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Deadline for scoping comments on rewrite of the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule

September 23 @ 9:50 pm - 9:59 pm

Deadline for scoping comment on DEIS and rewrite of the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule

Wednesday, September 23 @ 9:50 pm – 9:59 pm
Scroll down for links to pre-fab letters.
:
 “The U.S. Forest Service published a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for amending the existing Travel Management Rule (36 CFR 212). This proposed revision simplifies the regulatory requirements to enhance quicker local decision-making and increases access for motorized vehicles, including e-bikes, and other mobility devices. The public can continue to enjoy motorized access to national forests throughout this process. Existing plans and related maps will remain in place until updated by local line officers.”
 
Two days after the Administration proposed the revocation of the 2001 Roadless Rule, the Forest Service started another national rulemaking: a rewrite of the Travel Management Rule (36 C.F.R. parts 212 and 261). It would drop the national “minimization criteria” that currently require the agency to minimize damage to soil, water, wildlife and habitat when designating motorized routes, and replace them with a presumption that existing roads, trails and areas are open unless the agency documents a reason to close them. 
91 Fed. Reg. 54,686 (Aug. 24, 2026) · Docket FS-2026-0100
Federal Register: federalregister.gov/d/2026-17211 · Comment: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2026-0100-0001
Additional information, including the eventual publication of the environmental impact statement and record of decision, can be found on the following website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/​visit/​recreation/​programs/​off-highway-vehicle-program.
 
Comments must be submitted via one of the following methods:
  • Electronically (preferred): Through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, https://www.regulations.gov, identified by docket number FS-2026-0100. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Mail: Hardcopy letters must be submitted to the Director, Public Benefits, 201 14th Street SW, Public Benefits Office, Washington, DC 20250.=
We assume the time-of-day deadline is just before midnight in Washington DC.
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Here is a link to sign a petition written by WildEarth Guardians – https://action.wildearthguardians.org/page/102401/petition/1?ea.url.id=5998640
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Here is a quote from that letter:
“The changes outlined in the Forest Service’s Notice of Intent would dismantle core elements of
the current protective framework and replace them with an “open unless closed” presumption,
essentially creating a motorized free-for-all. The proposal would put greater pressure on land
managers to justify closures and repeatedly reconsider those protections, eliminate existing
criteria for minimizing resource damage and conflicts among recreational uses and with other
public land users, and potentially expand cross-country motorized use through new exemptions.
The result would be more uncertainty, conflict, and resource damage”
Quote from Federal Register Notice:

SUMMARY:

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is initiating an environmental impact statement and rulemaking to revise the Forest Service’s travel management regulations, 36 CFR part 212. The proposed action would establish a uniform national policy favoring increased access while simplifying regulatory requirements and preserving local decision-making. The proposed access rule would establish a national policy with a presumption that existing roads, trails, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points on National Forest System lands are open to appropriate public use unless closure or restriction is required by applicable law, valid existing rights, or another governing instrument, or supported by specific, documented and justifiable reasons based on science-based resource conditions, public safety, conflicts among uses, or maintenance and administrative capacity. Commonly available public data sets, including aerial imagery, may be used as evidence that a physical route or airfield exists or existed at a time relevant under the definition adopted in the proposed rule, but would not by themselves establish that the feature is part of the forest transportation system, that the Forest Service has jurisdiction or sufficient legal access, or that it is open to a particular public use. The proposed access rule would require annual review of all trails, roads, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points that are closed or highly restricted. The proposed access rule would establish processes and conditions for limited off-route motor vehicle use and other motorized equipment for, among other things, downed big-game retrieval, firewood collection and dispersed camping, and for designating areas for over-snow and other motorized recreation.

The presumption embodied in the national policy would guide future decisions and would not itself change the legal status of any road, trail, airfield, trailhead, area, or other access route or point. Any change in lawful use resulting from a vehicle- or use-specific exemption would be limited to the scope and conditions expressly provided in the revised regulations. Existing motor vehicle use designations and maps would remain in effect until revised under the amended regulations. The environmental impact statement will evaluate the impacts of the proposed rule revisions and study alternatives for managing public access, including the motorized and other forms of access addressed by the proposed rule, on National Forest System lands in the context of multiple-use resource management. USDA invites written comments on alternatives, effects, and relevant information, studies, or analyses related to the proposal.”

Details

  • Date: September 23
  • Time:
    9:50 pm - 9:59 pm