"Branching" out to National Forest roads

Map Editors Community United States
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Hi there! For editors who have been considering the topic of U.S. National Forest Roads, I may have found some useful information on the topic which will lend to guidance on how to classify, name, and prioritize them.

The TIGER map import we got was from (probably 2000). Although the types of forest roads remains the same as it did then, “Forest Road”, “Forest Development Road”, and “Forest Highway” ( http://www.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/plh/fh/history.htm ), which of these is actually open to travel - and what KIND of travel, is being answered by a project that got going in the late 2000s and is mostly finished now ( http://www.riderplanet-usa.com/atv/riding/motorcycle_00056/National_Forest_Service_OHV_Travel_Management_Plan.htm ).

The end result is that each national forest (as a separate entity) has to publish a MVUM (Motor Vehicle Use Map), displaying suitability for motor vehicles, type designation, and the signage on those roads, and this MVUM is supposed to be updated annually.

Many, but not ALL of these, are included in an interactive map, here: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/index.shtml
Separate, and completed MVUMs are available here: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ohv/ohv_maps.shtml
Lastly, “Information on travel management direction on other national forests should be obtained by contacting the forests directly.”

As a general rule, I would say that any forest road on an National Forest’s MVUM should be named ‘Forest Rte XX’ (do we really care whether it’s ‘highway’, ‘route’, or ‘road’, or ‘development’?) - however long the designation - and typed ‘street’, unless it’s a ‘trail’ (then it’s dirt/4x4 trail). Beyond that, ANY other Forest road, which would probably show up in a USGS topo map or other documentation should just be a ‘private road’, because by definition it’s not supposed to be routed onto.

Seem a reasonable bit of documentation, and a course of action?

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It’s a great thought, but man that site is a bear and really really slow… I’d like to get on getting main forest roads in, and have done a little of that (marked 4x4 or dirt trail…) Mostly not to get people in but to get them out and back to main roads if they are lost…
One issue I have here in PHX is waze trying to route people through Indian reservations, not the best idea in most cases…

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More than a few NF roads are not maintained and some are seasonal in nature. When they’re passable they are sometimes a primary route for locals to get over passes.It would be useful to have them routable (vs. a 100 mile detour), but that can be dangerous when the roads aren’t passable.

Not sure how to type these roads.

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I believe most Forest Service (FS) roads should be classified as Dirt Roads. The locals would know those routes. But there are a few FS roads that are paved and should be marked as streets…

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Unfortunately, it’s not that clear. :frowning: There are FS roads that are paved and not maintained.

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I think there’s a pretty easy way this can be looked at. There’s a document that explains three types of routes, which have three different kinds of signs. http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/em7100-15/page13.htm – If a forest route is signed with ‘distinctive route markers’ (easily identified as having a two or low three digit route number), and isn’t concurrent with a route that’s of a higher class, I typically type that as a ‘street’. In some occasional cases, they’re a primary street if they’re about getting in and out, or through a national forest. ‘Use the distinctive route marker to identify significant, highly traveled routes through the Forest or other administrative unit.’

Anything else I’m generally calling ‘Dirt/4x4’ and naming as best as the MVUM makes possible to do.

If a route is seasonal (this ALSO is specified in an MVUM, ‘distinctive route’ or otherwise), I just append (seasonal) to the name of the road. ‘Forest Rte 2961 (seasonal)’.

My GUESS is that this general procedure, combined with the MVUMs, is a fair first pass at forest roads. Beyond that, we’ll likely need eyes on the ground, or copies of maps that are available either by mail or by going to a national forest.

I did want to jot down these links and ideas in the forums though so that they existed SOMEWHERE other than my head. There’s a method to the madness, just a lot of background reading…