More U.S. forest lands could soon be open to ATVs, e-bikes and other motorized vehicles.
On Aug. 21, the Trump administration announced it wants to revise the Travel Management Rule, a 20-plus-year-old U.S. Forest Service policy. It dictates when motorized use is and isn’t allowed.
Right now, these vehicles are only allowed on national forest lands specifically designated for them. The Trump administration could flip that on its head, according to Peggy dePasquale, national forests wildlands director at the Wyoming Wilderness Association.
“Instead of ‘closed unless designated open,’ ‘open unless designated closed,’” she said.
The administration has said it’s revising the longstanding rule to increase access for motorized vehicles, e-bikes and other mobility devices.
“The existing travel management scheme creates unnecessary barriers for Americans to enjoy the national forests and grasslands that they own,” Mike Boren said in a press release.
He’s an Idahoan serving as undersecretary for natural resources and environment at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service.
Boren added, “By simplifying regulations and aligning them with the mission of the United States Forest Service, we are providing the necessary tools for local leaders to ensure that roads, trails, airfields, trailheads and other access routes are open and appropriate for public use.”
But dePasquale pushed back, saying the existing Forest Service policy has never been about restricting access.
“It's about making access sustainable and well understood by everybody,” she said.
DePasquale added that she worries allowing more vehicles in national forests could mean recreators creating more routes and damaging habitats and wildlands nationwide.
The Blue Ribbon Coalition, however, said the rule was “overdue for a fix.” The nonprofit represents people who ride 4x4s, ATVs, snowmobiles, e-bikes and more across the country.
“The rule is producing exactly the kind of gridlock, inconsistency, and access loss that motorized recreationists, rural counties, and even land managers themselves have been complaining about for years,” the organization said on its website.
This is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to increase motorized use on public lands. On Aug. 18, it also announced plans to repeal the Roadless Rule, which could mean more roads in national forests.
The administration says this will help wildfire prevention efforts, but environmental advocates say the move would only increase fire risk, pointing to the government’s own data.
DePasquale said these recent announcements could result in a “free-for-all” on public lands.
“As we degrade and take management and control away from how we care for these places, we're losing them slowly,” she said.
The public can comment on the first steps to revise the Travel Management Rule until Sept. 23, and can comment on the proposal to repeal the Roadless Rule until Sept. 21.
In less than a week, the Roadless Rule changes have received more than 38,000 comments.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
