Travel Management Planning, Santa Fe National Forest

The Santa Fe National Forest would like to address a concern raised by the public about the Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project and the Travel Management Decision. The second purpose statement of the DRAFT Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration purpose and need seeks to improve watershed conditions and reduce road-related impacts to natural and cultural resources through fewer roads. Some members of the public are concerned the Santa Fe National Forest will use the second purpose statement to further reduce the motorized opportunities in the Southwest Jemez Mountains after the Travel Management decision.

The Travel Management decision will determine what roads, trails, and areas will be open for motorized use. This decision does not include physical changes on the ground. Many of the roads/trails not designated as open for motorized use are creating resource degradation and are not sustainable for motorized use; one of the main reasons they are not being designated.

The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project, however, will propose on-the-ground treatments and analyze the impacts to correct resource degradation from roads and trails not designated as open in the Travel Management decision. The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration decision will allow the agency to physically decommission the roads. Actions that may be included in the Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project include putting in gates, obliterating the roads, putting in water bars, reseeding, etc. The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project may also propose actions and analyze the impacts of work needed on roads and trails designated as open so that any resource impacts can be mitigated or corrected. The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project will not reduce further the roads and trails designated as open in the Travel Management decision.

In essence, the Travel Management decision will determine which roads, trails and areas the public will be able to travel on with motorized vehicles. The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration project will allow the agency to physically remove roads not designated as open in Travel Management from the landscape. We are proposing that the result of implementation of the SWJ decision will be fewer roads actually on the landscape.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused and thank you for your interest in management activities on the Santa Fe National Forest.

The Santa Fe National Forest expects to release the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) in Mid-May of 2012. The Santa Fe National Forest is currently finalizing the compliance documentation required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. This documentation will be provided to the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for review.

Based on the analysis and public input, the Forest Supervisor will make a decision, referred to as a Record of Decision (ROD), about what roads, trails and areas will be open for motorized use. The ROD and FEIS will form the basis for the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). The map, when published, will be available on this site and at all Santa Fe National Forest offices. It will show what designated roads, trails and areas are legal to drive on, in what vehicle, at what time of year. Motorized travel off the designated system will be prohibited.

The forest will launch a public information and education effort to help visitors understand the new travel system, how to use the map and how to help public officials preserve and protect National Forest System lands.

The DEIS is a key step in implementing the 2005 Travel Management Rule. The Forest Service developed the Rule, which requires national forests and grasslands to designate a system of roads, trails, and areas for motorized use.

Four of the five alternatives aim to protect watersheds, wildlife habitat, cultural resources and communities by prohibiting cross-country motorized vehicle use outside of the designated system. The four action alternatives reduce the miles of roads open to motorized travel. Each alternative also provides opportunities for motorized recreation on designated roads, trails and areas. The forest's team developed the alternatives in response to public comments on the forest’s initial Proposed Action, released in July of 2008.

Significant issues raised by the public included resource impacts from continued public motorized use; reducing public motorized experience through reduced miles of routes; limits on big game retrieval and potential conflicts between motorized and non-motorized uses. Each alternative includes different road, trail and area configurations aimed to address these issues. The five alternatives are summarized below:

Alternative 1 is the no action alternative. It represents the existing condition, which is forest staff’s best estimate of where people are driving now.
Alternative 2 is the original proposed action. It differs slightly from the one mailed to the public in July 2008. It corrects the locations of roads and motorized trails based on the public’s comments and field verification. It also added the ability to retrieve big game with a vehicle in the same fixed-distance corridors proposed for motorized dispersed camping.
Alternative 3 would provide fewer roads and motorized trails than the proposed action. It allows no driving off roads and motorized trails for any reason. This means, to camp, retrieve game, or participate in any other forest activity, people would have to park next to the side of the road and proceed without their vehicles.
Alternative 4 would provide more roads, motorized trails, and areas designated for motorized use than the proposed action, but still less than the amount people drive on now. It would allow the most places for people to drive to retrieve game or set up a campsite.
Alternative 5 would provide about the same amount of roads, motorized trails, and areas, designated for motorized use, as the proposed action but zones motorized use geographically. This means that alternative 5 attempts to cluster motorized use in certain places on the forest, leaving other places with less motorized use.

Alternatives 2 through 5 nearly eliminate areas, which are places where people are allowed to drive off roads and trails for any purpose. Alternatives 2 through 5 increase the miles of trail officially managed by the Forest Service for motorized use, but decrease the mileage from what people use now.