For off-road recreationists, this could become one of the most consequential federal land-management actions in a generation. On August 24, 2026, the U.S. Forest Service published a Letter of Intent announcing plans to reconsider and substantially revise the 2005 Travel Management Rule, the regulation that has governed motorized vehicle access throughout the National Forest System for more than two decades.
For CORVA members, four-wheel-drive clubs, motorcycle riders, ATV and side-by-side users, dispersed campers, hunters, rural communities, and anyone who depends on motorized access to public lands, this deserves serious attention. And its significance extends far beyond California. National Forests across the country were required to implement the 2005 Travel Management Rule, making this a potentially nationwide change in how motorized recreation is managed.
The 2005 rule established the regulatory framework that required National Forests to designate the specific roads, trails, and areas where motorized vehicles could legally travel. Forests subsequently developed Motor Vehicle Use Maps, commonly called MVUMs, identifying routes legally available for motorized use. For millions of recreationists, that process fundamentally changed access to National Forest lands.
Now, for the first time in roughly 20 years, the Forest Service is considering major changes to the framework that produced those decisions.
Before implementation of Travel Management, many National Forests operated under systems where motorized recreation was generally permitted unless a route or area had specifically been restricted. The 2005 rule changed that approach by moving the Forest Service toward a designated-route system. Under that framework, motorized use generally became prohibited unless a road, trail, or area had specifically been designated for that type of vehicle use.
Each National Forest then went through its own travel-management planning process. Thousands of roads and trails were evaluated, mapped, designated, restricted, converted to administrative use, or left off Motor Vehicle Use Maps entirely. For the OHV community, the consequences were significant.
Historic trails disappeared from maps, long-used connector routes were lost, and access to dispersed camping areas became more difficult. In some locations, traditional recreation networks became fragmented because a single missing connector could separate otherwise usable trail systems. Routes that generations of families had used to reach campsites, scenic destinations, hunting areas, and other public-land destinations were no longer available for public motorized travel.
Because those decisions were made forest by forest, the impacts varied throughout California and across the United States. CORVA and other motorized recreation organizations participated extensively in these processes, fighting to preserve legitimate access while supporting responsible management of public lands.
Twenty years later, the Forest Service is reconsidering the underlying rule that created that system. That is why this rulemaking could be so important.
According to the Forest Service's August 24 Letter of Intent, the agency wants to modernize Travel Management regulations to allow faster local decision-making and increase recreational access, including access for motor vehicles, e-bikes, and other mobility devices.
One of the most significant concepts under discussion is movement toward a more flexible management philosophy that could differ substantially from the designated-route system recreationists have operated under for the past two decades. Such a change could provide local Forest Service officials with greater flexibility to reconsider routes, correct past travel-management problems, improve connectivity, recognize changing recreation demands, and respond more quickly to legitimate access needs.
CORVA members should understand, however, that these proposed changes do not automatically reopen closed roads or trails. Existing Motor Vehicle Use Maps remain in effect, and a route currently closed under an MVUM does not suddenly become legal because the Forest Service has announced its intent to revise the national rule.
What could change is the regulatory framework used by Forest Service officials when evaluating access in the future. For communities that lost significant access during previous Travel Management decisions, that opportunity should not be underestimated.
That will undoubtedly be one of the first questions many off-roaders ask. The answer is potentially yes, but not automatically.
Changing the national regulation would not erase two decades of individual Forest Travel Management decisions. Reopening a particular road or trail could still require site-specific analysis, environmental review, resource evaluation, public participation, and approval from the appropriate Forest Service official.
However, a revised rule could potentially provide something the OHV community has needed for years: a more workable pathway for reconsidering access.
Instead of treating additional motorized access as something that must overcome an inherently restrictive regulatory framework, future management could provide greater flexibility for forests to determine that responsible motorized recreation is an appropriate use of National Forest lands where conditions support it.
