Maps of Olympic National Forest routes that are open to motor vehicles will be available at ranger stations beginning Nov. 23.
The free national forest Motor Vehicle Use Map will be available online at the Olympic National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r6/olympic, and at all Olympic National Forest offices in Quilcene, Forks, Quinault, Olympia and Hoodsport.
The map was created in response to the Forest Service’s 2005 Travel Management Rule, which required all national forests to designate roads and trails available for both passenger and off-highway vehicle use.
The objective of this rule was to manage off-road vehicle use on public lands, protect resources, provide for safety and minimize conflicts among visitors.
The routes depicted in this map correspond with those identified in Olympic National Forest’s 1990 Forest Plan.
The 1990 Forest Plan prohibited cross-country travel of off-road vehicles on the forest, but allows for off-road motorcycles on the following trails:
– Trail 830 — Gold Creek Trail, from Road 2870-230 to Road 28780.
– Trail 833 — Lower Big Quilcene, from Road 27-080 to Road 2750.
– Trail 833.3 — Lower Dungeness, from Road 2870-230 to Road 2870.
– Trail 836 — Mount Zion, from Road 28 to the Mount Zion Summit.
– Trail 858 — Lower Pete’s Creek, from Road 2204 to West Fork Humptulips River.
– Trail 871 — Church Creek, from Road 2361-600 to Road 2372.
“The completion of this year’s motor vehicle use map will not only clarify existing routes, but it can potentially help us identify additional routes, given the high demand of interest in this recreational activity,” Hood Canal District Ranger Dean Yoshina said,
The maps are designed to be used in conjunction with the Visitor Use Map.
