Idaho BHA recently submitted comments requesting that the annual event, Rally in the Pines, is held to the proper standards as listed in the BLM and USFS C.F.R. This event facilitates organized OHV use on a large scale and while the event is based on private lands, much of the event's trail ride route occupies public lands managed by both the BLM and the NFS. Read the full comment letter here.
All users of public lands share the duty of recreating responsibility. Contact your local BLM, Forest Service or state lands office ahead of your visit and ask if they have paper or downloadable maps available.
FS or BLM lands may be governed by “Travel Management”, which dictates what roads and trails are open, and for what purpose (i.e. non-motorized, dirtbikes, 50” OHV or less, etc.). Following travel management is essential to helping ensure that motorized use on public lands stays in balance with multiple uses on the landscape. For example, travel management maps may dictate that certain areas are closed for periods of the year to provide a non-motorized hunting experience, or to protect critical mule deer winter range, or elk calving habitat.
Creating new unauthorized routes can result in natural resource damage such as soil erosion, destruction of rare plant species, damage to archeological sites and negative impacts to security habitat for wildlife. A newly pioneered set of OHV tracks may be seen as an invitation to the next user who happens by; before long there is a new, unauthorized route impinging into what may have previously been security cover for a mule deer doe and her newborn fawns.
The thousands of legal miles of roads and trails and public land provide incredible opportunities to explore the backcountry. Do your part to ensure that these amazing opportunities are used responsibly and protected!
About jessica french
Jessica French has lived, hunted and recreated in the Salmon/Challis area for the last 10 years. She loves being a part of collaborative volunteer projects that give back to this incredible area.