That distinction matters. CORVA has consistently argued that public-land management should focus on responsible management rather than unnecessary closure. Routes can be repaired, drainage can be improved, sensitive resources can be protected, and seasonal restrictions can be used where scientifically justified. Volunteer organizations can provide maintenance, while education and enforcement can address irresponsible behavior.
Closing access should not automatically be the first or only management tool available.
Another significant concept included in the Forest Service proposal involves limited exceptions that could allow motorized vehicles to travel outside designated routes for certain legitimate purposes. Activities under consideration include big-game retrieval, firewood collection, dispersed camping, snowmobile use, and other specifically authorized activities.
For many Western recreationists, these are not minor issues. Travel Management frequently created situations where someone could legally drive down a Forest Service road but could not travel a short distance beyond that designated route to establish a dispersed campsite, retrieve legally harvested game, or conduct another traditional activity.
The proposed rulemaking could give Forest managers greater flexibility to authorize these activities where local conditions allow. The details will be extremely important, and CORVA will be watching closely to ensure that any exceptions are practical, understandable, and capable of being implemented locally rather than buried beneath additional layers of bureaucracy.
The Forest Service is also considering changing how Class 1 electric bicycles are treated. Under existing Forest Service regulations, e-bikes have generally been classified as motor vehicles. Under the proposal, Class 1 e-bikes — pedal-assist bicycles with assistance generally limited to 20 mph — could instead be managed more similarly to traditional bicycles.
That does not mean every non-motorized trail would automatically become open to e-bikes. Local restrictions, trail designations, environmental considerations, and other management decisions could still apply. However, the regulatory change could substantially expand opportunities for Class 1 e-bike access in locations where conventional bicycles are already permitted.
For hunters, older recreationists, people with mobility limitations, and riders seeking access to remote areas without using a conventional motor vehicle, this could become another meaningful change in National Forest recreation policy.
Another important part of the proposal may receive less attention, but it could provide enormous practical benefits for recreationists. The Forest Service is proposing improvements to digital mapping and public GIS information consistent with requirements of the federal EXPLORE Act.
For years, OHV users have struggled with outdated maps, inconsistent GIS information, confusing Motor Vehicle Use Maps, and differences between what appears on a recreational navigation application and what the Forest Service considers legally designated. Standardized, regularly maintained GIS datasets could allow mapping platforms such as onX, CalTopo, and other applications to incorporate more reliable Forest Service information about roads, trails, access points, and legal designations.
For recreationists navigating a National Forest System containing approximately 380,000 miles of roads and 165,000 miles of trails, accurate digital access information is more than a convenience. It is an important compliance and public-safety tool.
California recreationists understand Travel Management very well. Clubs and organizations spent years attending agency meetings, reviewing maps, submitting comments, providing GPS tracks, identifying historic routes, documenting recreation destinations, and fighting to preserve connectivity throughout California's National Forests.
But this issue is national in scope. Forests throughout the West and across the United States implemented the 2005 Travel Management Rule. That means a change to the federal regulation could ultimately influence motorized recreation from California to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and many other states.
For OHV organizations nationwide, this rulemaking deserves close attention because the regulatory decisions being made today could establish the foundation for motorized access policy for decades to come.
It is extremely important for CORVA members to understand that this proposal is separate from the Forest Service's effort involving the 2001 Roadless Rule. The two issues may both affect public-land access, but they address different policies.
The Roadless Rule concerns millions of acres of inventoried roadless areas and restrictions involving road construction, reconstruction, timber management, and related activities within those areas. The Travel Management Rule, by contrast, governs how motorized vehicles use the existing system of National Forest roads, trails, and designated motorized areas.
The fact that the Forest Service is reconsidering both policies during the same period could represent a significant broader shift in federal land-management policy, but they are separate rulemakings with separate public-comment processes and deadlines. CORVA will continue to engage on both.
