Backcountry Sled Patriots

10/27/2026

A lawsuit was recently filed against the Forest Service, claiming the Clearwater NF did not properly consider harm to wildlife when the Clearwater forest plan reduced the size of the Great Burn RWA. Same old rhetoric.

Plaintiffs are: Idaho Conservation League, Great Burn Conservation Alliance, and Montana Wildlife Federation.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this is a smoke screen to try to get snowmobiling and mountain biking shut down in the now non-RWA areas.

Backcountry Sled Patriots is following this action closely, as we certainly don’t want to see 20 years of work to get these areas reopened to snowmobiling get potentially reversed due to a bogus lawsuit. Stay tuned.

10/07/2026

A BIPARTISAN Senate proposed bill to improve permitting through the NEPA process emerged last week.

It would reduce NEPA review time limits to 2 years for big projects and 1 year for small projects. The current process runs an average of 4 years or longer. It would reduce and impose a statute of limitations for litigation to 150 days from 5 years.

There is a glimmer of hope this could get passed in the current lame duck session before midterms. It is bipartisan supported.

Every Forest Plan, Travel Plan, and OSV plan requires a separate NEPA review and can drag out the full forest plan process for 10 years or more.

There is no formal comment process. Just send an email to our federal senators stating you support the proposed bill and add any personal comments of your choosing. Time is of the essence due to limited time left in this session.

Sen. Steve Daines: www.daines.senate.gov/contact 202-224-2651

Sen. Tim Sheehy: www.sheehy.senate.gov/contact 202-224-2644

09/16/2026

The attached information on One Voice and the included link will give you some accurate insight into current recreational issues that affect all of us. There is a lot of misinformation out on social media and news outlets floating around. As a director, I can assure you we spend a lot of time making sure what is put out into the public domain is well vetted and accurate.

Nothing I do with One Voice takes away from my work and the supporters of Backcountry Sled Patriots. One Voice is actually a huge support system for BSP. They are strong on summer motorized recreation, but be assured there is also a strong snowmobile segment, including national organization(s) support. One Voice's mission is almost identical to BSP. An accurate estimate puts One Voice representing about 400,000 motorized recreational users.

Stan

One voice for motorized recreation About One Voice One Voice is an independent 501c3 non-profit that provides a Unified Voice for motorized recreation and public land access through a national platform representing the diverse and many facets of the Off-Road Community. Learn more Contact UsInteresti...

08/19/2026

We must get engaged!

Many of you are probably aware that the US Department of Agriculture this week posted in the Federal Register 36 CFR Part 294, Special Roadless Area Conservation (Roadless Rule Recission), and is opening a comment period.

You can easily Google the document. It does not throw regulation to the wind. In fact, if the proposal is codified, it will generally not change existing land management plans but will come into play in future plans, notwithstanding that existing plans can be amended. The overriding intent is to put management of these areas into the hands of the Forest Service regional supervisors. This can work both ways, less restriction or more restriction. It would eliminate the argument that “our hands are tied by the roadless rule”.

Now the wilderness folks don’t want the rule rescinded because the status quo has pretty much shut out motorized recreation in roadless designated areas. They don’t want any risk of change.

They will comment heavily on all the alleged impact expanded motorized use could have on their private recreational areas within public lands.

As a motorized recreationalist, it is easy to sit back and think “it can’t get worse and probably will get better so why comment”. Wrong. It could get worse and, at the very least, will invite litigation when/if forest supervisors try to balance multiple use of the forest. We must get engaged!

One thing that caught my eye when reading the document was that it stated that the proposed rule could have a negative economic impact on recreation. I don’t see that. While there is the potential for alleged conflict between motorized and non-motorized users, that statement overlooks that motorized recreation is the fastest-growing segment in the US. More access should have a more positive economic impact.

I can’t stress enough that all motorized recreationalists need to comment on the positive benefits of the proposed roadless rule rescission. The key points from my perspective are: positive economic impact, decision-making at a local level instead of at a national level “one size fits all”, balanced multiple use of public land. Better fire and insect management due to better access almost goes without saying. Back to the regional decision-making, the Clearwater National Forest supervisors on two recent forest plans supported snowmobile access in RWA’s yet were overridden at the DC level. The proposed rule change would be a step to stop that interference.

Comment link: https://www.regulations.gov/ Docket number FS 2025-0001. We need to support this rule proposal so we can work with the regional Forest Supervisors outside of DC oversight.

06/17/2026

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved language last week to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. It will now go to the Senate for a full vote. No date set.

