New Travel Management Rule

The USDA Forest Service announced a new regulation in November 2005, governing off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and other motor vehicle use on national forests and grasslands. The new rule states that all OHV use on public lands managed by the Forest Service would be limited to designated routes and trails.

"OHVs are fun and exciting ways to experience national forests, and we've seen dramatic increases in their popularity in the last decades," said Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth. "Land managers, working with states, counties, motorized sports enthusiasts, conservationists, local communities and others, will provide sustainable motorized recreation experiences in national forests and grasslands for the long run." For more information on the new national travel management rule please visit http://www.fs.fed.us

 

Why the need for a new policy?

Unmanaged recreation, particularly OHV use, has been identified as one of four threats to the health of America's National Forests.  The National Off-Highway Vehicle use policy addresses the need to mitigate undesirable effects of irresponsible and damaging OHV use on the nations Forests.

Each year millions of off-highway vehicles travel America's National Forests legally and sensibly on open roads and trails. In the past thirteen years we have experienced a significant increase of OHV use on public lands. View A National Report from the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (NSRE)(.pdf). A small but growing number of irresponsible OHV riders are threatening the health of all National Forests by driving far off-trail, damaging fragile plants, wetlands, and ecosystems.

 

To address this National Forest health problem, the National OHV Policy is being implemented on the Ozark National Forest. Under the new rules, OHVs must remain on designated roads and trails systems while on the National Forest. It also ensures that all Forests will involve the public in developing a system designated roads and trails.

 

Stages of Implementation

Stage 1

Designate existing routes and trails that follow safety guidelines established by trails team and engineering staff. This will be done on a Forest-wide scale.

Stage 2

Determine the need for further designation of closed roads and look at the possibility of new connector trail construction. This will be done on a District level.

 

What criteria was used to determine routes and trails?

The team in charge of the implementation of the OHV plan looked at

several aspects when choosing routes, including:

 

.Public Safety

.Proximity to sensitive riparian areas

.Proximity to Wild and Scenic rivers, Wilderness areas, and Special Interest Areas

.Proximity to threatened, endangered, or rare species

.Proximity to archeological sites

.Presence of highly erodible soils

.Jurisdiction of the route (county, state or forest)

.Traditional routes

 

How will I know where I can ride?

The Forest Service will provide maps of designated routes and trails at the Ozark National Forest Supervisor's and District offices. Maps will be updated on a yearly basis to reflect changes in designation (closings, openings, etc.)

We have also reproduced the popular "Traveling the Backcountry" brochure for visitors to our Forests. It is a complete atlas of routes and trails that can be ridden forest-wide. (Note: Traveling the Backcountry is a very large publication that may take time to download. Original print size is 14X22 with a 28X22 centerfold.)

There are four designated multi-use trails: Huckleberry Mountain Horse Trail (near Midway), Mill Creek Trail (near Combs), Moccasin Gap Horse Trail (near Dover)  and Brock Creek Trail (near Jerusalem).

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