Southern Idaho National Forests:

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1 Southern Idaho National Forests: Boise National Forest: S. Vinnell Way Boise, ID (208) The Boise National Forest has designated routes in two of the five ranger districts, (Lowman and Cascade). The Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for those two districts, were published in summer of 2007 and are available online at The Mountain Home Ranger District has completed the final 20% of the district, which had not previously been designated, and plans to issue the final Environmental Analysis (EA) by mid January 2008, allowing one more chance for the public to comment. They plan to release the final Record of Decision (ROD) in late winter or early spring and implement the plan with the MVUM by summer For more information contact Larry Tripp, Mountain Home District Ranger at (208) or by to The Idaho City Ranger District began inventorying their routes this last summer and should begin the public scoping by spring of The goal is to have the process completed by the end of FY For more information, contact Doug Gochnour, Idaho City District Ranger at (208) or by to The Emmett Ranger District is just in the planning stage of their process but should be starting with inventory of all their routes early in For more information contact John Erickson, Emmet District Ranger at (208) or by to The current maps and additional information is posted on their website along with how to get involved at For additional information or to get added to the mailing list contact Paul Bryant at (208) or to or one of the District Rangers listed above. Caribou Targhee National Forest: Hollipark Dr Idaho Falls, ID (208) The Travel Management Plan for this forest has been completed and a final EIS was issued in August The decision was signed by Forest Supervisor, Larry Timchak, on November 7, The Travel Plan designates where the public can travel on roads, trails and areas of the Westside, Soda Springs and Montpelier Ranger Districts. The selected alternative provides a variety of travel opportunities for forest visitors, while meeting the goals and objectives for soils, water, vegetation and wildlife habitat. The Caribou Travel Plan Map will be distributed. A Copy of the Record of Decision and FEIS are available at as well as additional information on the Travel Plan. The Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for the Caribou National Forest were published in May 2007 and are available online at Salmon Challis National Forest: 1206 So. Challis Street Salmon, ID (208)

2 The Salmon-Challis National Forest is formulating a new travel plan that will limit ALL vehicle use to designated roads, trails and areas. The Forest Service (FS) will be hosting a series of public meetings on the travel planning process during the month of August (See schedule below) The FS published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register on August 3, This notice of intent is the first step in the formal scoping process that will steer the development of the draft EIS. The proposed action identifies approximately 3,400 miles of roads designated for motorized public use and about 1,100 miles of motorized trails. Detailed maps and data tables showing the proposed designated roads and trails, including dispersed camping areas and pull outs along the Salmon River Road are available on the Salmon-Challis National Forest website at Involvement from OHV enthusiasts in the scoping process for this TMP is critical. If you want to protect your favorite trails and routes in Salmon-Challis National Forest be sure to attend one or all of these meetings and make your voice heard. The FS will be accepting comments through September 14, For information on meetings, and to get on the mailing list you can contact Karen Gallogly, Travel Planning Team Leader at (208) or to kgallogly@fs.fed.us. For future updates check out the forest s website Payette National Forest: PO Box West Lakeside Ave McCall, ID (208) The Payette National Forest released their Final EIS on May 25, 2007 and the comment period ended on July 6, A copy is available at Although the OHV Rule is for summer use plans, the Payette is doing their Travel Plan for both winter and summer use. Background on the Travel Management Plan FEIS For over three years the Payette National Forest (PNF) has been analyzing the forest roads, trails and winter recreation areas to develop a travel management plan. These efforts have culminated in a final EIS, with a Record of Decision to follow this summer. The FEIS and the final travel plan decision will designate the Payette National Forest s transportation system, for roads and trails and for both winter and summer on 1.5 million acres of public land. The FEIS does not include the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. It responds to national direction to eliminate indiscriminate off-road travel while also providing highvalue recreational opportunities for all users, and meets direction outlined in the Payette NF Land and Resource Management Plan. The forest has gathered and incorporated public input from forest users, American Indian Tribes, county officials and other agencies and developed four alternatives addressing public comments and natural resource protection issues. These four alternatives plus a No Action alternative are described and the environmental and recreational effects analyzed and disclosed in the final EIS.

3 The FEIS includes a new alternative (Alternative E) that was developed based on comments received on the draft EIS. Alternative E strives to strike a balance between various forest users and natural resource issues and concerns. Alternative E has been identified as the preferred alternative. Alternative E maintains existing groomed snowmobile opportunities over 964,000 acres of area available for over-snow motorized recreation uses. Alternative E also identifies areas for nonmotorized uses to provide for backcountry skiing, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing opportunities in a quiet, untracked setting within close proximity to existing access points. Alternative E also identifies additional non-motorized winter areas to provide for wildlife habitat, landscape connectivity and security needs. During non-winter periods Alternative E provides 1623 miles of open and seasonally open roads, 507 miles of two-wheel motorized trails, and over 115 miles of ATV and OHV trails. All of the action alternatives would prohibit cross-country motorized travel on 500,000 acres that are currently open. The FEIS is the result of exhaustive internal environmental and recreation analysis and review, eight public meetings, 450 public comments on the draft EIS, and approximately 600 individual comments and 1,000 postcards on the Proposed Action. While developing this final EIS the Payette National Forest also had the benefit of Cooperating Agency participation and comment from Valley County, Idaho County, Washington County, Adams County, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, and Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The Records of Decision will be issued on a by Ranger District Basis beginning in early January For further information, or to get on the mailing list by contacting Jane Cropp, Forest Recreation Program Manager at (208) or to jcropp@fs.fed.us. Sawtooth National Forest: Kimberly Rd. E. Twin Falls, ID (208) The Sawtooth National Forest released their Environmental Analysis (EA) for public comment and review November 2, 2007 with a comment period that ended on November 30, Each District Ranger from the Minidoka, Fairfield, and Ketchum Districts will make the decision for the Travel Plan relative to their District. Implementation of the Revised Travel Management Plan is targeted for Early Records of Decision (ROD) and Final EA are scheduled to be release by each Ranger Districts by the end of January Copies of documents, along with accompanying maps, may be obtained by calling or visiting Sawtooth National Forest offices in Burley, Twin Falls, Ketchum and Fairfield. They are also available on their website at There are four documents and four maps available for download. For more information contact Terry Clark, Project Coordinator, at (208) or by to toclark@fs.fed.us. Northern Idaho National Forests:

