The Trump administration is moving to overhaul a two-decade-old federal regulation that governs motorized vehicle access on national forests, proposing a fundamental shift in how the U.S. Forest Service manages roads and trails across the country. As first reported by spokesman.com, the proposal would invert the current legal presumption, treating routes as open for appropriate use unless specifically closed, rather than closed unless designated open.
A notice published in the Federal Register last month signaled the agency’s intent to revise the 2005 Travel Management Rule. The change targets what officials describe as unnecessary barriers to public access on federal lands, which include millions of acres in Idaho and across the West. The rule currently governs approximately 380,000 miles of road and 165,000 miles of trail within the national forest system.
History of the Travel Rule
The existing framework was established under Dale Bosworth, who served as chief of the U.S. Forest Service starting in 2001. Bosworth identified off-road damage from motorcycles, four-wheelers, and other gas-powered machines as one of the “four threats” to the nation’s forests. In response, the agency developed the 2005 rule, which required local forest units to inventory their road systems, designate specific routes for motorized travel, and publish maps reflecting those decisions.
Under the current system, roads and trails are presumed closed to motor vehicles unless explicitly opened by management. Over the past 21 years, all but six of the 154 national forest units and 20 grassland units have completed the required inventory and designation work. The administration argues that this process has created a restrictive environment for recreational users.
Proposed Changes and Executive Authority
The proposed revision seeks to align Forest Service policy with minimization criteria rooted in presidential executive orders dating back to 1972. President Richard Nixon signed an executive order that year, establishing standards to minimize wildlife harassment and environmental damage from motorized vehicles such as motorcycles, minibikes, snowmobiles, and all-terrain vehicles. At the time, there were an estimated 5 million motorized vehicles in use.
President Jimmy Carter amended the order five years later, granting officials broader authority to close areas to motorized traffic. The current proposal aims to return to a presumption of access, allowing roads, trails, airfields, and other routes to remain open unless specific closures are warranted by resource concerns.
Michael Boren, U.S. Department of Agriculture under secretary overseeing the Forest Service, stated that the existing system creates unnecessary barriers for Americans seeking to use public lands. The administration views the revision as a correction to decades of restrictive management practices.
Reactions from Advocacy Groups
The BlueRibbon Coalition, an organization advocating for motorized recreation access, supports the proposed changes. Ben Burr, executive director of the coalition, noted that the current system has been in place for 30 to 40 years and argued that it is time for decisions that favor public access.
Conservation groups, however, have expressed concern that the revision could harm wildlife habitats and increase conflicts between different types of recreationists. Nick Gevock of the Sierra Club warned that opening more routes to motorized use could degrade forest ecosystems and disrupt non-motorized activities.
Broader Policy Shifts
The travel rule revision comes shortly after the administration advanced a plan to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. That move would potentially open nearly 45 million acres of federal land to logging and roadbuilding, marking a significant departure from previous conservation policies.
Bill Avey, a former Forest Service official in Montana and president of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, has commented on the changes. The combination of these policy shifts represents a broader effort by the Trump administration to expand resource development and recreational access on federal lands.
The proposed rule change affects forests nationwide, including those in Idaho’s Panhandle region, where motorized recreation is popular along trails near Lake Pend Oreille and other public lands. As cooler weather curbs wildfire growth in the area, attention is shifting to long-term land management policies that will shape access for years to come.