Next Meeting:

We are waiting to see when the road opens. At this point we are betting on sometime in early June. We have 7 1/2' of snow at Secesh Summit (5/2) and no bare patched on the road to Warren.

The Forest Service has cancelled their meeting scheduled for May 14th to discuss the Summer Travel Plan. It will be rescheduled, probably for late June. The Winter Travel Plan won't be out until late fall/early winter. We will be riding under the old plan through the winter of 08/09.

McCall, ID - After almost four years of information gathering, public input, and analysis, the Payette National Forest is approaching the decision point for the Travel Management Plan. The Payette National Forest’s October Schedule of Proposed Action stated the Record of Decision on Travel Planning would be out in November 2007. However, due to the analysis process, public involvement efforts, and consultation requirements, the Forest will release a separate Record of Decision (ROD) for summer travel expected in February 2008 followed by the winter travel ROD in early summer 2008.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Travel Plan was released in May 2007. Comments on the FEIS were solicited from interested individuals, organizations, state and local governments, and cooperators, and agencies. An enormous amount of comments were received in response to the Draft EIS (DEIS) and FEIS. In response to these comments and due to the complexity and amount of information presented in the DEIS, FEIS, and public comment, the Payette National Forest decided to release a separate decision for summer and winter travel. Separating the decisions allows the public to have additional time to focus on their areas of special interest.

Each record of decision will be complete with a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). The “summer” maps will be built using the required National Mapping standard for MVUMs template. The “winter” record of decision will have a separate set of motorized closure maps which do not have a required template. Public comments have requested very detailed maps, and we will strive to produce those for each closure area.

The Payette National Forest appreciates all the comments and involvement in this travel planning process. For information please contact the Payette National Forest Public Affairs Office at (208) 634-0784

The Payette National Forest Travel Plan comments were due July 10th. If you'd like to see the comments the Backcountry Recreation Club submitted click here Send your ideas, pictures and comments to Becky@secesh.net.