, building, or facility that is addressed by the accessibility guidelines and that affects the usability of the site, building, or facility.
  
  
• Maintenance is routine or periodic repair of existing trails, recreation sites, or facilities. Maintenance doesn't change the original purpose, intent, or function of a facility. Maintenance work isn't covered by the FSORAG or FSTAG. Maintenance includes but isn't limited to:
  
  
  • Repairing or replacing deteriorated, damaged, or vandalized trails, facilities, or components. Examples include repainting, removing graffiti, and repairing or replacing components of facilities with new components similar to the original ones. Components include sections of bridges or boardwalks, signs, fencing and railings, siding, windows, and roofing.
    
    
  • Removing debris and vegetation, such as fallen trees or broken branches; clearing encroaching vegetation from trails, pathways, lawns, or landscaped areas; and removing rock slides.
    
    
  • Maintaining trail tread and access routes, including filling ruts, reshaping a trail bed, replacing or reshaping surfacing material, repairing washouts, installing riprap to retain cut and fill slopes, constructing retaining walls or cribbing to support trail tread, and repairing concrete or asphalt paving.
    
    
  • Performing erosion control and drainage work, such as replacing or installing drainage dips or culverts and realigning sections of trail to reduce erosion or avoid boggy areas.

While the FSORAG and FSTAG don't apply to maintenance, Forest Service policy is to improve accessibility wherever the opportunity arises. Where practicable and feasible, resource managers are encouraged to improve accessibility through maintenance and repair activities as explained in Maintenance Tip—Improving Accessibility Through Maintenance.

The term "reconstruction" isn't used in Federal accessibility guidelines or the FSORAG and FSTAG, even though it is frequently used in the recreation and trails communities. For the purposes of the FSORAG and FSTAG, actions are categorized as construction, alteration, or maintenance.

The Purpose of the FSORAG and FSTAG

The FSORAG and FSTAG provide guidance for maximizing accessibility while recognizing and protecting natural settings—sometimes this is a real balancing act! Some basic assumptions:

• The FSORAG and FSTAG closely follow the draft document on outdoor recreation developed by a regulatory negotiations committee of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) and will be modified if necessary to conform to the final document, when it is complete.
  
  
• The FSORAG and FSTAG integrate the Forest Service policy of universal design.
  
  
• Accessibility is to be considered up front, not as an afterthought.
  
  
• All new construction and alterations will be as accessible as possible.
  
  
• Compliance with the FSORAG and FSTAG does not mean that all recreation areas and trails will be accessible to all persons with disabilities; in some locations, the natural environment will prevent full compliance with some of the technical provisions.

The FSORAG and FSTAG each include sections explaining when, where, and how much of the recreation area or trail is included (scoping), what has to comply with the guidelines, definitions of terms, and technical provisions defining the physical characteristics of accessible features such as width, height, slope, length, surface conditions, and so forth. The building blocks for accessible design are based mostly on wheelchair dimensions, clear space, maneuvering room, and reach ranges found in the ABAAS because the dimensions, multiple moving surface contact points, and wheels of a wheelchair are the most difficult to accommodate. If someone in a wheelchair can use an area, most other people can too.

Each section of the FSORAG is explained below in practical terms, followed by a similar explanation of the FSTAG.