Ogden Ranger District Travel Plan Revision

In July 2003, the Ogden Ranger District of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest issued a proposal to add approximately 25 miles of new motorized trails to its existing system of about 150 miles of routes open to off-highway vehicles (OHV's). The map at right shows the proposal at a glance, with the proposed additions shown in red. (Highways and county roads are in dark blue; OHV routes open since 1988 are in brown; OHV routes added in 1991 or 1997 are in orange; maintained nonmotorized trails are in bright green; green shading indicates Forest Service land, with darker green indicating roadless areas over 5000 acres in size. The east and west portions of the map are actually farther apart than shown. The southernmost 25% of the District, which is closed to OHV's, is not shown.) Click on the map to see a larger version.

Nearly all of the proposed new routes have already been used illegally by OHV riders for many years. A few of the new routes would be newly constructed trails, mostly intended to turn existing trails into loops. The Forest Service is also proposing to close a few segments of roads and trails (not shown on the map), but the net result would be an addition of about 25 miles of motorized routes.

The photos below highlight some of the issues along specific routes that would be affected by the Forest Service proposal. For reference, each photo is accompanied by the corresponding project number in the Forest Service proposal, and by UTM coordinates which can be used to pinpoint the photo's location on a 7.5-minute quadrangle map or on the ground using a GPS receiver. (The coordinates are within UTM zone 12T and use the same datum as the maps, NAD 27 CONUS.)

All photos by Dan Schroeder, Ogden Sierra Club. Click on any photo to view a larger version (typically 100k). Please contact the author at if you wish to reproduce a photo; still larger versions are available.

This photo shows two ATV riders stirring up dust in the popular Dock Flat dispersed camping area, on National Forest land a few miles south of Mantua. Camping in the Ogden Ranger District is permitted only within 150 feet of open travel routes, yet here the sites extend five times that far, on both sides of the Willard Basin road, to form a large de facto ATV play area where the ground is mostly denuded of vegetation. Although this kind of activity has been prohibited in the District for 16 years, the Forest Service does not enforce the restriction and there is no indication that it intends to. In fact, the maps accompanying the recent proposal feature two roads accessing these areas that would henceforth be managed as open. (These new roads are not among the numbered projects in the proposal; UTM 421207E, 4590246N.)

Just west of Dock Flat, a road climbs a short distance to access a set of spring developments used by Brigham City. The City never bothered to obtain a permit from the Forest Service for these developments, but the Forest Service plans to issue one soon. Illegal ATV use has occurred here for years, damaging the road and threatening the health of the watershed. This photo shows water flowing down the road past an uncovered section of pipe. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open this route to ATV's and motorbikes. (Project 23; UTM 421066E, 4590427N.)

In addition to the road shown in the previous photo, the area around the spring developments includes a number of branching and looping ATV-created trails. After many years of illegal, unmanaged use in this area, the watershed's health is becoming seriously compromised. (Project 23; UTM 420848E, 4590272N.)

Just above one of Brigham City's water developments lies a broad meadow that has been illegally used for dispersed camping. The pale yellow flowers in the photo are dyer's woad, a noxious weed that is invading much of this area along disturbed ground caused by the passage of vehicles. If the Forest Service opens the spring access road to ATV's as proposed, then ATV's will have continued access to this meadow. (Projects 23 and 25; UTM 420859E, 4590053N.)

South-southwest of the previous photo, the route continues up the Box Elder Creek drainage as an unmaintained trail that the Forest Service is now proposing to open to ATV's and motorbikes. As this photo shows, illegal use is already occurring here and has caused severe erosion. (Project 25; near UTM 420560E, 4589050N.)

Branching northward from the Box Elder Creek route, this former horse trail has been widened and deeply eroded by illegal ATV and motorbike use. The route steepens as it climbs higher, with lengthy segments exceeding a grade of 30%. The Forest Service is proposing to open this route, but concedes that it will "require substantial maintenance and reconstruction" before it can be used safely. (Project 26; UTM 419628E, 4590245N.)

