IPNF snowmobile guide available
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December 3, 2012 |
As snowmobiling season arrives on the Idaho
Panhandle National Forests (IPNF) snowmobilers
are strongly encouraged to obtain a copy of the
2012-2013 Snowmobile Guide for the Priest Lake,
Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint Ranger Districts.
he guide provides the locations and seasonal use
for all legal snowmobile routes on national
forest system lands in the Selkirk Mountains,
including both trails and open areas. Copies of
the free guide can be downloaded from the
IPNF website or picked up from Ranger
District offices in Priest Lake, Bonners Ferry
and Sandpoint.
“We recognize that snowmobiling is a favorite
pastime for our communities in north Idaho so we
provide this free guide to ensure forest
visitors have the best information to keep them
safe and in compliance with current laws,” said
Forest Supervisor Mary Farnsworth.
The annual snowmobile guide is developed based
on legal rulings of November 7, 2006, and
February 27, 2007, relating to recovery of
woodland caribou and the potential impacts of
snowmobile use within the recovery area. The
court‘s ruling and associated Forest Closure
Order will continue to restrict motorized winter
travel within the designated recovery area until
the IPNF completes a winter travel management
plan for the north zone of the forest including
science based analysis of the impacts of
motorized winter travel on caribou recovery.
Until recently, work on the North Zone Winter
Travel Plan had been on hold pending a decision
from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for
designation of Critical Habitat for woodland
caribou. The final decision for Critical Habitat
designation was released by FWS in November 2012
and does not change any current activity on the
forest, including winter motorized travel
restrictions. Since the release of the FWS
decision the IPNF anticipates resuming work on
the winter travel plan in early spring 2013.
Until the final plan is completed, winter
motorized travel in the Selkirk Mountains will
remain governed by the 2007 court order and the
associated Forest Closure Order.
For more information on the Selkirk Mountains
Snowmobile Guide or the IPNF Winter Travel Plan
please visit the
Idaho
Panhandle National Forests website, or
contact your local
Forest Service office.
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