One Voice is going through a bit of restructuring. I will send more detailed info at a later date, but long story short, the off-road group that included a foundation supporting One Voice merged with another national off-road group, and while the merged entity will continue to support One Voice, the foundation is being dissolved. This necessitated installing a new board of Directors at One Voice. No work product dilution will occur. Nine new directors were selected, and all agreed to serve on the new board. I am one of the new directors. Kerry White is also on the board, so Mt. and Id. have pretty good representation. One Voice is an all-volunteer group. There are some very talented people (much younger than me) with diverse backgrounds volunteering and serving on the new board.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) the Forest Service signed earlier this year giving One Voice the position of being the National liaison to the Forest Service for motorized recreation has evolved into a positive and energized dialogue ongoing at the senior levels.

Stan Spencer

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06/09/2026

On June 5, Washington Post reporter Lisa Friedman wrote an article outlining the review of a draft order prepared for Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture, to allow off-road vehicles on millions of acres of National Forest land.

The key points are:

The Forest Service is directed to identify which “closed roads, trails, areas, airstrips and waterways” in each National Forest might be considered for year-round recreation access.

The order would also allow uses and levels in Recommended Wilderness Areas (RWA) prior to wilderness recommendation within 30 days.

This is a companion order to the Executive Order repeal recently signed by President Trump. It is a separate action from the expected roadless rule rescission.

What is not mentioned in the article is that this action/order is a direct result of a One Voice partner meeting with Tom Schultz, Chief Forester, in July 2025. Back Country Sled Patriots (BSP) and Citizens for Balanced Use (CBU) articulated the way RWA’s are being managed as wilderness outside of Congressional approval in Montana and Idaho. Chief Schultz was not aware of the management practice in this particular region. He asked a lot of tough questions, and at the end of the meeting he did commit to investigate our assertions, which has resulted in the draft order prepared for Secretary Rollins.

The 2025 meeting with Chief Schultz was the culmination of over 20 years of work by BSP and CBU to change the way RWA’s are managed in MT and ID.

I would emphasize this is not an official Press release from the USDA

06/02/2026

The One Voice Coalition enthusiastically welcomes President Trump’s withdrawal of Executive Orders 11644 and 11989 and the improved access that will result.

The executive action will now ensure multiple use of public lands means just that. Motorized recreation will now be given equal access consideration to non-motorized recreation. At this point, I do not know if there will be any retroactive aspects to the repeal of the two executive orders. My understanding is that any future RWA’s will have to include multiple uses. BSP is a member/partner with One Voice and attended the July meeting mentioned.

05/27/2026

New Adventures Ahead.

After cruising the BC, Vancouver Is, and Alaska coast for the past 30 years Kayrita and I are switching modes to a land-based adventure. We will spend this summer on a few short trips getting the glitches out of the new motor home and then next summer head north to Alaska, Yukon and??. A cross-Canada trip is on Kayrita’s bucket list. Back in my truck driving days as an owner operator, I hauled a lot of mining and oilfield equipment into Alaska and the Yukon. It will be interesting to see how things have changed, or not, over the last 50 years. I grew up in the Bukley Valley in BC, and the North has always held a special place in my heart.

Our boat “BRANCH OFFICE” is now for sale.

It is listed at Van Isle Brokerage in Sidney, BC. If West Coast cruising is on your bucket list, this could be an opportunity to get a boat in pristine, like-new condition for less than ¼ the price of a comparable new one that would be well north of $1,000,000.00.

You can view all the details at the brokerage website, but some highlights are. Camargue 48ft, 3208 425 HP cat Diesel engines, (annual oil sample records) two heads, three staterooms, $220.000.00 refit completed in 2020.

https://vanislemarina.com/boat-listings/?boatId=10122068

Surveyed in 2022 and noted as above average condition. Transferrable moorage available at Van Isle Marina. US-flagged vessel.

05/01/2026

Lolo Forest Planning Review Update

For those of you who did not attend the Lolo Forest planning review update in Missoula, there wasn’t much new info, except right at the end when the subject of planning if the Roadless Road Rule repeal is passed.

The short answer was they were developing a 2 pronged strategy depending on the outcome. The Deputy Forest Supervisor then interjected and stated they had several options to manage those areas if the rule is repealed. Those options included more RWA’s etc,etc.. Not sure how all this would play out, but based on those comments, the Lolo Forest Plan could end up with even more motorized restrictions if the Roadless rule is repealed.

I had been concerned this was a possible outcome when the proposal to repeal the rule was introduced with no replacement plan as part of the package. This is an outcome that could also apply to the 3 WSA’s Sen Daines is working to repeal.

Again, I urge everyone to get engaged in the Lolo forest plan review. I had hoped that after discussions with Tom Schultz and Mike Boren, the above scenario would not be an option, but after hearing those remarks, my antenna is on high alert.

04/03/2026

Here is a deep dive into the FS reorg.

Check out the specific details on the USFS changes and where the locations will be based.

As part of the USDA reorganization plan, the Forest Service is realigning its organizational structure to strengthen local leadership, streamline operations, and improve mission delivery. The changes include moving headquarters to Salt Lake City, transitioning to a state-based leadership model, buil...