Forest Service hosts off-highway restriction for Humboldt-Toiyabe

Staff Reports

Off-highway vehicle restrictions are being proposed by the U.S. Forest Service for trails south of Wilson Canyon.

Pine Nut Mountain Trails Association President Nate Littrell said he's heard that only a few of the existing trails are being recognized by the Forest Service.

"We hear they are getting super aggressive in designating trails and not designating existing trails," he said.

The Forest Service is seeking public comment on off-highway vehicle use and routes located on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The public is invited to attend open houses on Tuesday evenings to review the OHV Route Inventory and route designation process at Smith Valley High School 6-8 p.m. Tuesday and again 6-8 p.m. May 2 in Bridgeport at the Memorial Hall.

Forest Service staff will be available to answer questions about the route inventory maps of the Bridgeport Ranger District, collect information on non-system OHV routes, and answer questions on the temporary forest order that will be implemented in June 2006. The Forest Order will restrict designated routes and areas on the portion of the district located in California. The information collected during these sessions will help determine the public's use of OHV routes throughout the district, and also focus on routes that have and have not been captured in the inventory.

Over the next few years, the Bridgeport Ranger District will complete an inventory of roads, trails, and areas used by OHVs, identify a system of routes from that inventory, and designate those routes/areas for OHV use. Both the California and Nevada sides of the district will be addressed in this process.

The Bridgeport Ranger District will be following the Region 5 OHV Route Designation guidelines that incorporate the 5-step process.

This will be used for the portion of the district that lies within the state of California. Information on the process can be found online at www.fs.fed.us/r5/rwhr/ohv/route-designation/index.html or by contacting the Bridgeport Ranger Station.

"We would like some help to make sure that we have all the routes mapped," said Paul Koehler, Bridgeport Ranger District Recreation Planner. "We would also like to hear which routes are most important to the public."

For more information on this release, call Bridgeport District Ranger Cheryl Probert at 760-932-7070, Forest Planner Dave Loomis at 884-8132, Public Affairs Specialist Lindsay Pulliam at www.fs.fed.us/r4/htnf or call 884-8123.