8-24-2025 9:39am

Lincoln National Forest Sacramento Ranger District Area Announces 2 Closures

Chris Edwards Editor

Lincoln National Forest Sacramento Ranger District Area Announces 2 Closures - NewMexicoConservativeNews.com - AlamogordoTownNews.org

Officials within the Lincoln National Forest Sacramento Ranger District Area issued the following order of closure; 03-08-02-25-001 due to disruptions created due to illegal off-highway vehicle use, resource damage to sensitive riparian areas, and ongoing restoration efforts. These activities have caused soil erosion, vegetation loss, and habitat disturbance, which require time and space for recovery.

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), the following are prohibited on
the National Forest System (NFS) lands in the Sacramento Ranger District, Lincoln
National Forest, described below and shown on the attached map incorporated into this
Order as Exhibit A (the “Described Area”):

1. Camping. 36 CFR § 261.58(e).
2. Possessing or using a vehicle off National Forest System roads 36 C.F.R. §
261.56.
3. Parking or leaving a vehicle in violation of posted instructions. 36 C.F.R. §
261.58(g).
4. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire. 36 C.F.R.§
261.52(a).

Alert Start Date: August 12th, 2025

Alert End Date: August 31st, 2026

Reaction to the order in the forum section of Adventure Rider supports the forest servive move and shows many individuals have witnessed abuse of the rules of save off-road vehicle use by many.

One forum user referred to a Jucifer stated: "The SXS crowd is a big group and probably helps us by adding to the size of off-road advocacy pool. That said it sure feels like it is saturated and starting to detract from my personal tolerance for them.

This weekend I'm fresh off too many close calls of SXSs ripping around blind corners in my lane and getting startled when they see me. Easy to tell when you see the wheels jerk to right. Someday there will be a head-on we all know who will be on the losing end of that one. Jerk the handlebars on motorcycle like that on a loose gravel road and you'll be on the ground in no time. Point being, I suspect we are generally riding a little more thoughtful."

Another Wrench Monkey stated "

That’s really unfortunate. I’ve had my fair share of run ins with the SxS crowd for trail deviation and littering. This is always the first thing I’ll say is that it’ll get closed for everyone. The problem is that the ones who break the rules don’t care if it’s closed or not. They’ll go destroy something else."

KOB News reports the damage done to the forest is extremely severe, and has impacted numerous other activities and users, according to the Forest Service .“They went through streams, through meadows, they just used the forest in an illegal and unresponsible way that caused damage for the resources and for other users,” said Jason Freeman, Lincoln National Forest Supervisor. “It damaged water systems that supply municipal water and impacted forage for authorized grazing permitting use.”The reckless riders tearing through unauthorized areas has now prompted closures in four different areas for a year. Rio Penasco, Bluff Springs, Wills Canyon, and Agua Chiquita will be closed until Aug. 31, 2026. Dispersed camping and operating motor vehicles will be prohibited in all of those areas until the closure order expires or is rescinded.“We ended up having to take some emergency restoration efforts. Staff went out to loosen the soil, address some of the soil compaction. We reseeded it and then covered it with some rice falls to protect that seeding, and it’s going to take time for that to that system to recover,” said Freeman.

In other closures by the Forest Service also ordered closed is Order# 03-08-02-25-002: Bluff Springs Temporary Closure on Sacramento Ranger District. This Order serves to protect public health and safety while Forest Service Engineering crews carry out annual maintenance, restoration and update infrastructure to current safety standards.

Closed Areas Include:

Bluff Springs Recreational Site and T112 Bridge: This includes the Bluff Springs Recreational Area designated parking lot, vault toilet restrooms and trail 112 (Willie White Spur) bridge.

A map of this closure is found below...