Below are my comments on the possible restriction of some roads from use by OHV’s.
A general comment:
The Forest Service (FS) has been engaged for some time now in the closing of trails that from their point of view are deemed “Not Necessary”. This usually stems from the view that if a trail parallels a road then the trail can be shut down and OHV riders can just go down the road. This was considered “good” by the FS as this eliminates any maintenance on, signing of, and cataloging of the trails.
Now, the FS has decided that OHV’s going down roads are “Bad”. When the latest MVUM was being created, I, along with many others, commented on the how unsafe it was to purposely put OHV’s onto roads. These concerns were obviously deemed not very important as many miles of trails paralleling roads were closed. In this current issue the focus is on Level 3, 4, and 5 roads, but the danger to OHV operators is just as high or higher on Class 1 and 2 roads. Most Class 3, 4, and 5 roads are significantly wider than a single vehicle. This leaves room for an OHV to pass if there is an oncoming vehicle. On a class 1 or 2, there is usually NO room to pass as they are barely a single vehicle width wide. There were many miles approved in the recent MVUM that consist of these types of roads.
If the FS is serious about safety on their roads, there needs to be a complete review of where the FS has forced OHV’s onto roads and not just on so called “Roads of Concern”, and the trails opened back up.
In general, and in my experience on these specific roads, the heavy commercial traffic is during the week when most recreational riders are not out. The times when I have had close calls, (Road 327, twice in same day, same truck), it was commercial truck traffic that was using both lanes of the road and excessive speed that caused a problem. A standard private vehicle on these roads leave plenty of space for OHV’s as long as they are on their side of the road.
In order to justify closing these roads to OHV’s, does the FS have any statistics to show that the roads that are of concern are any more dangerous than regular roads. How many fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles occur on the BNF? The average in the state is 1.8 (US Census Bureau). In 2009, there were 14 helmeted motorcyclist fatalities in Idaho and 34 total motorcycle fatalities (NHTSA). How many of these occurred on the BNF?
Specific comments on road sections:
Road 474, the south, Stole Meadows side.
This road section connects many single track trails together, at least 7, and thus is essential to a good riding experience in this area. As can be seen from the map, there are various places where you would need to ride down this road to get to the next trail section and then back from where you started. This is a dead end road so the amount of traffic that is on this road is minimal below the hot springs, which is where most of the single track trails intersect with it. If the traffic to the hot springs was used as a basis to call this a Road of Concern, it is a misleading indicator.
Roads 678,698, 671 and 555/556.
These roads form a path to get from the Silver Creek area to the East Mountain ATV trail and then through the Stole Meadows area over to the Deadwood River road and back to the Silver Creek area. The southern part of road 671 up to the resort could have a lot of traffic but once past there I cannot see how there would be enough traffic to have a concern about. Road 678 doesn’t do anything but go between single track trails, so there is not much thru traffic. Roads 555 and 556 allow a loop to be made from trails 027 to 028.
Roads 568 and 579.
These roads allow a loop to be made between 3 different trails. The Bench Creek trail is not shown as it is in the Sawtooth NF (SNF). This road is a very wide 2 lane road with very few blind corners or much of anything else to cause people not to see each other. It does have a lot of traffic from the floaters going to Dagger Falls but this road has to be one of the safest roads due to the width and visibility on it. The trails going to these roads are difficult trails so the traffic from off road motorcycles is minimal. I have never seen any other OHV’s types on these roads.
Road 520, road to Bull trout lake.
This road connects several different single track trails including two in the SNF not shown. It is a dead end so the traffic is just campers going into the lakes which tend to be low speed traffic. As it is the only way to connect these trails it is essential that motorcycles be able to use it. The terrain in this area would allow the FS to make trails to connect the single track trails if it wanted to keep them off the road. I have been on this road numerous times and have never seen a problem with OHV’s and other vehicles. It is straight for most of its way between trail heads and is 2 lanes wide which makes it a fairly safe road.
Road 524, road to Grandjean.
