Courtesy graphic
The Bureau of Land Management has developed a plan to regulate use of 660 miles of trails on land north of U.S. Highway 20, an area shown above. Approximately 115 trails from Chimney Creek to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Fish Creek would be closed for rehabilitation, and ATV use in the area would be limited to designated trails only.
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The Bureau of Land Management is attempting to clarify who can ride what where in its recently proposed travel plan, which would close 115 miles of existing trails and roads for rehabilitation and limit off-highway vehicle use to designated routes only.
"People can go more places easier, and more people are getting out there," said John Kurtz, outdoor recreation manager for the bureau's Shoshone field office. "You have to keep up with changing technology and trends and demands."
The current BLM travel management plan was developed in 1981 on the recommendation of Blaine County Commission. The current regulations leave much of the region's 239,000 acres designated as "open," which means that off-highway vehicles such as three- and four-wheelers can travel cross-country.
The proposal would close areas around the Sun Peak area north of Ketchum, the Little Wood River and Friedman Creek Wilderness study areas, and the region from Elkhorn to East Fork to all off-highway vehicles.
All-terrain vehicles would be limited to designated routes only on all other BLM lands.
Kurtz said that when the original plan was developed in 1981, the creators did not envision the types of off-highway vehicles that recreationists use today.
"If you go back to the 80s, there might have been three-wheelers, but four-wheelers didn't even exist yet," he said. "People can go further and faster, and there are more activities competing for use on public lands."
In what Kurtz said was an effort to accommodate mountain bikers, nearly 50 miles of new trails would be constructed under the proposed travel plan. The BLM also plans to designate the types of use allowed on 225 miles of primitive roads and 126 miles of trail.
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"This does designate some additional mountain biking trails," Kurtz said. 'We already have some up there, and we're looking to add more."
One major change would be to the Croy Canyon trail system west of Hailey. The proposal includes plans for four new challenging one-way routes for mountain bikers known as "flow" trails, trailhead improvements and two trails that access the rest of the BLM trails system in that area.
However, the remainder of the trails that stem from the Croy Canyon trailhead would be closed, Kurtz said.
"That would have a big impact on that area," he said. "Every road or trail has to be designated, so we can't allow the whole maze of trails to exist."
Kurtz said all currently designated trails such as Lamb's Gulch, Punchline, Two Dog and Bull Dog would remain open, as well as the motorcross tracks.
Complete maps of the closures are available on the BLM website, http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/fo/shoshone/north_highway_20_travel.html.
The rest of the closures are mainly due to the nature or location of the trails, Kurtz said.
"Some of them are straight up and down, so they're very unsustainable routes," he said. Erosion and washout take tolls on too-steep routes, making these trails difficult to maintain.
The proposal is awaiting public input before it can considered for approval. The first hearing will be held from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 22, at the Community Campus in Hailey.
Fairfield will hold its own public meeting, also from 4:30-7:30 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 29 at the Camas County Senior and Community Center on West Willow Avenue. Carey residents can stop by the BLM Carey Fire Guard Station on Main Street from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 30.
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