4 Idaho Panhandle National Forest: Schreiber Way Coeur d'alene, ID (208) The Idaho Panhandle National Forests are currently developing travel and access management plans for each national forest zone under its administration. These public travel planning projects include: 1. Kaniksu National Forest (the IPNF's North Zone including the Bonners Ferry, Priest Lake and Sandpoint Ranger Districts): Selkirk Mountain Range Winter Travel Plan (winter motorized use only)* 2. Coeur d'alene National Forest (the IPNF's Central Zone): Coeur d'alene River Ranger District Travel Plan 3. St. Joe National Forest (the IPNF's South Zone): St. Joe Ranger District Travel Management Plan *The Selkirk Mountains project area includes winter motorized travel restrictions based on recent U.S. District Court rulings. The Forest is currently working on finalizing the Environmental Analysis (EA) to get it out for public review and comment sometime early January The comment period on the EA is expected to be either 45 or 60 days. The Record of Decision is expected to be out by mid to late spring following the comment period, with the MVUM out later in the year. To get on the mailing list or for additional information contact Don Garringer at or by to Additional information and updates are also available on their website at Clearwater National Forest: Highway 12 Orofino, Idaho (208) The Clearwater National Forest Travel Plan is currently in the scoping phase of the NEPA process. The scoping comment period has been extended until January 11, The scoping period began with a letter requesting comments a document summarizing the proposed action and a location / uses map that was mailed to interested parties and a newspaper legal notice. A notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal Register on November 13, The Travel Planning Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will address travel management and Off- Highway Vehicle (OHV) use Forest-wide. However, in 2005 the Upper Palouse ATV Project Environmental Assessment was completed for most of the Palouse District, with the exception of the Elk Creek drainage. That previous analysis meets the requirements of the Travel Management Rule. Accordingly, for the Palouse District, the Forest-wide travel planning process and EIS will focus primarily on the Elk Creek area with only minor restriction date adjustments proposed in areas previously analyzed. The forest plans to have a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public comment by summer Also a Final EIS (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) published by January 2009 and a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) produced by summer 2009.

5 OPEN HOUSES SCHEDULED The Clearwater NF will host three open houses in December to provide information about the Travel Plan. This will be an opportunity to view larger maps, ask questions, and offer written comments. General information about the Travel Plan will be available at all the open houses. If you have questions about specific areas or routes, you should attend the open house for that Ranger District. Each open house will begin at 4:00 p.m. and end at 7:00p.m. Date District Location December 17, 2007 Palouse University of Idaho Student Union Building, Gold Room Moscow, Idaho December 18, 2007 Lochsa and Powell Kamiah Emergency Services Building Corner of Main and 6th Streets Kamiah, Idaho December 19, 2007 North Fork Clearwater National Forest Supervisors Office Highway 12 Orofino Idaho Detailed maps showing the proposed action for both winter and summer seasons are available on the Clearwater NF web site at: The maps on the web site currently show the proposed action as described in this scoping notice, but maps of alternatives to the proposed action will be posted there as they are developed. During the travel planning step in 2006 through early summer 2007, the Forest needs your suggestions for motorized routes that already exist on the ground but are not part of the official transportation system as well as suggestions for non-motorized routes. Information on how to propose a route is located at For more information, contact Lois Foster, NEPA Coordinator and Project Lead at (208) or by to lfoster@fs.fed.us. There is also good information posted on the forest s Travel Plan website at Nez Perce National Forest: Rte 2 Box 475 Grangeville ID (208) The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register on May 17, 2007, officially starting the public involvement process. Official comments on the scoping were accepted through July 2, The NOI contains the proposed action, which is the Forest's initial description of designated roads, trails and areas available for motor-vehicle use. The Nez Perce National Forest conducted their first round of public Open Houses in May, These meetings focused on providing an overview of the National Travel Management Rule, the planning schedule for the Nez Perce National Forest, and a summary of the Forest's existing travel management opportunities and current closures. A power point slide show of the final rule and strategy for the Nez Perce National Forest was also given each night. A second round of Open Houses was held in June, 2007 to describe the proposed action and accept comments. The Planning Process & Timeline for the remainder of the process are listed below.

6 July-October 07: Nov 07 March 08: June 08: July 08: Aug Nov 08: Feb 09: March April 09: Sept 09: Comment Analysis and Issue Identification Develop and Analyze Alternatives. Release Draft EIS Comment Period Content Analysis Final EIS Published Appeal Period Final Map Available for Distribution For further information, contact Alexandria Botello, Project Lead at (208) , ext 4187 or by to For further information on travel management and the planning rule, you can visit the following website at The Nez Perce National Forest website will be available with local information by the end of May.