Vernal District Unauthorized OHV Roads

Birch Creek-Upper Henrys Fork Total (km): 50.5 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 22.2 Henrys Fork-Flaming Gorge Reservoir Total (km): 80.1 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 13 Lodgepole Creek Total (km): 45.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 55.3 Lower Sheep Creek Total (km): 41.2 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 22.5

Dutch John Draw-Green River Total (km): 62.1 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 38.5

Middle Sheep Creek Total (km): 77.2 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 54.6

Horseshoe Canyon-Green River Total (km): 39.8 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 8.9

Upper Sheep Creek Total (km): 38.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 22 Lower Carter Creek Total (km): 46.7 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 46.3 Middle Carter Creek Total (km): 40 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 20.9

Skull Creek-Green River Total (km): 51.4 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 36.1

Pine Creek-Green River Total (km): 55.4 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 28.2

Cart Creek Total (km): 57.1 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 31.8

Beaver Creek Total (km): 38.2 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 31.1

Upper Carter Creek Total (km): 45.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 3.2 East Fork Whiterocks River Total (km): 54.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 31.6

Willow Spring Draw-Diamond Gulch Total (km): 52 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 16.4

North Fork Ashley Creek Total (km): 52.9 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 73.9

Upper Little Brush Creek Total (km): 34.5 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 41.7

Twin Lakes Total (km): 41.2 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 3.7

South Fork Ashley Creek Total (km): 51.7 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 9.7

Upper Big Brush Creek Total (km): 34.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 17.4

Little Brush-Dutch Charles Total (km): 45.5 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 45.5 Davis Hollow Total (km): 32.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 22.3 Brownie Creek Total (km): 33.8 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 53.1 Ashley Gorge Total (km): 42.7 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 12.2

Reader Creek Total (km): 40.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 39.5

During the summer of 2012 I had the opportunity to work as a hydrological technician for the Ashley National Forest. As a hydrological technician one of my duties was mapping out unauthorized off highway vehicle (OHV) routes. My supervisor mentioned the need for a database to better manage the existing unauthorized OHV route data. My project for is to attempt to create this database for the Ashley National Forest. The Ashley national forest was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 and is located in the north eastern portion of Utah and the south western portion of Wyoming. The forest is comprised of 1.3 million acres of the northern and southern slopes of the Uinta Mountains, the Wyoming Basin, and the Tavaputs Plateau. The Uintah Mountains provide vital water supplies for power, industry, farming, grazing and water for use my cities in Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and California Because the Uintah Mountain watershed provides water for a large number of cities and industries it is important to manage the resource so that it is clean and usable in the here and now as well as for future generations. The Forest service has established trails, OHV routes and other travel routes so the forest can be explored and enjoyed in many ways. The paths these established routes take are designed to minimize damage. Problems arise when individuals and/or groups stray from these established routes either intentionally or unknowingly. Travel along unauthorized OHV routes (UOHVR) damage the forest and water supply in a variety of ways. For instance motorized travel can destroy vegetation that holds soils in place. These exposed soils are more susceptible to erosion. This over time will result in the removal soils needed to support vegetation and can increase the likelihood of mudslides. The increased erosion will also contaminate the water supply by increasing the amounts of debris and sediments in streams and rivers which will later need to be removed at water treatment plants which can result in higher cost and increased wear and tear on equipment. Wet meadows ecosystems are an important source of food water that supports a variety plant and animal species. Motorized travel through these meadows can damage and disrupt these ecosystems which can take a considerable amount of time to recover. In 2003 data collected from aerial photographs and old timbers sales records was compiled to create a GIS map of all potential unauthorized OHV routes. As a result over 5000 individual unauthorized routes with a combined length exceeding 2000 km where identified. Starting in 2011 under the direction of Melissa Hendrickson, Hydrologist for the forest service based out of vernal Utah, an effort to ground check unauthorized OHV routes identified on the 2003 map was started. Using hand held Garmin GPS units Forest service personnel and student interns would attempt to find and walk UOHVR identified on the 2003 map. This data was then added to ESRI ArcMap using the Minnesota Garmin DNR software program. Once documented these routes could then be closed off. Closures methods included in some cases using heavy earth moving equipment to place large boulders and earth to create impassable barriers for OHVs. More commonly crew would use hand tool and manual labor to move existing materials such dead fall, boulders obscure and make motorized travel difficult. In some cases the routes where hiking or horse trails that, though they were closed to motorized travel, had been damaged by inappropriate use. In these cases horse gates where installed that would prevent motorized vehicles such as motorcycles and ATVs from entering but still allow hikers and horseback riders access. In other cases popular UOHVR routes that passed through wet meadows or other sensitive sites where simply rerouted so as to prevent further damage. In all case appropriate signage was also installed to to inform the public of the changes made. It should be noted that the purpose of identifying UOHVR is to protect the forest not to close the forest to OHVVR use. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth has stated, We believe that offhighway vehicles are a legitimate use of The National Forest System. But its a use that should be managed carefully. Thats what are rule for OHV use in national forestland is all about: providing access that can be used and enjoyed into the future. If we want to sustain that use, then we have got to work together. For this Project I have attempt to create a database from existing and field collected data that will organize the data from a Hydrological prospective. (http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ashley/about-forest).

Ashley National Forest Unauthorized routes

Black Canyon Total (km): 42.7 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 34

Paradise Creek-Whiterocks River Total (km): 49.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 10.5 Dry Fork-Twin Creek Total (km): 42.1 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 22.6 Dry Fork-North Fork Total (km): 68.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 61.7 Mosby Creek Total (km): 37.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 0.8

Big Brush Gorge Total (km): 39.8 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 51.2

Hominy Creek-Farm Creek Total (km): 56.6 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 45.3 Lower Whiterocks River Total (km): 52 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 16.7

Ashley-Spring Creek Total (km): 41.3 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 34.6

18 24 Km

Unauthorized OHV roads closed Unauthorized OHV roads Checked Ashley National Forest Unauthorized OHV roads Watesheds w/ Unauthorized OHV roads WaterSheds

Cart Hollow-Uinta River Total (km): 47.4 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 5.2

12

Middle Deep Creek Total (km): 59.4 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 6.9 Uriah Heap Springs Total (km): 48 Total Checked (km): 0 Total Closed (km): 0.9

NAD 1983 UTM Zone 12N Projection: Transverse Mercator GCS North American 1983 Datum: North American 1983 Vernal UHOV Roads map created using Esri ArcGIS 10 software,World Base map layer was created using ESRI.Forest Boundaries data downloaded from gdb93.agrc.utah.gov.Watershed (HUC6), roads, IRA2000, 2003 ghost roads map and raw GPS data provided Courtesy of Melissa Hendrickson Hydrologist Ashley Nation Forest. Created By Jeremy S Jackson 12-4-2012

Ashley National Forest World Street Map

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