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MVUM (Motor Vehicle Use Map) Issues

colbyjbarr
Edited

Obviously the MVUM are super important for all of us OHV users. Glad Gaia took a stab at this "missing link" but I think they need to redo it.

 

The georeferenced maps would be amazing to have for the additional info on these maps, even if they aren't contiguous maps. Especially if they could turn the "white" background into transparent. 

 

If the vector option is the way, they need to follow the same legend as the original (instead of Red, Yellow, Green) or I'm not actually sure where I can ride my motorcycle and where I can't, for instance. It is not clear how Gaia's legend relates to the original USFS designations.

 

Also there are a ton of data missing from this dataset. Just the Lake Tahoe area alone is completely missing almost all of the original MVUM info. There are roads and trails all over this place on the USFS MVUMs. Not mention an entire OHV area in the North of the pic.

 

Appreciate the effort but let's get this one right. Help us out Gaia! You're our only hope. :)

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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • Official comment
    Robyn

    Hi Everyone,
    Thanks for the feedback on the MVUM overlay.

    Here's a quick update:
    1) New Styling Project for the MVUM overlay and the USFS Roads/Trails overlay:

    •  Both of these overlays are being restyled to match the legends found on the PDF versions of the MVUM that @volmistral included in the original post for this thread


    2) GeoPDF imports are on the roadmap for this year and we are currently working on this project. Once complete, you will be able to easily add additional custom map sources.

  • sylvan

    yes...new user to Gaia.  This post is correct.  Gaia needs to match actual MVUM maps closer or what they have becomes useless in a hurry.  The MVUM was a key reason for choosing Gaia but now that Ive used it...not sure its all its supposed to be.  I assumed there would be a way of at least downloading and using the MVUM maps to Gaia, but Ive not yet figured out how.

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  • jim.eliason

    Well, I have to agree with what's been said above.  I bought the Premium version, expecting it to be the best there was.  So far, I'm very disappointed with what I received.  There are better products, for off-road MVUM use anyway, on the market.  About ready to chalk this up as wasted money... 

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  • jplemons

    Yes, and we see how responsive they are around here to paying customers.

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  • anneott

    We've been using Gaia on both our phones/tablets as OHV Ambassadors to the Colville National Forest, and Gaia's app is still using what appears to be the 2017 MVUM.  The MVUM has been updated each year since then, with the 2020 version to be released in April 2020.  Many miles of roads have been opened to OHVs that aren't on Gaia's app at all as of today (3/27/20).

    Also, there are 3 counties in this region, and each county has different OHV regulations - in one county all roads are open to OHVs except state highways, for example, which isn't clear on the Gaia maps.  Also, I'm not sure if the Gaia map layers consider side-by-sides and Jeeps as the same street-legal vehicle.  In Washington state, we have licensed, street-legal vehicles, but each city/county can determine whether or not OHVs are allowed in their jurisdictions, making for an incredibly confusing situation in the NW.  Most apps show larger vehicles (more than 50" wide to be the same as a "highway legal" Jeep, but in Washington OHVs are "street legal," not "highway legal."  Yep, confusing - it just means that even in the National Forests, we can't use all of the highway legal roads, but must stay on the street legal vehicle roads or those roads open to all vehicles, such as Jeep trails.  

    I think the key initial issue is for Gaia to access the USFS's online ARC GIS database information to update each National Forest.  Not all National Forests have MVUMs, of course, but the more widely-traveled forests do have these maps available and the online databases are accessible to anyone who can use ARC GIS info.  

    Thanks for your assistance in helping folks in NE Washington use Gaia for their recreation!  We hand out information at our OHV Ambassador events, and teach classes in using mapping apps, so it would be great to be able to inform the public about Gaia's capabilities!

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