The route shown in the previous photo continues northwest up to the shoulder of Perry Peak, then down through Balsam Basin to the head of Dunn's Canyon, where it joins a four-wheel drive road coming up from Brigham City. Most of this route lies within the Brigham Wildlife Management Area, which must (by law) be managed primarily to preserve wildlife habitat. Brigham City promoters are hoping that this route will eventually become the main entrypoint into the 500-mile Northern Utah Trail System (NUTS, aka Shoshone Trail), attracting thousands of ATV riders per year. However, the route down from Balsam Basin (shown here) also exceeds a 30% grade and would have to be completely reconstructed. (Project 26; photo looking south from UTM 418556E, 4592916N.)

Back in the Box Elder Creek drainage, an ATV-widened trail continues south, over a shoulder of Black Mountain, emerging at Perry Reservoir. As shown here, this trail was never properly constructed, and parts of it are mere tracks across the ground. Nevertheless, because a track "currently exists on the ground," the Forest Service is proposing to open this route to ATV's in order to create a wide loop through the Willard roadless area. (Project 25; UTM 419593E, 4587243N.)

Perry Reservoir (the small pond in the lower-left part of the photo) and Black Mountain (the Forested peak above) have been a hotspot of illegal OHV activity for years. Recently the Forest Service closed the spur off the Willard Basin road that leads down to the reservoir, and initiated some revegetation projects on many of the illegal ghost trails. Unfortunately, the main form of vegetation taking root on the steeper routes is dyer's woad. Now the Forest Service is proposing to reopen the spur to the reservoir and also legalize the route leading over the west shoulder of Black Mountain to Box Elder Creek. (Projects 25 and 28; looking NE from UTM 418810E, 4585809N.)

The meadows immediately southeast of Perry Reservoir were nothing but a muddy mess until the area was closed by the Forest Service in 2002. Now the vegetation is returning, but the Forest Service is proposing to reopen the area. (Projects 25 and 28; UTM 419497E, 4586573N.)

A few miles south of Perry Reservoir lies Willard Basin, a subalpine roadless area where the Forest Service has pledged to protect the tall forb plant communities. A motorcycle trail passes through the basin (continuing over a saddle toward Ben Lomond Peak), but otherwise the area is closed to off-road motorized travel. This photo shows four ATV's illegally accessing the small pond in the basin, and an extensive network of associated ATV tracks. The Forest Service is now proposing to open both the motorcycle trail and several of the nonmotorized trails in this area to ATV's, turning Willard Basin into an ATV play area. (Project 20; looking NE from UTM 418009E, 4581848N.)

Despite the extensive damage from illegal ATV use, the pond at Willard Basin remains a popular family hiking destination. (Project 20; UTM 418285E, 4582001N.)

These ATV riders illegally ascended to the Willard Basin pond via the motorcycle trail, then descended via a nonmotorized trail that the Forest Service recently signed and blocked with boulders. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open this nonmotorized trail to both ATV's and motorcycles. (Project 20; UTM 418280E, 4582475N.)

Along the ridge above Willard Basin runs a narrow foot trail that connects Inspiration Point to the Skyline Trail. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this route to motorcycles and ATV's. The segment shown here will then require extensive reconstruction, resulting in severe damage to fragile alpine vegetation including the rare Burke's draba. Once ATV's have access to the ridge, they will undoubtedly cause further damage. (Project 19; UTM 417960E, 4581902N.)

Southeast of Dock Flat, a road winds through Devil's Gate Valley toward Public Grove Hollow. Although the Forest Service acquired additional land on both sides of the valley in the recent Snow Basin land exchange, most of the valley remains privately owned, and the owners consider the route closed to public use. Nevertheless, OHV abuse is widespread along this route; the photo shows a mud hole where the drivers of two pickups were having some fun a few minutes earlier. This spot lies on private land near the National Forest boundary. The Forest Service is now proposing to open the route from Public Grove Hollow to the private property boundary, in order to facilitate public access to this private land. (Project 21; UTM 422036E, 4588387N.)

