Idaho Recreation Council

4 months ago

parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/registration-permits/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFFCVJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRX4VdeWY... ...

Registration & Permits - Department of Parks and Recreation

parksandrecreation.idaho.gov

Registration and Permits You can buy your registrations and permits online, in-person at vendors, or over the phone. *Note: Changes have been made to the OHV & Snowmobile permit program. Click here for more information. Online Most of our customers are choosing the convenience of the web option to r...

Idaho Recreation Council

5 months ago

Boise Ridge Closures

If you ride the Boise Ridge, be advised that closures are in place for Road 275 (5am-4pm M-F); and 275E and Trail 211 (24/7), both through October.
Trails branching off these routes not cited in the Closure Order are inherently affected, including Gardiner (Daggett Cr), Mahalo and other Ridge-to-Rivers-administered non-motorized trails.
See IDPR map and info links in popups pointing to the relevant Boise NF publications. Advanced map arcg.is/rKTqC0; Mobile edition arcg.is/1iWXvr2 .
. . . . . .

BLM Travel Management Update

The Four Rivers Field Office is a subdivision of the BLM's Boise District, with boundaries illustrated in the map included further below.

Pursuant to an August 2023 Record of Decision, the Four Rivers Resource Management Plan (RMP) replacing three separate Plans from 1987-1988 sets in place some general travel management rules and sets up the process to begin Travel Management Planning to further regulate motorized, OHV, & OSV access on BLM lands inside the Four Rivers Field Office (FO) administrative area.

Generally, riding/driving motorized, OHV, or over-snow vehicles off established routes is now forbidden everywhere in the Four Rivers area, except for defined play areas. More specifically...
• Motorized use is unrestricted on seven locations defined as play areas (total 2,940 acres). These locations are identified with a new special symbol on the IDPR map, see example at arcg.is/S8y8m (Advanced map); or arcg.is/5Pfzv (Mobile edition).
• Motorized use must remain on existing-routes-only on 750,093 acres of BLM ground within the FO administrative area.
• Motorized use is now explicitly prohibited on 30,122 acres within the FO area: several ACECs (environmental set-asides), a buffer area at Clay Peak OHV area, and a large Resource Conservation Area in the Bennett Hills region.
Copies of the previous RMPs from 1987-1988 covering the Four Rivers FO have not been found. Therefore, it has not been determined whether an existing-routes-only rule was in place for any ground within the FO area prior to approval of the current RMP.
But with certainty, as of August 2023, the preliminary travel rules are in place in advance of future Travel Management Planning processes to come for the six TM Areas.

An "Alternatives" map collection in IDPR's archive file-dated May 2010 could have been created for a prior proposed draft RMP around that time. This suggested a different access approach was at least considered in draft, differing from the management prescription arrived upon in 2023. On this map, 446,640 acres are shown designated as OHV "Open" meaning there could have been no requirement to remain on existing established routes on those specifically defined acres.
So, in effect as of last August, open OHV/OSV riding access became no-longer-authorized for at least 443,000+ acres and possibly over 750,000 acres inside this FO alone, not including additional off-limits ground defined in the 2023 RMP.

When Travel Management planning begins for the six TMAs as directed by the 2023 RMP, it would be worth reminding BLM of this significant change in authorized access as reasoning for retaining a maximum of designated miles of roads and trails from the existing route inventory. BLM recognized this condition in the Record of Decision by acknowledging that the area remaining for authorized public motorized access is now less than one percent of the total BLM-managed land area of the FO.

A map showing the Four Rivers Field Office administrative boundary and the six defined Travel Management Areas (TMAs) is copied below.

Full details on the August 2023 Four Rivers RMP Record of Decision can be found at eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1250/510



Regards,
Alex



Alex Ernst
Land Access Coordinator – Recreation Bureau
5657 Warm Springs Avenue | Boise, ID 83716
cell (208) 832-8412 | desk (208) 514-2415 | fax (208) 334-3751
“Leaders in outdoor recreation since 1965.”
trails.idaho.gov ...

Idaho Trails Mapping Applications - Department of Parks and Recreation

trails.idaho.gov

IDPR maintains two Idaho Trails mapping applications for planning your next great Idaho Trails adventure. Summer Trails Map Choose option: Advanced or Mobile Two versions of the Idaho Trails App cover all devices: Advanced is full-featured, usable on PCs, iOS devices, plus Android devices with exten...