Travel management is the practice of developing and maintaining a sustainable multimodal program that addresses the designation, development, decommissioning, maintenance and monitoring of roads and trails on WDFW-managed lands.  

In 2023, WDFW inventoried all roads and trails on the Methow Wildlife Area. Most of these routes are informal and were created through repeated use over time or inherited as old agricultural or access routes that existed prior to WDFW’s acquisition or management of the land. The department assessed each route ’s condition, impacts on natural, cultural, and/or tribal resources, and relative importance as part of a travel network that strikes an acceptable balance between conservation and recreation. Based on this evaluation, the department determined which routes will remain open to public use—along with the specific types of use permitted—and which routes will have restrictions such as administrative use only, seasonal closures, or closure to the public and decommissioned over time. 

This survey describes six proposals that came out of the route review conducted by the agency.  Descriptions of the proposals are provided that address issues and opportunities for both resource protection and recreation.  WDFW would like to get feedback from the public on recommended changes that are part of these proposals.  Your responses to the questions will be very helpful as the agency moves forward to implement the travel management plan.