Truckee, Calif. – The U.S. Forest Service has issued an Area, Road, and Trail Closure Order restricting all ­­­access to a portion of the Big Jack East Project area. This Big Jack East Closure Area includes portions of National Forest System lands south and east of Forest Road 06 in the Sawtooth area including the “Happy Face” portion of the Bald Mountain Motorcycle Trail (16E14).  Please see the attached Forest Order 17-19-02 and corresponding map for specific closure information. The Closure Order is effective from November 14, 2019 through December 15, 2019. The Sawtooth Trail will remain open.

The US Forest Service issued the Closure Order to facilitate safe and efficient forest health vegetation management operations in the Big Jack East Project area. The Big Jack East Project includes the use of mechanical equipment to remove trees, and ladder and surface fuels within the Wildland Urban Intermix southwest of the town of Truckee, California.

“Public safety is our number one priority,” said Jonathan Cook-Fisher, Truckee District Ranger.  “This closure, while a temporary inconvenience, enables our partners to proceed with planned project implementation during a time of the year when mountain biking, Off-Highway Vehicle use, and other recreational opportunities are not in peak season.”

A violation of the Forest Closure Order is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both.

Questions and comments can be directed to: Jonathan Cook-Fisher, District Ranger, at (530) 587-3558.

For more information about the Tahoe National Forest, go to www.fs.usda.gov/tahoe. Join the conversation by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/Tahoe_NF and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TahoeNF.