PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Curious about the prospects for new mountain bike and other recreational trails on BLM land in the valley?

The BLM Shoshone Field Office is doing travel planning for road and trail use in the Wood River Valley and is fielding comments about future trail development.

To that end, the BLM will hold an open house from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 27, in Rooms 301 and 302 of the Community Campus.

Additionally, the Blaine County Commissioners will discuss the Travel Management Plan at their 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 25, meeting in the Old County Courthouse in Hailey.

The BLM Shoshone Field Office initiated the North Highway 20 Travel Management Plan in 2010 but had to put it on hold in 2012 as it dealt with other issues. It’s now reinitiating a Travel Management Plan that encompasses public lands south of the Lake Creek Trailhead, west of Willow Creek and east of the Little Wood River.

The new plan, which no longer covers all the area it did, has been renamed the Wood River Valley TMP.

It addresses recreational, traditional andcommercial access and considers all forms of access on public lands, including, foot, pack stock, off-highway vehicle transportation.

The BLM will solicit comments during a public scoping phase beginning July 27, 2017, to assist with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review. The Environmental Assessment process is anticipated to take 18 months.