Forest Service meeting focuses
on road usage

Mount Taylor near Grants is seen in this March file photo. [photo by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — More than 140 people attended a public discussion workshop held by the U.S. Forest Service in Grants last week.

James Duran of the Mount Taylor Ranger District said people came from as far as Santa Fe to take part in the second stage of the forest service’s program to collect public input on recreation needs and road use in Cibola National Forest which includes the Zuni Mountains and Mount Taylor. Duran said the first stage introduced the program and the reasons for changing travel management in the forests.

In 2005, the national level of the forest service handed down a rule that requires all ranger districts to designate areas in their districts where access roads will be put and where off highway vehicles can have be used and where they cannot. State, county or other public roads within national forest and grassland boundaries will not be addressed by the process, according the U.S. Forest Service Travel Management Web site.

Mark Chavez of the Albuquerque forest service office said that vehicle use in forest land has not been managed since the national forest system was set up in 1905, but new forms of recreation have begun to take their toll on the condition of the forests as more people bring in different kinds of off road vehicles, from dirt bikes to six-wheelers.

The new rule will address the advance of progress by creating road maps and regulate some kinds of use in the forests to protect the land while providing access for the public.

“The forests are there for everybody,” Chavez said.
Duran said that in last week’s meeting, people with many interests, such as hiking, hunting, off-roading, camping, etc. worked in groups of 10 to 15 with forest service representatives to identify the kinds of use the public wants and to propose new roads. “Forget the map,” rangers told their work groups as they tried to redesign access to the area together.

Duran said forest service will review the pubic discussions and the concerns of other agencies affected by changes in forest areas, then work up a proposal for new travel management guidelines and maps. More public review will follow the proposal, he said.

The ranger said there has been some confusion about what the forest service is going to do, with many people believing the service will close roads above a certain altitude or prohibit off-road vehicles all together.

He encourages the public to take advantage of the ranger district open house days on Friday, April 18 and Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can come by and talk to the rangers, ask questions, add more suggestions or clarify specifics. People know the terrain they use and can help by mentioning things like “that area gets muddy, you might want to try the road someplace else,” Chavez explained.

Information: Mount Taylor Ranger District, 1800 Lobo Canyon Road, Grants. Phone: 287-8833. On the Web: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola/travelmanagement/index.shtml. E-mail notification list: cibolatravel@fs.fed.us