The Travel Management Rule of 2005

One of the greatest threats to the public lands of the Sky Island region is unmanaged motorized recreation. The Travel Management Rule, published by the U.S. Forest Service in 2005, incorporates changes to travel-management regulations intended to protect National Forest System lands against this threat. Through the planning process required by this rule, each National Forest, or other Forest Service administrative unit, will produce a “motor vehicle use map” that limits motorized travel to designated roads, trails, and areas.

The majority of people visit the Coronado National Forest to participate in quiet recreation activities such as hiking, bird watching, horseback riding, hunting, fishing and others. The travel management planning process is an important opportunity for quiet users of the Forest to speak up to protect quiet areas and nonmotorized recreation opportunities on the Forest.

Some of the strengths of the 2005 rule for biodiversity protection in the Sky Islands include
•  The prohibition of cross-country travel
•  A policy that roads are “closed unless mapped open”
•  A requirement that the public be involved in collaborative decision making

Nevertheless, the rule also presents challenges for the conservation community:
•  Consideration of illegal, user-created routes for inclusion in the designated transportation system
•  The potential for inconsistency in designation from district to district on individual Forests
•  A lack of funding
•  Unclear guidelines for exceptions to the rule (for example, big game retrieval and dispersed motorized camping)

In the Sky Island region, the Forest Service has held an initial round of public meetings to ask for the collaboration of groups and individual citizens in deciding route designations. These meetings are an opportunity for the conservation-minded to participate in mapping the future of our region's National Forests. The Forest Service is begin another round of public meetings in March of 2009. They are presenting the public with a proposed changes to the road and trail system.

Check back for new information regarding public meetings.

Further Information

2005 Travel Management Rule, published in the Federal Register.

Forest Service's Travel Management and Off-highway Vehicle Program.

Center for Biological Diversity's Off-road Vehicle Reform Campaign.

Wildlands CPR, the only national conservation group in the United States that specifically targets off-road vehicle abuse of public lands and actively promotes wildland restoration, road removal, and the prevention of wildland road construction.