This road allows motorcycles to make a loop back out of trails 149, 157, and 160. It is a 2 lane wide road that has high visibility along it. I have ridden this numerous times and never seen or had any conflicts with other vehicles. I cannot see why it would be unsafe to have OHV’s on this road.
Road 555, Scott Mountain LO road.
This road provides a loop opportunity from Garden Valley and the Deadwood River/Julie Creek trailheads. It connects trails 038/003 with 022. There is also traffic on this road from 4-wheelers going from the highway to the different lookouts. The road is over one lane wide with turnouts so the danger to OHV’s is minimal and a lot of the road is on the side of a mountain so speeds for all vehicles are fairly slow. Since this FS road ends in a county road that does allow OHV use, it would make sense to have this road the same designation.
Roads 384, 312, and 348.
There are various OHV trails that go between these roads, see 286 and 288. If you do not have the roads then it chops up the trails and you cannot make loops out of them such as where 288 and 286 hit road 348. You have to hit the road for a little bit to get between the trails. Who said 348 was high traffic? It is a single lane road that has grass growing on it in places. 384 is the Crooked River road. It is a wide 2 lane road so there is plenty of room to be safe.
Road 327, Rabbit Creek to North Fork Boise road.
This road has multiple places where trails dead end on the road, Short Creek (168) and Hungarian Ridge (166) to name a few. Without the road these trails cannot be connected to other trails like 049. There are many trails that intersect this road in the Rabbit Creek drainage where you go down the road to the next trail. This road is a main road with traffic but it is also a very wide road in most places. There used to be a trail that went from trail 593 to trail 598 and would allow you to bypass the road but this trail was not in the MVUM plan. At the trail head park at HWY 21, if OHV’s could not use the road to get to the trails it would make this of limited use as many people park there to get on their OHV’s on the trails.
Road 304
This road is a main road but, except for OHV’s, is basically a dead end road for large vehicles as the connector roads are not in the best of shape. Where did they look at vehicle traffic to come up with this road being a well used road? If they put it at the HWY 21 intersection it would show all the traffic that goes a mile to Steamboat or Cycle Park (off road 305) and then stop there to get their OHV’s out. I have sat at a check on this road about half way up, where road 664 comes in, for 6 hours and have had 2 full size vehicles go past on a Saturday. Sunday was even slower as I don’t remember one. There is no reason why OHV’s should not be allowed to use this road.
Roads 129, 172, and 183.
This road has multiple places where trails dead end on the road and the road is used to make a loop around the Trinity mountains, 123 to 176, 045 to 173 to 183. Many of these trails just go between the roads. Several of these trails become worthless if you cannot go down the road. Do you expect someone to park on the road, as many of these trails have no trail head parking, get their bike out, ride a couple miles of trail back and forth, put the bike back in the truck and then drive down the next trail and do it again?? These are main roads and are wide enough for two full size vehicles to pass so there is a minimal safety concern if OHV’s are on the road. When I have seen OHV’s other than motorcycles on these roads, they were going slow and enjoying the scenery.
Roads 374, 297, and 275.
Road 275 is the only access point to trail 155. There are no trail heads at that trail. Most people come up from the parking areas on 8th street via road 275 to ride that trail and then go down trail 211 and then come back up 275K. This is not an easy road and very few full size vehicles are seen on it and if they are, they are going slow because it is rough. Not sure why there is a concern about this road as most of it is barely fit for a 4 wheeler to go on. 297 and 373 were just Kelly humped and bush hogged to make this a very scenic ride for any vehicle. In a full size vehicle you are going to be slow because the Kelly humps are very big. There is a lot of visibility so the chance of collisions is minimal. This is another road that I cannot see why it is on this list. To Shafer Butte (374E) you have a good amount of traffic but that part of the road is over 2 lanes wide. A freeway by mountain standards. Road 374 after it has hardly any traffic. Went up there on a week day last year in July and ran 374 from Harris Creek Summit to Bogus Basin and down. Did not see another vehicle until road 374E on the way towards Bogus Basin. That is a great ride on a OHV since the brush is all cut so the views are really nice.
That is all my comment for now.
Jeff Nofsinger