Just an FYI to all the out of towners and those traveling to wolfpen gap.
Effective immediately the trail system is closed until Mid March.
Long story short the trail system is closed Oct 31-Mid March every year, except for a few holiday weekends.
This is after much discussion and involvement from many parties, including the forest service. Luckily it will be open as much as it is.
As always stay involved and remind business owners when you are in Mena that you are there to ride, and that you spend $$$!
THe highlight story from our local newspaper: All credit to swtimes.com...
The U.S. Forest Service announced recently it will close about 40 miles of off-highway vehicle trails and mixed-use roads at Wolf Pen Gap near Mena until mid-March, and reopen them seasonally thereafter.Foresters have been working for a number of years on a management strategy for the popular 42-mile trail system since mid-2010, when the Ouachita National Forest issued a decision designating motor-vehicle travel routes within the 1.8 million-acre forest and then had to withdraw the decision after the Forest Service determined the public wasn’t sufficiently involved.A series of public meetings, field trips and workshops ensued until the Forest Service developed eight alternative strategies, posted them online and invited public feedback.Based on that feedback, the Forest Service issued a decision that will allow the trails to remain open seasonally in an effort to help maintain the trails and to ensure water quality and protect endangered species.Mena-Oden District Ranger, Tim Oosterhous, selected Alternative “I” as outlined in the Wolf Pen Gap Environmental Assessment.“I am pleased this decision finds common ground to protect the forest while allowing continued use of nearly 40 of the 42 miles of trail during times of the year when it is most used by visitors,” Oosterhous said in a news release. “I greatly appreciate everyone’s participation in this process to come to a workable solution. Nobody got everything they wanted, but at the end of the day, we found a way to make it work and stay open for use.”Currently, 41.7 miles of roads and trails are available for off-highway vehicle use at Wolf Pen Gap, either year-round or seasonally, according to the release. Key components of the plan define a trail system with 39.6 miles of routes, including mixed-use routes and seasonal designations. According to the plan, the seasonal routes will be open each year from the second Friday of March, through Oct. 31. The trail system will also be open during two holiday periods — from three days prior to Thanksgiving through two days afterward and from Dec. 25 through Jan. 2, each year.
See the full story at swtimes.com
Effective immediately the trail system is closed until Mid March.
Long story short the trail system is closed Oct 31-Mid March every year, except for a few holiday weekends.
This is after much discussion and involvement from many parties, including the forest service. Luckily it will be open as much as it is.
As always stay involved and remind business owners when you are in Mena that you are there to ride, and that you spend $$$!
THe highlight story from our local newspaper: All credit to swtimes.com...
The U.S. Forest Service announced recently it will close about 40 miles of off-highway vehicle trails and mixed-use roads at Wolf Pen Gap near Mena until mid-March, and reopen them seasonally thereafter.Foresters have been working for a number of years on a management strategy for the popular 42-mile trail system since mid-2010, when the Ouachita National Forest issued a decision designating motor-vehicle travel routes within the 1.8 million-acre forest and then had to withdraw the decision after the Forest Service determined the public wasn’t sufficiently involved.A series of public meetings, field trips and workshops ensued until the Forest Service developed eight alternative strategies, posted them online and invited public feedback.Based on that feedback, the Forest Service issued a decision that will allow the trails to remain open seasonally in an effort to help maintain the trails and to ensure water quality and protect endangered species.Mena-Oden District Ranger, Tim Oosterhous, selected Alternative “I” as outlined in the Wolf Pen Gap Environmental Assessment.“I am pleased this decision finds common ground to protect the forest while allowing continued use of nearly 40 of the 42 miles of trail during times of the year when it is most used by visitors,” Oosterhous said in a news release. “I greatly appreciate everyone’s participation in this process to come to a workable solution. Nobody got everything they wanted, but at the end of the day, we found a way to make it work and stay open for use.”Currently, 41.7 miles of roads and trails are available for off-highway vehicle use at Wolf Pen Gap, either year-round or seasonally, according to the release. Key components of the plan define a trail system with 39.6 miles of routes, including mixed-use routes and seasonal designations. According to the plan, the seasonal routes will be open each year from the second Friday of March, through Oct. 31. The trail system will also be open during two holiday periods — from three days prior to Thanksgiving through two days afterward and from Dec. 25 through Jan. 2, each year.
See the full story at swtimes.com
