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Forest Service Opens Comment on Travel Management Rewrite Favoring More Motorized Access

Federal Register NOI (Aug 24, 2026; 91 FR 54686) starts EIS/rulemaking to revise 36 CFR part 212 toward an open-unless-closed access presumption and annual closure review. Comments due Sept 23, 2026 on Docket FS-2026-0100. Existing MVUMs stay until locally revised - not legal advice.

Trail Roamer Editorial TeamAug 24, 2026 · Updated Sep 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Dirt bike rider climbing a dusty singletrack through the woods - Credit: Trail Roamer

The USDA Forest Service opened a written comment window on a notice of intent (NOI) to revise the Travel Management Rule that governs motor vehicle use on National Forest System lands. The Federal Register published the package on August 24, 2026 (91 FR 54686, Document 2026-17211). Comments must be received in writing by September 23, 2026. Prefer regulations.gov under Docket FS-2026-0100; hardcopy mail goes to the Director, Public Benefits, Washington, D.C., as listed in the notice. What follows is a plain-English read of the Federal Register text for dual-sport, dirt bike, enduro, and OHV riders, not legal advice.

What this filing is - and is not. The Federal Register ACTION line is a notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and begin rulemaking to revise 36 CFR part 212 (and associated provisions in part 261). It is not a final rule and not an overnight rewrite of every Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM). USDA’s schedule in the same notice anticipates a proposed rule and draft EIS in spring 2027, with a completed EIS, record of decision, and final rule in early calendar year 2028 - subject to change.

What the proposed action would change, per the Federal Register text. First, a national access presumption: existing roads, trails, airfields, trailheads, and other access routes and points on NFS lands would be treated as 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, justifiable reasons based on science-based resource conditions, public safety, conflicts among uses, or maintenance and administrative capacity. That is the “open unless closed” framing. The notice states this presumption 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.

Second, annual review of closures: subject to available appropriations, an annual unit-level process would identify closed or highly restricted routes and access points that may warrant reconsideration. Reopening would occur only through the prescribed process and only if consistent with applicable law, rights, instruments, appropriations, and the governing criteria. Third, the Department proposes to remove the national minimization criteria from the 2005 framework and to distinguish clerical map corrections and minor designation revisions from more substantive changes. Fourth, the package describes processes for limited off-route motorized use for, among other things, downed big-game retrieval, firewood collection, and dispersed camping, plus designating areas for over-snow and other motorized recreation. Fifth, class 1 electric bicycles (defined by reference to 23 U.S.C. 217) are proposed for exemption from certain motor-vehicle designation and prohibition provisions on NFS trails where bicycle use is already allowed, subject to plan direction and site-specific restrictions - with EIS alternatives that keep class 1 e-bikes as motor vehicles.

What stays the same for riders this season. Existing motor vehicle use designations - including those on MVUMs and over-snow vehicle use maps (OSVUMs) - would remain in effect until revised under the amended regulations. The Forest Service’s August 21, 2026 news release says the same: existing designations and maps remain valid until updated at the local level. Prohibitions under other authorities stay until modified under those authorities. Common public datasets, including aerial imagery, may evidence that a physical route existed, but per the FR would not by themselves prove the feature is part of the forest transportation system, that the Agency has jurisdiction or legal access, or that it is open to a particular public use. A route showing up in someone's social-media track log doesn't mean it has reopened.

How to comment - official channels only. Prefer regulations.gov, Docket FS-2026-0100 (comment form document FS-2026-0100-0001). The Federal Register page for Document 2026-17211 also routes comments to that docket. As of a September 5, 2026 Federal Register / Regulations.gov verification pull, the listing showed about 16,273 comments received - a moving snapshot; refresh the docket before you cite a count. USDA asks for input on alternatives, effects, and relevant studies for EIS scoping. No separate public scoping meetings are planned. Put a short plain summary up front on long comments. Submissions post to the public docket unchanged - omit private or confidential information. This action is not subject to the pre-decisional objection process under 36 CFR parts 218 or 219 subpart B.

Why dual-sport and OHV riders should care. The 2005 Travel Management Rule built the designation-and-map system most of us ride under: if it is not on the MVUM for that unit and vehicle class, treat it as closed to public motorized use. An access-oriented national presumption, annual closure review, and streamlined minor revisions could change how future local decisions are framed - but only after rulemaking finishes and forests revise maps under the new regs. That matters for plated dual-sports on designated NFS roads, dirt bikes and ATVs on designated OHV systems, and enduro riders mixing legal connectors with club events. Keep this docket separate from the August 2026 Roadless Rule proposal and its own deadline. Download the current MVUM the week you ride, stay on designated routes for your class, and put forest-specific facts into FS-2026-0100 while the window is open.

The short version for dual-sport and OHV riders: the Federal Register text does carry the open-unless-closed and annual-review themes, your current MVUM still controls until the local unit revises it, nothing here reopens a specific forest road, and the places to comment are the Federal Register notice and regulations.gov Docket FS-2026-0100.

Sources

FAQ

Does this NOI reopen closed trails tomorrow?
No. Per the Federal Register, the open-unless-closed presumption would guide future decisions and would not itself change the legal status of routes. Existing MVUM/OSVUM designations remain in effect until revised under amended regulations.
Where and when do I comment?
Written comments due September 23, 2026. Prefer https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FS-2026-0100 (comment form https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2026-0100-0001), or comment via the Federal Register page for Document 2026-17211 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/24/2026-17211/travel-management-national-forest-system-lands). Hardcopy mail address is in the FR ADDRESSES section.
Is this the same as the Roadless Rule proposal?
No. This is the Travel Management Rule NOI (36 CFR part 212; Docket FS-2026-0100). The August 2026 Roadless Rule proposal is a separate action with its own docket and deadline.
When would a final rule arrive?
The Federal Register schedule anticipates a proposed rule and draft EIS in spring 2027, with a completed EIS, record of decision, and final rule in early calendar year 2028 - subject to change. Until then, ride the current MVUM.

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