Off highway vehicle riders and drivers again have access to nearly 100 miles of trails in the Fort Sage Off Highway Vehicle Area near Doyle, as the Bureau of Land Management reopens the area after a temporary closure caused by the Long Valley Fire.
“We are asking visitors to stay on established trails to avoid causing soil damage in areas that were burned,” said Stuart Mitchell, acting field manager the Bureau of Land Management’s Eagle Lake Field Office.
“In a few weeks we will begin reseeding burned areas, and it will be critical that vehicles, horses and even people on foot stay off of these sites to allow the seeds to sprout and avoid creating trails that others might be tempted to follow.”
Mitchell said Fort Sage visitors can be valuable BLM partners in fire recovery efforts by educating their peers about the importance of fire recovery and managing the Fort Sage Area in a sustainable way.
The Long Valley Fire burned with varying intensities across the OHV recreation area about 40 miles north of Reno. In some areas, the fire completely burned grass and shrubs, while in others the fire burned in a mosaic pattern, leaving islands of unburned plants.
The fire started July 11 and burned more than 83,000 acres before it was contained on July 24.
