Newb question about ORV access on BLM and Forest Service....

[maxpower]

I'm going to be hunting an area in Wyoming this fall, and it'll be some BLM and some Forest Service. It's an area I used to hunt but haven't been back for 8-10 years or so.
I'm nervous because I'm hearing rumors about people blazing 2 tracks and making roads up into areas where they've never been before.
If I run into someone on an ORV what's the best way to know for sure whether or not they're allowed to be where they are? I hate the thought of hiking 2 hours in the dark to a glassing point just to find someone there on a SxS who got there illegally.

 

[Horniac]

The current MVUM for the NF lands and for BLM I would consult the nearest field office. I would surmise if the two-track is shown on a BLM map or OnX or similar mapping platform they are probably there legally…

Horniac

 

[Soj51hopeful]

OnX is pretty good about showing legal roads. Forest service have “motor vehicle use maps” you can pick up.

 

[diablo]

As stated by both replies above - get current MVUM maps for the area from FS and BLM.

 

[maxpower]

I'll have to check my OnX sounds like. I called both the FS and the BLM offices for the applicable regions, and they each referred me to another source. One said check WyoTrails.com and one said check the Avenza App.

 

[diablo]

And I had to laugh when I read “rumors” of illegal ohv trails. Illegal ohv trails are literally everywhere you go here in the west.

 

[Horniac]

The Avenza app is great. You can download the free NF MVUM maps directly to your app on your phone (or iPad with a cell chip) and it will geolocate you on the map as you go. You can do the same with the actual NF map and the BLM maps for your hunt area as well but you have to buy those in their map store…

Horniac

 

[WapitiBob]

OnX has never provided legal public easement info for a road.
The Forest you plan to hunt will have an MVUM map available to download. Some are Avenza specific but most are geopdf.
The local BLM office will have a map. I have also sent a KML file of roads I questioned, to the local BLM GIS guy and had them provide easement info for those roads.