Last week the U.S. Forest Service officially noticed two new proposals making slight but impactful changes on national forest lands. The first proposes to amend the Travel Management Rule (TMR) to require designation of national forest roads, trails, and areas where over-snow vehicles are allowed, restricted or prohibited. Currently, forest supervisors are allowed, but not required, to make such designations. The proposal follows a 2013 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho that the USFS is required to designate areas where over-snow vehicles are allowed and prohibited to mitigate the impact on national forest resources. The second proposal establishes directives that address water rights for permitted ski resorts that operate on federal land. The USFS had previously proposed that they hold the water rights to any such water usage as a condition of the permits. The current proposal would instead establish requirements a permitted ski resort must meet with respect to acquisition and transfer or water rights.
Comments on the TMR rulemaking are due on August 4, 2014 and can be accessed here.
Comments on the water rights directives are due on August 22, 2014 and can be accessed here.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Staci Heaton at (916) 447-4806 or sheaton@rcrcnet.org.