County letter would push back on Forest Service “open unless closed” access

Teton County commissioners are set to submit a formal comment letter on Sept. 21 opposing a national policy shift toward “open unless closed” motorized access on National Forest System lands, and the related move to drop the Travel Management Rule’s minimization criteria. The letter says those criteria are how the Forest Service and local communities decide where motorized use fits, and where it does not, so “multiple use” does not turn into “every use everywhere” commissioners’ comment letter.

For those of us who live and work here year-round, this is not an abstract fight about recreation. When rules change at the national level, the pressure lands locally, on the same small set of people trying to protect winter range, keep trails predictable, and avoid constant re-litigation of closures that were set for a reason. The commissioners’ letter argues that removing minimization criteria would “remove the standards used to achieve balance,” and it asks the Forest Service to keep the current framework instead of switching the burden to communities to repeatedly justify limits on motorized use commissioners’ comment letter.