No more mountain biking on Long Canyon trail

July 4, 2015

Mountain biking on Boundary County's west side Long Canyon Trail (Forest Service Trail #16), long a magnet for mountain bikers in our area and known as one of Idaho's more popular mountain biking trails, is now prohibited with recent changes announced in the management of the west side's Long Canyon area. The mountain biking prohibition is only one of several prohibitions now in effect in the revised Idaho Panhandle National Forests Land Use Management Plan. This plan specifies "guidance" which restricts certain use activities in wilderness areas—but not just wilderness areas alone. The same restrictions apply also to "recommended wilderness areas." Long Canyon Trail #16 falls within the Selkirk Recommended Wilderness Area. The implementation of these rules began in February of this year. This revised Land Use Management Plan restricts the following activities anywhere within the boundaries of all wilderness areas, and within the boundaries of all recommended wilderness areas including all trails within the recommended wilderness areas: Ÿ No mechanized vehicles, including bicycles, wagons, carts, and others—they are prohibited. Ÿ No motor vehicles, including snowmobiles, motorcycles, off-highway vehicles, and other motorized vehicles. Ÿ No motorized equipment, including handheld motorized equipment. "Elimination of motorized and mechanized vehicles and equipment in [recommended wilderness areas] preserves the 'backcountry experience' for those participating in more primitive forms of recreation such as hiking, horseback riding and Nordic skiing," the Forest Service said in a press release describing the new prohibitions. "Hikers, backpackers and backcountry horsemen are benefiting from [these] recent management changes that create greater opportunities for solitude and backcountry experiences." Along with Boundary County's Long Canyon area, other North Idaho areas affected by the new Land Use Management Plan and these new prohibitions include the Recommended Wilderness Area at Scotchman Peak in Bonner County, and the Mallard Larkins Recommended Wilderness Area, which is located roughly in the Orofino region.