Are snowmobiles affected?
A.The Travel Rule’s prohibition of cross-country travel and restriction of vehicles to designated routes generally does not apply to snowmobiles and other vehicles designed specifically for oversnow travel. The Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) will not address them. The final rule does retain current authorities for the Forest Service to manage use of oversnow vehicles and they may be allowed, restricted, or prohibited in certain areas or on certain routes at times. The Clearwater NF travel planning effort and subsequent NEPA analysis does consider snowmobiles. The analysis of oversnow travel is focused on cleaning up some currently inconsistent, unncessary, or missing snowmobile restrictions, and defining areas where snowmobiles are permitted or prohibited. Any restrictions retained or adopted for snowmobiles will be displayed on a Winter Use Map.
