Town hall set on proposed OSV trails

Want to know more about a proposed travel management plan for "over-snow" vehicles for the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests?

You'll get your chance at an upcoming virtual town hall being held next week. The event, planned for Wednesday, April 12 is being held to answer questions regarding the Kaniksu Over-Snow Vehicle Use Designation Project. The event is being held from 4 to 6 p.m. Pacific Time.

The town hall will be held on Zoom. Residents can access the event by going online to usfs.zoomgov.com/j/1614097316. Or if they prefer, they can join town hall via telephone at 669-254-5252; webinar ID 161 409 7316.

If approved, the "Kaniksu Over-snow Vehicle Travel Plan," as it's called, will create a system of designated routes and riding areas for over-snow vehicles, such as snowmobiles. The project area includes the Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Priest Lake ranger districts — often referred to as the Kaniksu Unit of the IPNF.

"This is an important project for the national forest and for many people in the surrounding communities," Jessie Berner, Sandpoint District Ranger, said previously. "We will work hard to incorporate feedback throughout this process with the goal of balancing both motorized and non-motorized recreation along with natural resource concerns."

IPNF officials originally shared the proposal in August 2022. Since then, the agent has been accepting public comment, studying potential environmental effects, and preparing an environmental assessment pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.

Two options were created — the proposed action and an alternative. Both propose areas that would be open to OSV year-round and other that would be closed to the year-round. There also would be areas open to seasonal over-snow vehicle use only to reduce effects to sensitive wildlife habitat. Additionally, the alternatives would designate OSV trails and roads open to over-snow vehicle use.

Travel management planning is undertaken in accordance with the 2005 federal Travel Management Rule, which requires all national forests and grasslands to develop a system of roads, trails and areas for motorized travel. The rule was later expanded to include snowmobiles and other "over-snow vehicles." The Forest Service finalized a national policy for the management of snowmobiles in 2015.

Specifically, the Travel Management Rule requires the Forest Service to designate OSV routes to minimize:

• damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other forest resources,

• harassment of wildlife and disruption of wildlife habitats,

• conflicts between motor vehicle use and existing or proposed recreational uses of national forest system land or neighboring federal lands, and

• conflicts among different classes of motorized vehicle uses.

Additional information, including the project environmental assessment and supporting documents, are available on the project webpage at bit.ly/3m0OIiX.