Forest road closures???

I just heard on the news that the forest service will be closing some 25% of the forest roads in the near future. Does anyone else have any more information about this?

Due to drastic funding cuts and lack of timber revenue coming in the FS simply no longer has the money to maintain many roads. I am originally from the NW and this has been happening for at least 10 years. Most of the FS roads were created for timber harvest and are no longer needed. Im sure most of the roads in AZ were created for mineral extraction. Unfourtunately a lot of these roads allow great acsess for various activities. I wish there was more money available to decomission these roads properly so they dont cause erosion problems in the future.

They don't need to "close" them. If they don't maintain them, I don't have a problem with that. To gate them would piss me off.

the news and local paper said it was the Kaibab National forest areas near Williams. Most of the road closures are for roads that parallel other local and forest roads. The main driver on this was to get motorized vehicles out of areas that are used for less-impacting activities like hiking & mtn biking. They are just working on this now, so I am sure there is more news to follow.

take a look here fs.fed.us/r3/kai

JML wrote:They don't need to "close" them. If they don't maintain them, I don't have a problem with that. To gate them would piss me off.

I am all for it. Ever been to the up north in the summer. Nothing but a bunch of HeHaws and their, I'm to fat to walk machines, carring all their precious gear for the day, beer and guns. It's sad really, and the increase in this recreation, that oh so many people think is the greatest way to enjoy the wilds, only adds more support on my end. Close the damn rds, and make people start walking more. Maybe Michelle Obama can support this in her war on obesity. BTW- Volunteer Canyon is probably the only place that will be affected by this, I would guess. And oh-well.

The Forest Service and BLM are all currently federally mandated to address Travel Management. This includes the inventory and classification for all roads and trails on public lands.
Some of the considerations for keeping roads open or closed during this process include plant and wildlife habitat, cultural sites, access to recreation points of intrest etc....
The compromise between all of these roads is being debated and discussed in every federal public land management agency in the nation. Many of these are happening faster than others because of revised Resource Management Plans and Forest Plans.
The impact on dispersed camping seems to be the greatest, and non-sanctioned created social trails.

Some more information in today's paper:

azdailysun.com/lifestyles/c…

tylerm wrote:Some more information in today's paper: azdailysun.com/lifestyles/c…

The closures are part of an ongoing effort across the FS as part of their "traffic management plan", primarily to reverse some of the destruction caused by ORVs. Details of the closures for Southern AZ can be found on the FS website:

fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/trave…

It would be nice if the climbing community could support legitimate efforts to restore some of these habitats.

You know, I agree with Greg... Closures, no matter what the user group is, is a closure none the less....... We all want to use the land for better or for worse. We, as climbers, think we respect the land that should be as nature. However, we are an isolated bunch it seems. And we surely make our own impacts, as slight as they may seem. How do you make every user group as one??????

The travel management plan has been an ongoing issue in the Black Hills in South Dakota for the last couple of years. The goal is for a trail system that can support ATV and off road use. Other areas are going to be non motorized. A proposal was put out for public comment. It a handful of possible options. In every proposal the road that is used for access to one of the BH best sport crags was going to get closed. We as climbers got together with the NFS and let them know our concern. We wrote lots of letters and showed them that climbers have a voice. Come to find out we wrote more letters than the motorized user group, that was a big surprise to us and the NFS. To make a long story short they are keeping the road open. It just goes to show that we can make a difference. Write letters and talk with the NFS they may be more receptive than you think.