This photo looks northwest across Devil's Gate Valley from Forest Service land near Public Grove Hollow. The through-route that the Forest Service is proposing to open is barely visible at the right of the photo, crossing the meadow. This is a route that has been closed to motorized use since 1988, but the Forest Service has never posted it as closed. In the foreground is an ATV-widened horse trail that branches off the main route and climbs for about a mile to a broad summit. If the main route is legally opened as proposed, it will bring more motor vehicles to these remote meadows that offer no physical barriers to illegal cross-country travel. (Project 21; UTM 426286E, 4586145N.)

Under the shade of fir trees in Public Grove Hollow, snow persists in May along the route that leads to Devil's Gate Valley. This route has been closed for 16 years but never posted as closed; now the Forest Service is proposing to open it to all motor vehicles. Originally a stock trail, this route has been widened into a rough four-wheel-drive road by the passage of vehicles. In recent years, the Forest Service has officially declared the entire Public Grove area closed during wet spring conditions. Enforcement has been nonexistent, however, and over-snow ATV use is becoming more popular. In this spot some riders decided that the snow-covered route (at left) was too rough, and instead over-rode vegetation along the route's margin. (Project 21; UTM 426788E, 4586444N.)

The Lewis Peak trail, shown here, is one of the most scenic and popular trails in the Ogden area. Although it is open to motorcycles, they are usually far outnumbered by hikers and mountain bikers. Apparently, the Forest Service wants to see more motorcycles up here, despite the narrowness of the path and potential safety problems that would result from crowding. The Forest Service is now proposing to allow motorcycles on the Pioneer trail, which provides access to the Skyline and Lewis Peak trails from North Ogden; this would save motorcyclists from having to haul their bikes up the highway to North Ogden Pass. (Project 16; UTM 425186E, 4570796N.)

This sign marks the junction of a pair of dead-end spur trails with the Lewis Peak trail. Motorcycles are currently permitted on the latter but not the former, yet the Forest Service has never indicated this on the sign. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open the dead-end trails to motorcycles, eliminating the one place in this area where hikers and mountain bikers could potentially take refuge from the noise on busy weekends. (Project 17; UTM 424455E, 4569936N.)

The eastern half of the Ogden Ranger District lies along the Monte Cristo Range, a high plateau of mixed aspen-conifer forests, meadows, and important wildlife habitat. When visitors cross onto the National Forest via State Route 39, the first thing they see is the Dry Bread Pond area, pictured here. This complex of dispersed campsites and looping roads and trails has effectively become an ATV sacrifice area. The text of the current Forest Service proposal doesn't mention this area at all, but the accompanying map shows an additional ATV trail that would apparently be opened here. (Not among numbered projects; UTM 454874E, 4584611N.)

About 1/3 mile east of the previous photo, three different routes from Dry Bread Pond intersect. All three routes were closed to motorized travel from 1988 until 1997, when the road on the left (which accesses a number of dispersed campsites) and the ATV trail on the right were opened. Now the Forest Service apparently intends to open the faint two-track that splits off the road as well: It appears as an open route on the map accompanying the current travel plan revision proposal. (Not among numbered projects; UTM 455338E, 4584753N.)

Across the highway from Dry Bread Pond, this looping ATV trail is currently posted as open, even though it does not appear on the official travel map. Now the Forest Service is proposing to remedy the error by adding it to the map. This route lies at the margin of the Upper South Fork inventoried roadless area. (The Forest Service used a portion of this route for the roadless area boundary, although it should have been simply included in the roadless inventory because it is not a road that is maintained for standard passenger vehicles.) (Project 14; UTM 455381E, 4583202N.)

