For decades, snowmobilers and over-snow vehicle users accessed National Forest lands under a common-sense system that allowed winter travel where conditions were safe, snow depth was adequate for their machines, and site-specific closures were actually justified to remedy damage. However, that all changed through the Forest Service Travel Management framework. Instead of managing actual problems where they occur, the agency shifted toward a system that forces forests to draw lines on maps and then prohibit over-snow vehicle use outside those lines.
This rule was not passed by Congress. It was created administratively through agency regulation and later expanded after litigation from anti-access groups. Congress never directed the Forest Service to create a separate nationwide winter travel planning program. The agency already possesses ample authority to temporarily or permanently close areas where site specific resource concerns exist. A second travel management program serves little purpose beyond creating another regulatory tool to close our public lands. Today, 36 CFR Part 212, Subpart C requires the Forest Service to designate roads, trails, and areas for over-snow vehicle use, and once those maps are adopted, riding outside the designated system is prohibited. Subpart C requires the Forest Service to spend years designating winter travel separately from summer travel, despite the fact that the agency already has an extensive travel management process under Subpart B. It creates an entirely separate planning requirement, separate NEPA documents, separate maps, separate litigation opportunities, and separate opportunities for anti-access groups to chip away at winter recreation.
For example, on the Tahoe National Forest, the agency designated 414,721 acres for over-snow vehicle use out of the 850,000 acres with only up to 247 miles available for grooming. On the Stanislaus National Forest, only 119,104 acres were designated for cross-country OSV use, out of the 898,099 acres with only 24.7 miles of groomed trails and 58.4 miles of ungroomed trails. On the Lassen National Forest, 747,192 acres were designated open for cross-country OSV use out of 1.2 million acres.
These decisions determine whether families can ride, whether rural winter economies survive, whether local clubs can maintain grooming programs, and whether the public can continue accessing public lands during winter. Subpart C has turned winter recreation into a paperwork-driven permission system where access is lost unless users can fight forest by forest, map by map, and alternative by alternative.
This rule is outdated and should be rescinded. The Forest Service already has authority to close areas for public safety, resource protection, wildlife concerns, or site-specific conflicts. It does not need yet another nationwide rule that presumes winter motorized access must be restricted unless affirmatively designated open. A better policy would require site-specific evidence before closures, protect grooming routes and historic riding areas, and recognize over-snow vehicle recreation as a legitimate use of National Forest lands.
BRC is calling on the Administration and the Forest Service to rescind 36 CFR Part 212, Subpart C and replace it with a policy that protects access, respects local users, and manages real problems with targeted solutions using existing statutory authorities instead of broad restrictions.
Take action now and tell the Forest Service to rescind Subpart C and restore common-sense winter access on our National Forests.
