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No more mountain biking on Long Canyon trail |
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July 4, 2015 |
Mountain biking on Boundary County's west side
Long Canyon Trail (Forest Service Trail #16),
long a magnet for mountain bikers in our area
and known as one of Idaho's more popular
mountain biking trails, is now prohibited with
recent changes announced in the management of
the west side's Long Canyon area.
The mountain biking prohibition is only one of
several prohibitions now in effect in the
revised Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land
Use Management Plan. This plan specifies
"guidance" which restricts certain use
activities in wilderness areas—but
not just wilderness areas alone. The same
restrictions apply also to "recommended
wilderness areas." Long Canyon Trail #16 falls
within the Selkirk Recommended Wilderness Area.
The implementation of these rules began in
February of this year. This revised Land Use
Management Plan restricts the following
activities anywhere within the boundaries of all
wilderness areas, and within the boundaries of
all recommended wilderness areas including all
trails within the recommended wilderness areas:
No mechanized vehicles,
including bicycles, wagons, carts, and others—they
are prohibited.
No motor vehicles, including
snowmobiles, motorcycles, off-highway vehicles,
and other motorized vehicles.
No motorized equipment,
including handheld motorized equipment.
"Elimination of motorized and mechanized
vehicles and equipment in [recommended
wilderness areas] preserves the 'backcountry
experience' for those participating in more
primitive forms of recreation such as hiking,
horseback riding and Nordic skiing," the Forest
Service said in a press release describing the
new prohibitions.
"Hikers, backpackers and backcountry horsemen
are benefiting from [these] recent management
changes that create greater opportunities for
solitude and backcountry experiences."
Along with Boundary County's Long Canyon area,
other North Idaho areas affected by the new Land
Use Management Plan and these new prohibitions
include the Recommended Wilderness Area at
Scotchman Peak in Bonner County, and the Mallard
Larkins Recommended Wilderness Area, which is
located roughly in the Orofino region.
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