A couple of miles east of Dry Bread Pond, the Bluff Spring road branches east from the Wasatch Ridge road. Although this sign says that the Bluff Spring road is open to all types of vehicles, in fact this road does not appear on the Ogden Ranger District travel map and is therefore legally closed. Forest Service officials have been aware of the discrepancy since July 2003, yet have done nothing about it, because they plan to open the road soon anyway. (Project 13; UTM 458099E, 4584286N.)

The Bluff Spring road consists of two forks, both of which soon come to dead ends. Along the way are a couple of dispersed campsites and this flower-filled meadow. It would take only a couple of off-highway vehicles, during wet spring conditions, to completely destroy this meadow. (Project 13; UTM 458233E, 4584149N.)

The Neponset Spring road, a bit east of the Bluff Spring road, is currently open to motorized use only for a quarter mile, to the spring itself. Beyond the spring, an ATV-widened horse trail continues for another half mile, then ends just beyond the spot shown here. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this trail to ATV's and extend it another mile to connect with the power line corridor to the north. This project will create a system of two new ATV loop trails on the Monte Cristo plateau. (Project 11; UTM 458650E, 4584578N.)

In 1991, without public notice, the Forest Service reopened the Tilda Spring ATV trail (at the right of this photo) to motorized travel. This trail is not heavily used, due to its remote location in the Mollen's Hollow roadless area--the wildest part of the Ogden Ranger District. Now the Forest Service is proposing to expand OHV opportunities here with an extensive network of additional motorized routes. The faint track at the left of the photo is to be opened and extended for more than a mile to connect with the Overlook Trail on the top of the plateau above. (Projects 7 and 9; UTM 455776E, 4598040N.)

About 1/3 mile south of the previous photo, this photo shows another connecting route that "currently exists on the ground" and is therefore proposed as an addition to the Tilda Spring ATV trail complex. This would simply become another dead-end trail, leading nowhere. According to the revised Wasatch-Cache National Forest management plan, the entire Tilda Spring area (including the plateau above) is to be managed primarily to preserve wildlife habitat. (Project 9; UTM 455924E, 4597543N.)

Atop the plateau east of Tilda Spring, the scenic 2.5-mile Overlook Trail follows the alignment of an abandoned road. The road was closed in 1988 and remains gated and posted, although an ATV track goes around the gate and a few ATV riders continue to access this area illegally. Still, as this photo shows, traffic here is very light and some portions of the trail are completely grass-covered. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this route to all vehicles, and construct a new connection to the Tilda Spring ATV trail, forming a loop. (Project 8; UTM 457274E, 4598892N.)

The Overlook Trail ends at this meadow on the brink of a cliff, overlooking Mollen's Hollow 2000 feet below. The Forest Service is proposing what amounts to a parking lot at this location. (Project 8; UTM 457729E, 4599478N.)

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Last modified on 27 February 2004.

