There is experimental evidence that the solar wind is populated with nonlinear waves and coherent structures. There is also experimental as well as theoretical evidence that solar wind MHD turbulence can be approximated in terms of dynamic composite two‐dimensional plus slab turbulence. Within this framework turbulence in the heliospheric plasma sheet, for example, is expected to consist of two‐dimensional non‐linear MHD vortex structures plus slab turbulence associated with quasi‐linear Alfven waves. We reexamine energetic particle transport in the heliosphere by taking into account scattering on vortices. © 2004 American Institute of Physics