Backcountry visitors finding greater opportunities for solitude

Hikers, backpackers and backcountry horsemen are benefiting from recent management changes that create greater opportunities for solitude and backcountry experiences.

In February, the Idaho Panhandle National Forests began implementation of the recently approved revised IPNF Land Use Management Plan (Revised Forest Plan), which includes guidance calling for non-mechanized and non-motorized use in Congressionally designated wilderness areas and recommended wilderness areas across the forest. These lands comprise approximately 7 percent of the national forest and are located predominantly in backcountry portions of the national forest.

The updated guidance restricts use of the following within area boundaries and on all trails in the RWAs:

* Motor vehicles, including but not limited to over-snow vehicles, off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and motorcycles.

* Mechanized vehicles, including but not limited to bicycles, wagons and carts

* Motorized equipment, including handheld equipment

The 2015 decision to restrict mechanized and motorized uses in RWAs will change uses in some areas of the forest. Known impacts were studied and discussed in the final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the Revised Forest Plan issued in January 2015. Notable areas where motorized and mechanized uses are no longer permitted include motorized over-snow use in the Scotchman Peak RWA, motorized use on the Copper Ridge Trail No. 263 in the Mallard Larkins RWA, and mountain biking on the Long Canyon Trail No. 16 in the Selkirk RWA.

Elimination of motorized and mechanized vehicles and equipment in RWAs preserves the "backcountry experience" for those participating in more primitive forms of recreation such as hiking, horseback riding and Nordic skiing. In addition, it reduces the potential for unsafe encounters between vehicles and stock, and between vehicles and wildlife.