MVUM - Motor Vehicle Use Maps December 29, 2009 version

Click the forest or grassland name to see the MVUM web page.
The date shown is the most recent date that changes were made anywhere on the MVUM page (not necessarily a change in the MVUM itself).
The initial date is 5/8/09.

NF = National Forest    NG = National Grassland    RD = Ranger District
el = electronic MVUM available (draft or final)    pa = paper MVUM available (final)    na = not available

Here is an excerpt from a thread on ADVrider about carrying paper maps.   Who still carries paper maps on board?

Speaking of the problem of carrying paper maps... I was looking at some maps this morning, in preparation for next year's 2010 Rocky Mountain Adventure Rally in July. The event will be held near South Fork, Colorado, in the middle of the Rio Grande National Forest. As some of you may know, the US Forest Service (nationwide) is going through the process of designating routes open to motor vehicle use in all forests and is publishing paper maps that show the motorized routes. Currently, some forests allow cross-country motorized travel, and many forests have no complete inventory of motorized routes. The current process, implementing the OHV rule, will not allow such travel. From the USFS web site:
"The Forest Service published a new regulation on November 9, 2005, governing off-highway vehicles and other motor vehicle use on national forests and grasslands. The new rule requires each national forest or ranger district to designate those roads, trails, and areas open to motor vehicle use."   More info here: USFS Travel Management

 
The new maps are called Motor Vehicle Use Maps or MVUMs, and each Ranger District of each forest will publish an MVUM for their district and also for any National Grasslands they manage. In Colorado, we have 12 national forests and about 38 districts and grasslands, so a rider could potentially have a lot of maps to carry.

<-- Here's what an MVUM looks like. This MVUM is for the Divide Ranger District of the Rio Grande National Forest. It is printed on both sides and is 44" x 34". Most of the roads and trails of interest are on the side shown; the back shows some non-motorized wilderness area. The MVUMs are gray-scale (no color); I have hi-lighted some routes in pink. Click to supersize.

The problem is this: the USFS has made the maps the final authority on where you can ride. Here is what they show on their web site:

"Routes designated for motorized use may not always be signed. In some cases, a route marker may exist at the entrance of the road/trail with symbols indicating which classes of vehicles are allowed. Routes designated for motorized uses will be identified on the MVUM. The MVUM is an enforcement tool to ensure individuals are on the correct route. It is the responsibility of the user to determine if they are on a route designated for the motor vehicle being used. MVUM's will be developed for each forest nationwide. It is not only a tool for motorized users, but also a consistent and standardized law enforcement tool."

The maps are available as electronic pdf files on each Forest's web site and also in paper form at each District office. Of course, you can print the pdf files on your $6,000 wide-format printer. Or drive around to all the District offices to pick up paper MVUMs, which are FREE actually. Well, paid for by your taxes. Our local District office in Salida does not have MVUMs for the other Districts in the San Isabel forest - it's too much of a bother for them. So I called the Forest Supervisor's office, and the nice lady sent me MVUMs for all the Districts. I did this for all of the national forests in Colorado, and the MVUMs were mailed to me FREE (yeah, taxes). (The tables above show links to the national forests in CO and NM.)

So, you need to carry MVUMs just to be sure you stay on designated routes and within the law. These maps are very difficult to use. There are virtually no landmarks shown on the MVUMs: no mountain peaks, rivers, or creeks, although lakes and reservoirs are shown; no place names for parks (open areas), passes, creeks, rivers, springs, and significant points of interest. All of these valuable details are shown on the USFS Visitor Maps, so you'll have to carry one of these along also, just to get your bearings now and then.

There is also one other fly in the ointment. Emergency route closures are documented by a signed Closure Order, copies of which are kept in the local Ranger District office and also in the Forest Supervisor's office. They are also posted in the field, at the road or trailhead where the closure is in effect. So, you gotta track these down also and not depend on the field-posted notice, which may have been torn down by someone. We're starting to talk a bunch of paper here....

My thought was - it would be nice if the USFS (each Ranger District, actually) would make available (along with the MVUM pdf) one or more gpx files that contains all of the designated motorized routes. They have this information in their GIS data base; it is used to make the MVUMs. Exporting the motorized routes to a gpx file would take a minute. Yes, it's just a command. And the files could easily be placed on their web sites right along side the pdf files. Lastly, I'd like the closure orders converted to gpx files showing the closed routes in red, for example.

If you like my idea, call your local Ranger District office and tell them about it. Feel free to use this post for a talking point.

If the USFS gets the message and makes the gpx files, we would have something truly useful, and WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO CARRY ALL THOSE PAPER MAPS!

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