OHV riding is a family tradition in our part of the woods and an important part of Butte County quality of life.  So when Plumas National Forest made major changes to its OHV trail system in August 2010, it was.... controversial.  The result of that "Travel Management"  decision was that some trails were closed for good. Some were left open. But many ended up on a list called "Table 2"  -- not quite good enough to keep open, but not quite bad enough to decommission.

With a little help, these trails could be usable again.  But for that to happen, each trail would need detailed evaluation.  So, under contract with Butte County, RCD staff walked each of the 18 trails. We took pictures, recorded GPS data, and created a laundry list of fixes for handling each trail.  We proposed reroutes where necessary, and we mapped each stream crossing that needed restoration -- in all, we analyzed 13.35 miles of trail. And we did it without using Butte County money:  The funding source was Recreational Trail Program money from the State of California OHV fund.

Based on our evaluations, some trails will be taken off the MVUM* for good (mostly "trails" that turned out not to exist on the ground).  But most trails can be re-opened after a little work.  The RCD's Table 2 report serves as a blueprint for writing future grants to fix the trails that need fixing.  It's been singled out by State OHV Fund officials as a great example of federal-local collaboration to solve a problem.

* The MVUM ("em-vum"), or Motorized Vehicle Use Map, is the Forest Service's official inventory of open routes and who can use them. It's every OHV rider 's responsibility to be familiar with the current MVUm and respect its routes.