Last year it was up for debate in our state and I am wondering if anyone knows what the final outcome was.

 

From what I've seen, the roads are all marked with different dots at the start of them.

Red Dot = Closed to travel
Yellow Dot = Open at specific times ONLY
Green Dot = Open for travel

I've lived on the washington coast all my life and have been able to go ANYWHERE through the years. Now it seems that there's a new rule to the explorations with quads ...or any vehicle for that matter.

I haven't investigated it much yet [the dots] but from what I heard, there's stiff fines for being in an area thats been marked.

Main reason for this, I believe, is due to the trash being dumped.

 

The dot system is primarly wherehauser and from what I have seen only west of I-5 do they use the dots. I was refering to state and USFS lands where it is considered a public highway unlesss otherwise posted. Thanks though for your reply[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Here on the east side they are still evaluating road use. I spoke with with one of the top guys personally from Colville Nat. forest. He told me that they have implemented EVERY comment that they recieved from the "town hall" meetings that were held with the public. He did say that they were eliminating roads that didnt "loop". Evidently, they are trying to eliminate possible problems between ATV's, horses and hikers. Each trail now will be designated by usage.

 

So it sounds like it is going to be up to the agency in which the land is regulated by and not the state of washington.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I would suppose the same process will take place in Washington State as is happening in Oregon. The USFS will very carefully compile all input from all meetings, place it in a secure room and ignore it. Then at that point the agency will systematically begin shutting down the roads as they see fit. Most forest roads do not loop, they simply enter an area and then dead end. The result in Oregon is that more and more people and uses are being forced into smaller and smaller areas...........The end result is overcrowding, garbage, overuse, further restrictions and then closure. Public ground is rapidly becoming the land of no use.................Tass

 

I got my kids into drag racing thier quads at Barlow point in longview, so they at least still have a use for thier quads. Closed course is about all that will be left and even that is endangered by lawsuits and new laws being passed that prohibit use on your own property.