New motorized travel rules go into effect on the Kaibab Plateau

FREDONIA, Ariz. - New rules for motorized travel have taken effect on the North Kaibab Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.

The district's new travel management plan designates a motorized system of roads, trails, and areas across the almost 650,000-acre ranger district, and restricts motorized travel off the designated routes.

Under the new rules, motorized traffic is restricted to within 30 feet of designated roads, except in camping corridors, which allow vehicles to travel as far as 300 feet from the side of the road. Vehicles can also be taken off-road to get firewood, or a legally harvested bison or elk.

As part of the multi-year planning process, district specialists evaluated all inventoried roads for resource concerns. In a 2012 decision notice, the district reduced the miles of open roads on the district from about 1,850 to about 1,475, a difference of about 20 percent.

The decision also added 796 user-created campsites to the existing system, along with about 16 miles of additional road.

Outside of wilderness areas, 95 percent of the district will remain within one mile of an open road.

The district has produced a Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) to display the open road system. Maps are free to the public and are the main tool for learning the new roads system.

The Forest Service undertook the North Kaibab Travel Management Project in response to the 2005 national Travel Management Rule, which requires all national forests and grasslands to designate a motorized travel plan.

The North Kaibab Ranger District began travel planning in 2009. The Williams and Tusayan Ranger Districts have already implemented decisions.

More about the North Kaibab Travel Management Project is available by visiting www.fs.usda.gov/goto/kaibab/tmr. More information is available from Public Affairs Specialist Patrick Lair at (928) 643-8172.

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