Winter Travel Planning

Winter Travel Planning: Finding Balance in the Backcountry

Human-powered in the Lake Tahoe Basin

Travel Management Planning is the process by which the Forest Service designates specific trails and areas for motorized use. It can be thought of as a type of comprehensive “zoning” where some areas are designated for motorized use, and other trails and areas are set aside for human-powered recreation, or to protect wildlife and their habitat. While this is not a new concept — agencies have been required to do this type of planning since the early 1970’s — 2015 marked a huge shift in how the Forest Service plans for and manages backcountry winter recreation. Up to that point, Forests had focused on developing comprehensive plans for summer use. The Forest Service’s 2015 Over-Snow Vehicle (OSV) Rule made this sort of planning mandatory for winter over-snow use as well, and established guidelines for how it should be accomplished.

Winter Wildlands Alliance advocates on behalf of skiers, splitboarders, snowshoers and others who recreate under their own power on the public lands. We have long advocated for comprehensive winter recreation planning, and we are glad to see the Forest Service moving forward with implementing the OSV Rule. Under this Rule, individual forests and Ranger Districts that do not already have winter travel plans will start developing them, and we will be there to ensure that backcountry and Nordic skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers have a voice in the process. This is an exciting time for anyone who loves winter, as we have a real opportunity to bring balance to the backcountry.

By stepping back and re-assessing where over-snow motorized use is appropriate, the Forest Service and those who participate in the winter travel planning process will be able to take steps to reduce user conflicts and ensure that high quality winter recreation opportunities exist for all users. Given the complex pressures of population growth, climate change and new technologies, with ever more users getting out on public lands in different ways and in ever less predictable winters, we believe that good, balanced, forward-thinking winter management planning is essential.

This is an opportunity for all those who value the winter backcountry to find common ground. We all want room to roam — and the backcountry is big enough for all of us — but we cannot afford a free-for-all.

Get Involved

Planning for winter recreation on the Shoshone National Forest

Several National Forests are at various stages in winter travel planning and we are working with local partners across the country to get the human-powered backcountry community involved in these planning processes.

See below to find out which forests are working on winter travel plans right now and more information on each:

California

• Stanislaus National Forest (completed): After six years of meetings, field trips, 670 individual comments from individuals and organizations, dozens of maps, reams of documents, and more meetings — the Stanislaus National Forest completed its Over-Snow Vehicle Use Designation Project. The final signed Record of Decision was released July 13, 2021. Click here for our take on the final plan: not great, but better than what had been status quo, with some important preliminary protections established for wildlife and quiet recreation. On October 13, 2021, the Sierra Snowmobile Foundation, Blue Ribbon Coalition, the American Council of Snowmobile Assoc. and others filed a lawsuit against the United States Forest Service. Click here to see the complaint. The official Over-Snow Vehicle Use Map (OSVUM) that reflects the new designations is available here (pdf).
• Lassen National Forest (completed): The Lassen published a final winter travel plan in June, 2022. Click here to review the final plan. The Lassen OSV Plan provides considerable opportunity for OSV use on and access to the Lassen National Forest while protecting many (but not all) of the areas highly valued by skiers and snowshoers for quiet recreation. Here’s our take on it. The official Over-Snow Vehicle Use Map (OSVUM) is available here (pdf).
• Tahoe National Forest (completed): The Tahoe published a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) on May 3, 2024. Click here for the final plan. The Tahoe OSVUM is available online here.
• Plumas National Forest: A draft Record of Decision (ROD) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) were published on August 19, 2019. After 17 hours of virtual “objection workshops” in May 2021, an official objection resolution meeting was held on June 3, 2021. On July 12, 2021, the regional Reviewing Officer issued a letter of review. The Forest Service has shared that it would like to publish a Record of Decision (ROD) but has been delayed by post-Dixie Fire environmental projects.
• Eldorado National Forest: The Eldorado released its Draft Record of Decision and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on October 31, 2018. The Forest Service held an objection meeting in March 2019. The Forest Service has not shared when it plans to publish a Record of Decision (ROD) but has stated that delays are due to staffing shortages.
• The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is also working on a winter travel plan. Although the LTBMU is in the same neighborhood as the 5 forests listed above, its winter travel planning process is not part of the same coordinated effort outlined above. However, we are also actively engaged in travel planning on this forest. The LTBMU published a Proposed Action on September 2019, and public comments were accepted through December 9. The Draft EA is now planned for release to the public in late 2025.
• The Inyo National Forest published the final approved version of its new Inyo National Forest Land Management Plan in October 2019. The forest has published a Proposed Action for it’s OSV plan and comments were due October 20, 2023. Work to develop the draft Environmental Assessment is paused until the forest fills key staffing vacancies. See the latest update here.

Colorado

• Rio Grande National Forest published a Proposed Action and Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS on April 30, 2024. The forest is proposing to designate 74% of the Rio Grande (1,382,276 acres) for OSV use, along with 260 miles of groomed OSV routes. This, however, is just a starting point based on winter Recreation Opportunity Spectrum maps that the forest recently published. Read our take on the Proposed Action here.   

Idaho

• Kaniksu OSV Plan (Idaho-Panhandle National Forest): This OSV plan covers the 3 northernmost ranger districts on the Idaho-Panhandle National Forest and was informed by the vision of the North Idaho Working Group, of which Winter Wildlands Alliance was a member. We are grateful to have had such a collaborative experience as part of the North Idaho Working Group and celebrate the plan’s ability to find compromise in the name of backcountry balance. A  final decision was published in December 2023. Implementation of the Kaniksu OSV plan is currently paused while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers potential impacts of the plan on wolverine.

Montana

• Flathead National Forest: The Flathead is implementing OSV and Recommended Wilderness suitability changes per the 2018 Flathead Forest Plan. A draft EA was published in April 2024 and a decision was expected in December 2024 but it is unclear when the Flathead will achieve this milestone.
• Kootenai National Forest: After scoping for two separate OSV plans, one focused on the Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area and one for the rest of the forest, the Forest Service decided to draft an Environmental Impact Statement for a forest-wide OSV plan. A Draft EIS is expected in early 2025.

Wyoming

• Shoshone National Forest: The Environmental Assessment for the forest’s draft travel management plan was published in October 2021. There have been significant staffing and leadership changes on the forest since then and we are awaiting next steps. Click here for more information.