	This photo shows two ATV riders stirring up dust in the popular Dock Flat dispersed camping area, on National Forest land a few miles south of Mantua. Camping in the Ogden Ranger District is permitted only within 150 feet of open travel routes, yet here the sites extend five times that far, on both sides of the Willard Basin road, to form a large de facto ATV play area where the ground is mostly denuded of vegetation. Although this kind of activity has been prohibited in the District for 16 years, the Forest Service does not enforce the restriction and there is no indication that it intends to. In fact, the maps accompanying the recent proposal feature two roads accessing these areas that would henceforth be managed as open. (These new roads are not among the numbered projects in the proposal; UTM 421207E, 4590246N.)
	Just west of Dock Flat, a road climbs a short distance to access a set of spring developments used by Brigham City. The City never bothered to obtain a permit from the Forest Service for these developments, but the Forest Service plans to issue one soon. Illegal ATV use has occurred here for years, damaging the road and threatening the health of the watershed. This photo shows water flowing down the road past an uncovered section of pipe. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open this route to ATV's and motorbikes. (Project 23; UTM 421066E, 4590427N.)
	In addition to the road shown in the previous photo, the area around the spring developments includes a number of branching and looping ATV-created trails. After many years of illegal, unmanaged use in this area, the watershed's health is becoming seriously compromised. (Project 23; UTM 420848E, 4590272N.)
	Just above one of Brigham City's water developments lies a broad meadow that has been illegally used for dispersed camping. The pale yellow flowers in the photo are dyer's woad, a noxious weed that is invading much of this area along disturbed ground caused by the passage of vehicles. If the Forest Service opens the spring access road to ATV's as proposed, then ATV's will have continued access to this meadow. (Projects 23 and 25; UTM 420859E, 4590053N.)
	South-southwest of the previous photo, the route continues up the Box Elder Creek drainage as an unmaintained trail that the Forest Service is now proposing to open to ATV's and motorbikes. As this photo shows, illegal use is already occurring here and has caused severe erosion. (Project 25; near UTM 420560E, 4589050N.)
	Branching northward from the Box Elder Creek route, this former horse trail has been widened and deeply eroded by illegal ATV and motorbike use. The route steepens as it climbs higher, with lengthy segments exceeding a grade of 30%. The Forest Service is proposing to open this route, but concedes that it will "require substantial maintenance and reconstruction" before it can be used safely. (Project 26; UTM 419628E, 4590245N.)
	The route shown in the previous photo continues northwest up to the shoulder of Perry Peak, then down through Balsam Basin to the head of Dunn's Canyon, where it joins a four-wheel drive road coming up from Brigham City. Most of this route lies within the Brigham Wildlife Management Area, which must (by law) be managed primarily to preserve wildlife habitat. Brigham City promoters are hoping that this route will eventually become the main entrypoint into the 500-mile Northern Utah Trail System (NUTS, aka Shoshone Trail), attracting thousands of ATV riders per year. However, the route down from Balsam Basin (shown here) also exceeds a 30% grade and would have to be completely reconstructed. (Project 26; photo looking south from UTM 418556E, 4592916N.)
	Back in the Box Elder Creek drainage, an ATV-widened trail continues south, over a shoulder of Black Mountain, emerging at Perry Reservoir. As shown here, this trail was never properly constructed, and parts of it are mere tracks across the ground. Nevertheless, because a track "currently exists on the ground," the Forest Service is proposing to open this route to ATV's in order to create a wide loop through the Willard roadless area. (Project 25; UTM 419593E, 4587243N.)
	Perry Reservoir (the small pond in the lower-left part of the photo) and Black Mountain (the Forested peak above) have been a hotspot of illegal OHV activity for years. Recently the Forest Service closed the spur off the Willard Basin road that leads down to the reservoir, and initiated some revegetation projects on many of the illegal ghost trails. Unfortunately, the main form of vegetation taking root on the steeper routes is dyer's woad. Now the Forest Service is proposing to reopen the spur to the reservoir and also legalize the route leading over the west shoulder of Black Mountain to Box Elder Creek. (Projects 25 and 28; looking NE from UTM 418810E, 4585809N.)
	The meadows immediately southeast of Perry Reservoir were nothing but a muddy mess until the area was closed by the Forest Service in 2002. Now the vegetation is returning, but the Forest Service is proposing to reopen the area. (Projects 25 and 28; UTM 419497E, 4586573N.)
