U.S. Forest Service district ranger Pam Gardner announced at a city council meeting last week that off-highway maps for the Siuslaw National Forest will arrive at the beginning of April. The maps were delayed from a January release date, she said, after her office ran into printing problems.

Not much will change for ATV riders on nearby sand dunes when the map is unveiled. It details off-road use in the Siuslaw National Forest, according to forest service staff members.

Officials identified off-highway routes throughout much of the national forest after 2005, when the Forest Service required federal land managers to create travel management plans.

But forest managers will wait until at least 2011 to identify routes in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area as stakeholders continue to discuss the impact of proposed trails.

Sharon Stewart, a dispersed recreation supervisor for the Siuslaw National Forest, said staff for now will try to educate dunes users about the maps and stakeholder process.

“We’re trying to educate people where we’re designating trails,” Stewart said. “We’re not going to fence it closed, but we are going to let people know about the process and what it means.”

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