Several national environmental organizations have strongly criticized the proposed Travel Management revisions, arguing that changes could weaken protections for fish, wildlife, watersheds, and other natural resources. Motorized recreation organizations view the issue differently and see an opportunity to create a more flexible, modern system that recognizes legitimate public access while retaining local management authority.
CORVA has long maintained that responsible motorized access and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive. OHV volunteers throughout California spend thousands of hours maintaining trails, clearing fallen trees, repairing drainage, installing signs, removing garbage, restoring damaged areas, educating recreationists, and assisting public-land managers.
The answer to every management challenge should not automatically be another locked gate. Decisions should be based on actual conditions, science, recreation demand, available management tools, and site-specific circumstances.
Access creates stewardship. People protect the places they know, use, maintain, and love.
While this announcement is significant, members should understand that the process is only beginning. The August 24 Letter of Intent starts what could be a lengthy federal rulemaking process involving environmental review, proposed regulatory language, additional public participation, and ultimately a final rule.
Current estimates indicate that the rulemaking process could continue into 2028. Until a new rule is formally adopted and subsequent local decisions are made, existing Travel Management regulations and Motor Vehicle Use Maps remain in effect.
In other words, do not assume that currently closed roads or trails have reopened. They have not.
What has opened is an opportunity to influence the rules that could govern National Forest access for the next generation.
The Forest Service's August 24 Letter of Intent opened an initial 30-day public-comment period that runs through September 23, 2026. Additional opportunities for public involvement are expected as the Environmental Impact Statement and proposed regulations move forward.
CORVA strongly encourages every motorized recreationist to participate. The Forest Service needs to hear directly from the people who actually use these lands. Tell the agency about routes lost during previous Travel Management decisions and explain why connectivity matters. Describe how closures affect camping, hunting, exploring, family recreation, tourism, local businesses, emergency access, volunteer stewardship, and rural communities.
Clubs should also document the work their members perform on National Forest lands. Trail clearing, drainage repair, signing, cleanup projects, education, restoration, and volunteer partnerships demonstrate that the motorized recreation community does far more than simply use these areas — we help maintain them.
Most importantly, recreationists should encourage the Forest Service to establish a regulatory framework that allows local managers to restore, maintain, improve, and expand responsible motorized access where conditions support it.
Comments can be submitted directly through the federal Regulations.gov docket for the Forest Service Travel Management Rule:
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2026-0100-0001
Click the link above, review the Forest Service Letter of Intent, and submit your comment before September 23, 2026.
Your comment does not need to be long or complicated. In fact, the strongest comments are often personal, specific, and focused on how Forest Service decisions affect real people and real places. Avoid simply saying “I support this” without explaining why. Tell the Forest Service how you use National Forest lands and what you want the revised Travel Management Rule to accomplish.
Consider including these points:
The most effective comment is your own story in your own words. The Forest Service needs to hear from the families, volunteers, clubs, businesses, hunters, campers, and OHV enthusiasts who are directly affected by these policies.
Be respectful. Be specific. Be heard.
CORVA participated in Travel Management planning throughout California when these decisions were originally made, and we intend to be fully engaged as the Forest Service determines what comes next.
Over the coming months, CORVA will review the Forest Service proposal, monitor development of the Environmental Impact Statement, coordinate with our state and national recreation partners, and advocate for policies recognizing motorized recreation as a legitimate and important use of America's National Forests.
There will be technical details to work through, organized opposition, additional rounds of public comments, and no instant reopening of every road that disappeared from a Motor Vehicle Use Map over the past 20 years. But the significance of this opportunity should not be minimized.
For two decades, the OHV community has operated under a Travel Management system that fundamentally reshaped motorized access throughout the National Forest System. Now the Forest Service is reconsidering that framework.
This could be huge — not just for California and not just for CORVA, but for off-road recreationists across America.
Twenty years ago, the Travel Management Rule changed the future of motorized access on our National Forests. Now we have an opportunity to help determine what the next twenty years will look like.
CORVA will be there — protecting public lands FOR the people, not FROM the people.
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