Bill Broadbear from the forest service was on hand at the Emery County Public Lands Council meeting on May 14 with an update on the Arapeen Trail system. He reported that the maps have been printed and are now available at the forest service offices in Ephraim, Ferron and Price.
He said they have been working on the project for 18 months now. They wanted a map to match what is on the ground. He pointed out the forest service travel map which has been around between 15-17 years is still the forest travel plan. The Arapeen Trail map features opportunities for ATV use. By doing this they hope to focus ATV use on the loops available. The Arapeen map focuses on trails around Potters Pond and south of there. Project coordinators spent six months developing and implementing a signing system.
Broadbear said work still needs to be done on trail head areas. “The signs feature trail guidelines and rules like respecting property. All trail heads will be marked with a bulletin board. The signs are all in tune with what is on the map. We borrowed the idea from the Piute trail system. The signs will help with educating the OHV users. They deal with rider etiquette, yielding to other riders, leaving wildlife alone and other information.
“This is our best shot for now. We expect changes and corrections will occur on an annual basis and it will probably be an annual printing. We expect feedback from various users and we would like to hear from them. As people use it we hope to develop a better trail system and a better product,” said Broadbear.
Broadbear has training planned for forest service office employees on the use of the map. Seasonal workers will also be out on the trails giving out maps and educating the public.
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