National Forests Default to Open: USDA's Access Revolution Proposal
Published Date: 8/24/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is initiating an environmental impact statement and rulemaking to revise the Forest Service's travel management regulations, 36 CFR part 212. The proposed action would establish a uniform national policy favoring increased access while simplifying regulatory requirements and preserving local decision-making. The proposed access rule would establish a national policy with a presumption that existing roads, trails, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points on National Forest System lands are open to appropriate public use unless closure or restriction is required by applicable law, valid existing rights, or another governing instrument, or supported by specific, documented and justifiable reasons based on science-based resource conditions, public safety, conflicts among uses, or maintenance and administrative capacity. Commonly available public data sets, including aerial imagery, may be used as evidence that a physical route or airfield exists or existed at a time relevant under the definition adopted in the proposed rule, but would not by themselves establish that the feature is part of the forest transportation system, that the Forest Service has jurisdiction or sufficient legal access, or that it is open to a particular public use. The proposed access rule would require annual review of all trails, roads, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points that are closed or highly restricted. The proposed access rule would establish processes and conditions for limited off-route motor vehicle use and other motorized equipment for, among other things, downed big-game retrieval, firewood collection and dispersed camping, and for designating areas for over-snow and other motorized recreation. The presumption embodied in the national policy would guide future decisions and would not itself change the legal status of any road, trail, airfield, trailhead, area, or other access route or point. Any change in lawful use resulting from a vehicle- or use-specific exemption would be limited to the scope and conditions expressly provided in the revised regulations. Existing motor vehicle use designations and maps would remain in effect until revised under the amended regulations. The environmental impact statement will evaluate the impacts of the proposed rule revisions and study alternatives for managing public access, including the motorized and other forms of access addressed by the proposed rule, on National Forest System lands in the context of multiple-use resource management. USDA invites written comments on alternatives, effects, and relevant information, studies, or analyses related to the proposal.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Default: Existing Routes Presumed Open
The proposed rule would create a national presumption that existing roads, trails, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points on National Forest System lands are open to appropriate public use unless closure or restriction is required by applicable law, valid existing rights, another governing instrument, or supported by specific, documented reasons based on science-based resource conditions, public safety, conflicts among uses, or maintenance and administrative capacity. The presumption explicitly includes access along section lines in certain national grasslands in North Dakota but would not by itself change legal status or establish jurisdiction or legal access.
Annual Review of Closed or Restricted Routes
The proposed access rule would require, subject to available appropriations, an annual unit-level process to identify trails, roads, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points that are closed or highly restricted and may warrant reconsideration. A route would be reopened only through the process in the revised regulations and only if consistent with applicable law, valid existing rights, other governing instruments, available appropriations, and the governing access and closure criteria.
Limited Off-Route Motor Use Authorizations
The proposed rule would establish processes and conditions to authorize limited off-route motor vehicle and other motorized equipment use for activities such as downed big-game retrieval, firewood collection, dispersed camping, and for designating areas for over-snow and other motorized recreation. The rule would specify whether each use is authorized via a route or area designation, a written authorization, or a categorical exemption and would set geographic, seasonal, vehicle-class, and resource-protection conditions.
Class 1 E-Bikes Exempted from Motor-Vehicle Rule
The proposal would exempt 'class 1 electric bicycles' (as defined in 23 U.S.C. 217(j)(2)(A) and (B)(i)) from the Forest Service motor vehicle use designation requirement and the prohibition in 36 CFR 261.13 when operated on NFS trails where bicycle use is allowed, subject to applicable land management plan direction, seasonal restrictions, orders, and site-specific restrictions adopted by the responsible official. The EIS will analyze alternatives that could retain e-bikes as motor vehicles or adopt different exemption conditions.
Authoritative Integrated Digital Maps Required
The proposed rule would require integrated digital maps to be made available to the public that show access rules for all trails, roads, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points; these maps would be the authoritative public source for designations made under the revised regulations. The proposal also supports implementing the EXPLORE Act direction to provide publicly available, GIS-compatible motor vehicle use maps for each NFS unit. Existing MVUMs and OSVUMs would remain in effect until revised under the amended regulations.
New Rulemaking for NFS Airfield Management
The proposed regulations would specifically address Forest Service management of National Forest System airfields and use of NFS lands for aircraft landing and takeoff, identifying regulations and existing airfield or aircraft restrictions proposed for amendment and the criteria and process for opening, restricting, or closing an airfield.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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