	A few miles south of Perry Reservoir lies Willard Basin, a subalpine roadless area where the Forest Service has pledged to protect the tall forb plant communities. A motorcycle trail passes through the basin (continuing over a saddle toward Ben Lomond Peak), but otherwise the area is closed to off-road motorized travel. This photo shows four ATV's illegally accessing the small pond in the basin, and an extensive network of associated ATV tracks. The Forest Service is now proposing to open both the motorcycle trail and several of the nonmotorized trails in this area to ATV's, turning Willard Basin into an ATV play area. (Project 20; looking NE from UTM 418009E, 4581848N.)
	Despite the extensive damage from illegal ATV use, the pond at Willard Basin remains a popular family hiking destination. (Project 20; UTM 418285E, 4582001N.)
	These ATV riders illegally ascended to the Willard Basin pond via the motorcycle trail, then descended via a nonmotorized trail that the Forest Service recently signed and blocked with boulders. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open this nonmotorized trail to both ATV's and motorcycles. (Project 20; UTM 418280E, 4582475N.)
	Along the ridge above Willard Basin runs a narrow foot trail that connects Inspiration Point to the Skyline Trail. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this route to motorcycles and ATV's. The segment shown here will then require extensive reconstruction, resulting in severe damage to fragile alpine vegetation including the rare Burke's draba. Once ATV's have access to the ridge, they will undoubtedly cause further damage. (Project 19; UTM 417960E, 4581902N.)
	Southeast of Dock Flat, a road winds through Devil's Gate Valley toward Public Grove Hollow. Although the Forest Service acquired additional land on both sides of the valley in the recent Snow Basin land exchange, most of the valley remains privately owned, and the owners consider the route closed to public use. Nevertheless, OHV abuse is widespread along this route; the photo shows a mud hole where the drivers of two pickups were having some fun a few minutes earlier. This spot lies on private land near the National Forest boundary. The Forest Service is now proposing to open the route from Public Grove Hollow to the private property boundary, in order to facilitate public access to this private land. (Project 21; UTM 422036E, 4588387N.)
	This photo looks northwest across Devil's Gate Valley from Forest Service land near Public Grove Hollow. The through-route that the Forest Service is proposing to open is barely visible at the right of the photo, crossing the meadow. This is a route that has been closed to motorized use since 1988, but the Forest Service has never posted it as closed. In the foreground is an ATV-widened horse trail that branches off the main route and climbs for about a mile to a broad summit. If the main route is legally opened as proposed, it will bring more motor vehicles to these remote meadows that offer no physical barriers to illegal cross-country travel. (Project 21; UTM 426286E, 4586145N.)
	Under the shade of fir trees in Public Grove Hollow, snow persists in May along the route that leads to Devil's Gate Valley. This route has been closed for 16 years but never posted as closed; now the Forest Service is proposing to open it to all motor vehicles. Originally a stock trail, this route has been widened into a rough four-wheel-drive road by the passage of vehicles. In recent years, the Forest Service has officially declared the entire Public Grove area closed during wet spring conditions. Enforcement has been nonexistent, however, and over-snow ATV use is becoming more popular. In this spot some riders decided that the snow-covered route (at left) was too rough, and instead over-rode vegetation along the route's margin. (Project 21; UTM 426788E, 4586444N.)
	The Lewis Peak trail, shown here, is one of the most scenic and popular trails in the Ogden area. Although it is open to motorcycles, they are usually far outnumbered by hikers and mountain bikers. Apparently, the Forest Service wants to see more motorcycles up here, despite the narrowness of the path and potential safety problems that would result from crowding. The Forest Service is now proposing to allow motorcycles on the Pioneer trail, which provides access to the Skyline and Lewis Peak trails from North Ogden; this would save motorcyclists from having to haul their bikes up the highway to North Ogden Pass. (Project 16; UTM 425186E, 4570796N.)
	This sign marks the junction of a pair of dead-end spur trails with the Lewis Peak trail. Motorcycles are currently permitted on the latter but not the former, yet the Forest Service has never indicated this on the sign. Now the Forest Service is proposing to open the dead-end trails to motorcycles, eliminating the one place in this area where hikers and mountain bikers could potentially take refuge from the noise on busy weekends. (Project 17; UTM 424455E, 4569936N.)
