Large swaths of the public are pushing back on a Trump administration move that could allow more motorized vehicles in national forests. It’s considering revising the Travel Management Rule, which limits where vehicles like e-bikes or ATVs can go.
More than 134,000 comments came in before the public comment period ended in late September, and more than 99% opposed potential changes in some way. That’s according to an analysis from the nonprofit Center for Western Priorities, which also opposes the changes. It used keyword matching and a large language model to categorize statements.
Former Forest Service employee Linda Baker was among the commenters. She lives outside Pinedale, Wyoming, and said she’s already seen an “alarming” increase in vehicles going where they shouldn’t go.
“I’ve seen backcountry motorcycles going up the sides of mountains. I've seen them cascading down wet trails, wet roads, just creating all kinds of erosion,” said Baker, an active hiker and hunter who leads the Upper Green River Alliance, a Wyoming conservation group.
For decades, the Travel Management Rule has made it so national forests are closed to motorized vehicles unless designated open. Changes from the Trump administration could flip that on its head: Forests could become open to vehicles unless designated closed.
The administration has argued that the existing rule creates unnecessary barriers for Americans to enjoy public lands, though Baker said changes could restrict access for other types of recreationists.
“It's a disregard for other forest users who value the silence and the solitude and the wild nature of roadless areas,” she said.
Advocates of motorized use, like the Wyoming State Snowmobile Association, however, support the changes.
The group’s leader, Jay Slagowski, was unavailable to interview by publication time because of the start of elk hunting season, but he also submitted comments.
“Our members have seen first-hand how the current Travel Management Rule has unduly and improperly restricted motorized access,” he wrote.
He also emphasized that local decision-making should be key to determining access in national forests. He supports the Trump administration’s proposal to require an annual review of every closed or highly restricted route, locally.
“It should not be driven by an inflexible nationally-driven framework such as what currently exists and which has been inappropriately influenced in certain instances by non-local, anti-motorized access organizations,” Slajowski wrote.
Members of the public will likely have another chance to comment when the U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes its proposed rule changes and draft environmental impact statement. It anticipates releasing that next spring, with changes going into effect in early 2028.
The Trump administration also wants to rescind the Roadless Rule, a 2001 policy which prohibits road construction and timber harvesting on millions of acres of forest land. The administration says building more roads could help prevent wildfires, but critics worry this could hurt the environment and increase wildfire risk, according to the government'sown data.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
