Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument - Projects and Plans, Travel Management/Motor Vehicle Route Designation Project

DEIS

Draft Environmental Impact Statement Available for Comment

TRAVEL MANAGEMENT/MOTORIZED VEHICLE ROUTE DESIGNATION PROJECT

BACKGROUND

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS)

WANTED — VOLUNTEER SUCCESS STORIES

In 2003, the Forest Service in California outlined a strategy for establishing a sustainable system of designated routes for motor vehicle use, known as Route Designation. In 2005, the Forest Service issued a national framework for local forests to use in designating a sustainable system of roads, trails and areas for motor vehicle use. In order to align with the new national framework, Route Designation became Travel Management. The goal remains the same, to secure a wide range of recreation opportunities while ensuring the best possible care of the land.

BACKGROUND

The rapid expansion of OHV use on national forests and grasslands is impacting the natural and heritage resources of federal lands. The Chief of the Forest Service has identified unmanaged recreation - especially impacts from OHVs - as one of the key threats facing the nation's forests today. Unmanaged OHV use has resulted in unplanned roads and trails, erosion, watershed and habitat degradation, and impacts on heritage resource sites.

Improved management of wheeled motor vehicle use on National Forest System lands would allow the Forest Service to enhance opportunities for public enjoyment of National Forest System lands, including motorized and non-motorized recreation experiences. The Forest Service revised its national policy governing the use of wheeled motor vehicles to develop a system of roads, trails, and areas designated for motor vehicle use to minimize or eliminate the undesirable impacts from unmanaged OHV use.

We are working with the OHV, environmental, and other communities to identify existing routes and areas in order to develop the forest route designations.

TIMETABLE for California

A Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between the Forest Service (Region 5), the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, and the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division of the California State Parks and Recreation established a strategy to guide the designation process and sets a schedule for completion.

Five Steps to Route Designation

The following is a summary of the five steps that are designed to implement the Forest Service - State of California MOI and designate trails and areas for motorized vehicle use on all National Forest System land in California.

Map (GPS) existing unclassified roads, motorized vehicle trails (both NFS and non-system), and off-route use areas, and enter the data in GIS (Geographic Information System) and INFRA (Infrastructure database). Designate team leaders, compile Forest OHV Management Direction, assemble needed information, identify gaps in data, prioritize, develop action plans, and begin field surveys. Share maps with the public by December 2005 (earlier if possible). Collect comments by March 2006.
Issue Forest Orders prohibiting motorized wheeled vehicle use off of mapped roads, trails, and off-route use areas. Involve the public. Complete no later than June 2006.
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 motorized vehicles. Complete surveys of information and data gaps. Involve the public. Publish proposed action by June 2007. Collect public comments no later than thirty days after the Notice of Intent is published in the Federal Register.
Complete analyses and prepare NEPA documents designating all trails and specifically defined areas for wheeled motorized vehicle use. Involve the public. Complete no later than April 2009.
Publish Motor Vehicle Use Maps with designated roads, trails, and areas by July 2009.

Link to the National Travel Management website

CURRENT STATUS

OHV routes on the Kern Plateau existed prior to this strategy
The Giant Sequoia National Monument is not affected – routes are already designated by Forest Order
Winter uses are not affected by this strategy
Contract and in-house inventory of unmapped motorized vehicle routes was completed in August 2004
Areas of focus: Greenhorn Mountains, Breckenridge Mountain, Lake Isabella, and Piute Mountains
Forest Order 06-09 and maps issued in July 2006
Proposed Action issued in Transmittal Letter and Notice of Intent (published in the Federal Register)in June 2007
Draft Environmental Impact Statement published for comment in December 2008

Travel Management EIS

FOREST ORDER

FOREST ORDER, JULY 2006

The purpose of this order is to prevent resource damage to soils, plants, water, and other resources caused by unregulated cross-country travel by off-highway vehicles (OHVs). In recent years, the popularity of OHVs has surged, leading to the proliferation of unplanned OHV trails and associated resource damage. This order is intended to stop the creation of new routes and trails until a safe and manageable system of OHV roads, trails, and open areas can be designated.

Many of you are aware of the route designation process on which we are currently working. The following forest order does not designate roads, trails, or open areas for OHV use, and it does not close existing trails, roads, or open areas. It merely prohibits cross-country travel. As we continue through the route designation process, you will be given many opportunities to participate in the designation of the routes.

Link to the Forest Order

Forest Order Maps for the Route Designation Strategy

(All inventoried routes are shown on the Forest Order maps.)

focus of designated route strategy

PROPOSED ACTION

The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal Register on June 15, 2007. A scoping letter and a copy of the NOI were mailed to interested publics, describing the Proposed Action.

Link to the NOI

Link to the Transmittal Letter

Proposed Action Maps for the Travel Management Project

Design Criteria Table

Map of Trails and Trail Segments of Concern, Greenhorn Mountains Area

Map of Trails and Trail Segments of Concern, Breckenridge Mountain Area

Map of Trails and Trail Segments of Concern, Piute Mountains Area

PUBLIC INPUT

With the release of the Notice of Intent, the Sequoia National Forest received numerous comments from the public about our proposal. A review of the comments is being conducted in order to determine which ones are issues (points of dispute, disagreement, or debate about the environmental effects of the proposed action). Issues are being separated into two groups: significant and non-significant. Significant issues are defined as those directly or indirectly caused by implementing the proposed action; they will be used to form alternatives. Non-significant issues are identified as those:

outside the scope of the proposed action
already decided by law, regulation, Forest Plan, or other higher level decision
irrelevant to the decision to be made
conjectural and not supported by scientific or factual evidence

In addition to issues, alternatives to the proposed action that were submitted by the public are being reviewed and considered. Alternatives will be developed that address the significant issues. The significant issues and alternatives to be studied further will be posted on this website as they are available.

DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS)

Through the summer and fall of 2007, members of the interdisciplinary (ID) team conducted more field surveys in the project area. Additional information was needed in order to conduct the environmental analysis. The ID team is currently finalizing the DEIS. The DEIS is expected to be ready for public review in February 2009.

VOLUNTEER SUCCESS STORIES

Sequoia Friends,

If you frequently visit the Sequoia National Forest and volunteer your time working on our trails, your stories and photos are wanted.

Our goal is to create a success stories page to highlight the great volunteer work you do.

Please mail your stories to sequoia.route.designation@fs.fed.us.