You are Here: HOME » project and plans » OHV Route Designation - Travel Management

Page Tools:

OHV Route Designation - Travel Management

 

 

OHV Route Designation Background

The Plumas National Forest (PNF) is currently starting the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis for the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Route Designation – Travel Management project. This project is part of a Nation-wide process to authorize OHV use on those existing trails, roads and areas which will provide for a variety of recreational experiences in a safe and ecologically sustainable manner. Authorized use would also continue a restriction on travel between trails, roads, and areas (cross-country) unless some type of permit is in place that allows otherwise.

In April of 2007, after 3 years of work and 17 well-attended public meetings and workshops, the Forest released a “first cut” of a future OHV route system which included approximately 240 miles of proposed motorized system trails. Forest employees continued to work with many interested people to identify additional motorized trails that serve as connectors, create loops, or link to other destinations.  Trails without easements on private land were not included. As a result, the proposed motorized system now totals approximately 370 miles and 1 play area. The environmental analysis will focus on that proposal and any new alternatives developed in response to substantive public comment or other new information.

Note:  The 370 miles mentioned above are in addition to the 107 miles of motorized system trails that currently exist on the PNF. In addition to motorized trails, there are also 4,120 miles of system roads on the PNF which are currently available for motorized use. Of the 4,120 miles, 3,484 miles are available for both street and non-street legal vehicles while the remaining 636 miles are available for street legal vehicles only.

Please review the “Proposed Action” and maps of each Ranger District (Beckwourth, Mt. Hough and Feather River) with the respective proposed motorized trail system. As noted in the proposed action, you will have sixty calendar days to provide comments; the sixty days will start when the proposed action is published in the Federal Register, currently planned for on or about December 28, 2007. Your comments will contribute to a draft environmental impact document (DEIS), scheduled to be completed in fall of 2008. If you have already provided specific route comments you do not need to provide them again. A second opportunity to comment will follow release of the DEIS, concluding with a decision in late 2008. Once the decision is made, maps will be developed and routes will be signed.

Informal open houses are scheduled for January 2008 in Blairsden, Quincy, and Oroville, CA, respectively, and interested members of the community are invited to drop by at any time from 3-6:00 in the afternoon. Team members will be available to familiarize people with the route designation and environmental analysis processes.

Where	When	What Time	Address
Blairsden	January 15, 2008	3-6pm	Beckwourth Ranger District Office 23 Mohawk Road
Quincy	January 22, 2008	3-6pm	Mount Hough Ranger District Office 39693 Highway 70
Oroville	January 29, 2008	3-6pm	Feather River Ranger District Office 875 Mitchell Avenue

Please contact any of the following Plumas National Forest Recreation personnel with questions or to review maps:

• Erica Brenzovich, Feather River RD, Oroville, (530) 534-6500
• Peggy Gustafson, Mt. Hough RD, Quincy, (530) 283-0555
• Lynne Ingram, Beckwourth RD, Blairsden, (530) 836-2575
• Pete Hochrein, Supervisor’s Office, Quincy, (530) 283-2050

If you are interested in learning more about participation in the assessment of environmental impacts conducted by Federal agencies, please see a “Citizen’s Guide to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)".

We are working with the OHV, environmental, and other non-motorized communities to identify existing OHV routes and areas, and to develop the forest-level OHV designations.

Timetable for California

1. Map existing unclassified roads, OHV trails (both National Forest System and non-system), and off-route use areas, and enter the data in Geographic Information Systems and Infrastructure databases. Designate team leaders, compile Forest OHV Management Direction, assemble needed information, identify gaps in data, prioritize, develop action plans, and begin field surveys. We will begin sharing maps with the public in May of 2005, with a primary interest of having users and stakeholders validate the routes that we have located. Most importantly, we would like the stakeholders to help us identify routes that we have missed. Collect comments by October 1, 2005.  Completed as of October, 2005.
2. Issue temporary Forest Orders prohibiting wheeled vehicle use off mapped roads, trails, and off-route use areas. Involve the public. Forest Order signed December 1, 2006 and takes effect December 31, 2006, and remains in effect. 
3. Evaluate inventoried roads, trails, and areas; collaborate with the public in developing proposed systems of roads, trails, and specifically defined areas for use by wheeled OHV's; complete surveys of information and data gaps. Involve the public. Proposed Action to be developed for public comment by January 2008. 
4. Complete analyses and prepare National Environmental Protection Agency documents designating all trails and specifically defined areas for wheeled OHV use. Involve the public. Complete no later than Fall 2008.
5. Publish Motor Vehicle Use Map designating trails, and specifically defined areas. Install appropriate signing, publish maps of approved OHV systems for public distribution, and implement any mitigation measures by Fall 2008.

Implementation Goals

Our goal is to protect public forests while continuing to provide recreational opportunities. It is to have an OHV route system that is both manageable and sustainable, in accordance with the new Travel Management Rule, 36 CFR Parts 212, 251, 261, and 295, November 9, 2005.

We will be reviewing our existing routes - our currently designated system plus the inventoried routes - and making adjustments to our designated system to improve some OHV routes through re-routes and/or additions, consolidate others to eliminate duplication, and close the routes that are of greatest environmental concern.

A "manageable" OHV trail system would be designed and located on the landscape such that routine maintenance - barring the impacts of unforeseen events such as wildfires or floods - would allow the trail system to be maintained in an acceptable condition. A "sustainable" OHV trail system would be an environmentally sound trail system that could be maintained in an acceptable condition throughout many years.

Current Status

The Plumas National Forest is currently working on Steps 3 & 4 of the OHV Route Designation process.

The environmental ID team has been designated by the Forest Supervisor

Route Designation Guidebook

The Region 5 OHV Route Designation Guidebook presents a 5 step process for designating off-highway vehicle (OHV) routes on the 19 National Forests in California, including the California portions of the Humboldt-Toiyabe; based upon existing laws, regulations, and policies. A detailed description of all five steps and a timeline that shows the interrelationships among the steps make up the main portion of the Guidebook, as revised September, 2006.

Download the Route Designation Guidebook on the Region 5 web site

 

How You Can Help

Please ensure that all users are aware of the new Forest Order requiring OHV users to stay on the National Forest System roads,  National Forest System trails, routes, and open areas as shown on the Forest Order Exhibit A Maps.

Website to be updated as new information becomes available.

Last Updated on: March 19, 2008