	The eastern half of the Ogden Ranger District lies along the Monte Cristo Range, a high plateau of mixed aspen-conifer forests, meadows, and important wildlife habitat. When visitors cross onto the National Forest via State Route 39, the first thing they see is the Dry Bread Pond area, pictured here. This complex of dispersed campsites and looping roads and trails has effectively become an ATV sacrifice area. The text of the current Forest Service proposal doesn't mention this area at all, but the accompanying map shows an additional ATV trail that would apparently be opened here. (Not among numbered projects; UTM 454874E, 4584611N.)
	About 1/3 mile east of the previous photo, three different routes from Dry Bread Pond intersect. All three routes were closed to motorized travel from 1988 until 1997, when the road on the left (which accesses a number of dispersed campsites) and the ATV trail on the right were opened. Now the Forest Service apparently intends to open the faint two-track that splits off the road as well: It appears as an open route on the map accompanying the current travel plan revision proposal. (Not among numbered projects; UTM 455338E, 4584753N.)
	Across the highway from Dry Bread Pond, this looping ATV trail is currently posted as open, even though it does not appear on the official travel map. Now the Forest Service is proposing to remedy the error by adding it to the map. This route lies at the margin of the Upper South Fork inventoried roadless area. (The Forest Service used a portion of this route for the roadless area boundary, although it should have been simply included in the roadless inventory because it is not a road that is maintained for standard passenger vehicles.) (Project 14; UTM 455381E, 4583202N.)
	A couple of miles east of Dry Bread Pond, the Bluff Spring road branches east from the Wasatch Ridge road. Although this sign says that the Bluff Spring road is open to all types of vehicles, in fact this road does not appear on the Ogden Ranger District travel map and is therefore legally closed. Forest Service officials have been aware of the discrepancy since July 2003, yet have done nothing about it, because they plan to open the road soon anyway. (Project 13; UTM 458099E, 4584286N.)
	The Bluff Spring road consists of two forks, both of which soon come to dead ends. Along the way are a couple of dispersed campsites and this flower-filled meadow. It would take only a couple of off-highway vehicles, during wet spring conditions, to completely destroy this meadow. (Project 13; UTM 458233E, 4584149N.)
	The Neponset Spring road, a bit east of the Bluff Spring road, is currently open to motorized use only for a quarter mile, to the spring itself. Beyond the spring, an ATV-widened horse trail continues for another half mile, then ends just beyond the spot shown here. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this trail to ATV's and extend it another mile to connect with the power line corridor to the north. This project will create a system of two new ATV loop trails on the Monte Cristo plateau. (Project 11; UTM 458650E, 4584578N.)
	In 1991, without public notice, the Forest Service reopened the Tilda Spring ATV trail (at the right of this photo) to motorized travel. This trail is not heavily used, due to its remote location in the Mollen's Hollow roadless area--the wildest part of the Ogden Ranger District. Now the Forest Service is proposing to expand OHV opportunities here with an extensive network of additional motorized routes. The faint track at the left of the photo is to be opened and extended for more than a mile to connect with the Overlook Trail on the top of the plateau above. (Projects 7 and 9; UTM 455776E, 4598040N.)
	About 1/3 mile south of the previous photo, this photo shows another connecting route that "currently exists on the ground" and is therefore proposed as an addition to the Tilda Spring ATV trail complex. This would simply become another dead-end trail, leading nowhere. According to the revised Wasatch-Cache National Forest management plan, the entire Tilda Spring area (including the plateau above) is to be managed primarily to preserve wildlife habitat. (Project 9; UTM 455924E, 4597543N.)
	Atop the plateau east of Tilda Spring, the scenic 2.5-mile Overlook Trail follows the alignment of an abandoned road. The road was closed in 1988 and remains gated and posted, although an ATV track goes around the gate and a few ATV riders continue to access this area illegally. Still, as this photo shows, traffic here is very light and some portions of the trail are completely grass-covered. The Forest Service is now proposing to open this route to all vehicles, and construct a new connection to the Tilda Spring ATV trail, forming a loop. (Project 8; UTM 457274E, 4598892N.)
	The Overlook Trail ends at this meadow on the brink of a cliff, overlooking Mollen's Hollow 2000 feet below. The Forest Service is proposing what amounts to a parking lot at this location. (Project 8; UTM 457729E, 4599478N.)