What is the difference between the National Forest system of road and trails and “unauthorized” or “user built” roads and trails?
National Forest System roads and trails are included in the Forest Service Transportation Atlas. These system roads and trails have appropriate management guidelines and maintenance schedules. System roads and trails were created with specific objectives and engineering standards. In contrast, unauthorized routes were often created by users without analyzing resource impacts or how the routes fit into the transportation system. Motorized recreation currently occurs both on system roads and trails, and on “unauthorized” roads and trails not included in the Transportation Atlas. Individual Ranger Districts on the Okanogan-Wenatchee have varying numbers of “unauthorized” routes, and varying levels of knowledge regarding the locations and use on unauthorized routes. In general, there is no systematic inventory of unauthorized routes throughout the forest. It is difficult to quantify the quality of opportunities that these “unauthorized” routes provide for motorized recreation enthusiasts.
