The Bureau of Land Management has prepared an environmental analysis for a proposed travel management plan in the Upper Snake Field Office. The BLM seeks public input during a 30-day comment period on proposed alternatives and resource analysis. This will assist the BLM in identifying appropriate areas for motorized and non-motorized recreation.
On Wednesday, Action Motor Sports in Idaho Falls, teamed up with KLIM and held a public meeting regarding the BLM travel management plan that could impact 126,000 acres of land across Island Park, West Yellowstone, Tetonia, Driggs, Rexburg, Swan Valley and Idaho Falls areas. When first announced there was a little confusion but it's important to note the BLM travel management plan is only regarding summer usage, not winter.
“The whole process is a little bit confusing unfortunately,” said KLIM's John Summers. “In a nutshell, Congress has asked the BLM to produce a travel management plan for trails on BLM designate land in the state of Idaho. This will be done over several years by working on smaller areas rather than trying to do this for the whole state at once. Eastern Idaho is the first area they are working on.”
As discussed in the meeting it's important that everyone take the time to contact the BLM with your comments, but before you do there are three specific steps you need to take.
View The Map
The first step is to focus on the map highlights. The BLM provides an interactive map that can be used to see how each alternative will affect the area. Once you have opened the mapped, you’ll want to click on the layer icon in the upper right corner. Once you click on the link, a small box opens on the map and you will be able to toggle between the different alternatives.
The yellow areas are controlled by BLM and that’s the only area you should focus on. The purple lines indicate where a trail would be closed, the green lines are open and the orange lines are seasonal.
Do Your Homework
Next step is to do your research. Take time to view the maps and toggle between the four different alternatives in the areas you ride. Get right down to the specifics.
BLM has produced four different, what they are calling alternatives, within the plan. Alternative A represents no changes to the trails. In other words, all existing trails will stay open. With the other three alternatives things get a little tricky. These alternatives vary. In some alternatives some trails stay open and other trails proposed for closure where in other alternatives the same trails that were proposed to stay open are now proposed to be closed. The list of proposed open or closed trails varies.
Be Specific
The last step is contacting the BLM. To have the greatest impact, you should only focus on the trails you are familiar with and give BLM specific feedback on those trails. Don’t get political, give genuine and helpful feedback and be sure to share this with all your friends.
From the meeting it's clear everyone is frustrated over this process and the possibility of trail closures. The only way to keep our trails open is to follow the comment process. It was discussed at the meeting the possibilities of signing petitions and contacting your congressman, but for this situation the only method BLM is accepting is to send BLM an email.
Now is the time to speak up and be heard, don't delay. For specific details, click here to visit the BLM website.
To Submit Comments, Email:
blm_id_usfo_east_tma@blm.gov