Cleared Trails on National Forest

[westbranch]

I have found multiple trails where it appears hunters have hauled in a chainsaw to clear a trail for hunting access. And directing deer and elk is an added bonus I would guess.

A couple have been on an old logging road or similar. In those cases they usually trim back the alders and maple brush. The one we found yesterday was cutting through a ton of down trees on a ridge. An impressive amount of work was put into that trail. Steep climb for access and some decent sized trees cut through. Did not appear that ATVs or dirtbikes were being used.

Anyone find similar spots? Also, is this legal?

Adding a couple pics:

 

[westbranch]

Another from yesterday.

 

[westbranch]

Logging road found last summer. Close to a mile of alders trimmed back.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Legal if not in a wilderness area... I’ve found trails cleared by outfitters with chainsaws in wilderness areas.

 

[mtmuley]

Why would you do that? I like to discourage other hunters from finding overgrown trails. mtmuley

 

[Pagosa]

I cut trails to ease get into and getting game out with a sled, backpack, and maybe a horse this year. They would be hard too find.

 

[westbranch]

Why would you do that? I like to discourage other hunters from finding overgrown trails. mtmuley

The ones yesterday were not easy to find. Main access point was a 500 ft climb in 1/4 mile, so that probably helps keeps most hunters out. We found it trying to take a shortcut to the morel spot we found a couple years ago.

I'll probably check it out again during deer season.

 

[Dsnow9]

Outfitters and other recreational activities like horse back ride rides. I have also seen cattle operations do it if they are driving cattle in and out of an area. 95 percent chance whoever did it was on a horse.

 

[Dave N]

We found it trying to take a shortcut to the morel spot we found a couple years ago.

Any luck?

 

[diamond hitch]

We normally cut out 25-30 miles of trails each year. Some are loop trails, some connect into other trails, some just make it easier to get to some place. It's a little like paying the rent to use the land. Some are Forest Service trails and some are elk trails. If elk can follow their usual trails they are less likely to move to a new area.

 

[mtmuley]

I don't clear anything. The FS takes care of the heavily used ones. The other trails and especially game trails I leave alone. I really don't want it easy for anyone. mtmuley

 

[westbranch]

Any luck?

Decent luck. 4 lbs

 

[westbranch]

I don't clear anything. The FS takes care of the heavily used ones. The other trails and especially game trails I leave alone. I really don't want it easy for anyone. mtmuley

I don't plan to clear any myself but I do make a note of where I find these. Especially thinking about getting to one of them for packing out. No official FS trails for a ways from these spots.

 

[westbranch]

Outfitters and other recreational activities like horse back ride rides. I have also seen cattle operations do it if they are driving cattle in and out of an area. 95 percent chance whoever did it was on a horse.

I have not seen anyone on horses near the areas of these pics in the last few years I have been running around these spots. And no cattle grazing anywhere near. Not much outfitter activity in these specific areas either.

 

[buffybr]

I worked on 3 National Forests. All of them had summer trail crews that spent their summers clearing the system trails. The use of chainsaws in Wilderness Areas is strictly forbidden, even by FS crews, unless they have specific permission by that Forest's Forest Supervisor, which I never saw. Like diamond hitch posted, many outfitters help clear FS system trails and the trails that they use. Generally the Forest Service doesn't have a problem with the public cutting down, dead timber, like for a hunter clearing a path for horses to get game out of the forest.

It wasn't my primary job, but I did help clear a number of Forest Service trails. I also did dynamite a whole lot of rocks out of trails and use explosives to widen narrow trails through rocky areas.

 

[406dn]

Whenever I ride in the mountains, there is a saw hung on the saddle. It gets plenty of use. If I can safely handle a clearing job, I generally do it. I can't tackle deadfall like the OP posted. But anything a foot or so in diameter is easy enough to clean out, most of the time.

 

[diamond hitch]

A lot of my areas are in the pine beetle dead zones. You clear the summer and winter downfall and then like 406dn said I have an arbor saw on the saddle. Most days during the elk seaoson you still have to saw your way in and saw your way out. Many of trails I cut in the summer have 3-5 trees across the trails by elk season. Sawing is good for your heart.

 

[Nick_CO]

Like @buffybr mentioned, the USFS is likely not going to waste time on short sections of trails made by public users for hunting or game pack out type purposes. I didn't work directly for the FS, but was once tasked to deconstruct nearly 4 miles of illegally built mountain bike trails in the Roosevelt National Forest. These particular trail builders used chainsaws and shovels mostly. If it's a long enough trail it will eventually catch someone's attention. A quick Google search of "Forest Service + Illegally Built Trails" turns up many related results that are relevant to this thread.

 

[mtmuley]

If the FS don't maintain a trail, I don't either. mtmuley

 

[Nameless Range]

My personal feelings are the less trails the better anymore. I acknowledge that that’s a personal preference.

There is nothing wrong with clearing trail if you are doing it on a designated trail. I have heard from the mouths of district rangers that they appreciate that. In fact, that is the only way many trails stay maintained.

I do not like people clearing trails for their own personal purposes. I understand why a guy with stock might do it, or a person trying to get an animal out of the hills might do it, but there are side effects that may be unanticipated. Here’s a somewhat related story:

In the northern Elkhorns, for a decade, mountain bikers cleared trails. Sometimes they cleared old roads that were not part of the travel plan, and sometimes they cleared old elk trails. They added and popularized dozens of miles of mountain biking trails to the northern Elkhorns. It is worth noting that there is no such thing as off trail riding on most forest service land. Mountain bikes can go anywhere in most places.

Two years ago, the forest service came out with a proposal for a large development of mountain bike trails in the northern Elkhorns called the Front Country Trails Project. Many of the trails in that proposal were trails that were built in a rogue fashion by mountain bikers. The forest service was trying to codify them, and increase the amount of official trails in the northern Elkhorns by a fair amount. Quite a few people flipped out about it, as it appeared to be rewarding the unapproved building of trails and the encouragement of an increased amount of unplanned recreational use in critical elk habitat in the nation’s only wildlife management unit. The forest service smartly backed down and dropped the project.

I guess what I am saying is that it is easy to think that the trail you’re building is just for you. It is also easy to look at current use of a chunk of country that you are recreating in, and think it will always stay the same. I have seen changes so drastic, and so fast, that 20 years ago I wouldn’t have believed you.

We need to keep our trailless country just that, now more than ever.

Alright, I’m stepping off my soapbox.