Here is their thoughtful reply...
Off trail foot travel is permitted in the Red River Gorge and across the forest. Although if an area receives repeated constant use on user created trails, it can cause natural and cultural resource issues. For example, Copperas Falls and associated arches. When I first visited Copperas Falls in 2012, there was a single faint trail to the falls and arches. Today with the spread of information on social media, it is a highly visited area. There is a network of heavily trafficked trails that often lead to the same location. The trails to the arches from the valley essentially go straight up the hill, what we call a fall line trail. If a trail is on too steep of a grade, the trail become prone to heavy erosion, especially if no water control features are incorporated into the trail like water bars or rolling grade dips. The goal of the RRG Management Project is to assess these types of trails, adopt them in the system as official, and redesign them so that they are sustainable and can withstand continued use. There are also concerns with many unmarked user trails leading to Search and Rescue operations. The solution here would be educating the public on the difference between official system trails and user created trails. Were a trail to be adopted into the system and redesigned, redundant user trails that lead to the same location would be naturalized to reduce erosion and limit SAR incidents.
The only circumstance when off trail travel would be prohibited is in locations with sensitive resources. Examples would be locations that contain endangered bat species or perhaps a rockshelter that contains artifacts eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Possibly an area where so much use occurs that it needs time to heal and naturalize. Although by designating a trail it would concentrate the use, negating the need for off trail prohibitions. I do not foresee the need for any blanket off trail travel prohibitions in the Red River Gorge. Any type of prohibitions would be small and very focused.
Balancing the popularity of the RRG with sensitive resources will indeed be a complex endeavor. I’m hopeful through adaptability and with further public input guiding implementation, the USFS can strike that balance.
Sincerely,
Eric Dodd
Acting District Recreation Officer