National forest considers limits on off-highway vehicles

By Garth Guibord
The Sandy Post, Sep 8, 2009

The national forest will host two open houses this month where anybody — from hikers to all-terrain-vehicle owners — can share their thoughts on the future of motorized recreation on the forest.

The events will focus on a U.S. Forest Service report — known as a Draft Environmental Impact Statement — which discloses the potential environmental effects of designating a system of roads, trails and areas for off-highway vehicles. The document also suggests alternatives to designating those roads for OHV traffic.

The first open house will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the University Place Hotel and Conference Center, 310 S.W. Lincoln St. in Portland.

The second open house will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Hood River Inn, 1108 E. Marine Way in Hood River.

“We’re going to show what the situation is right now,” said Rick Acosta, pubic affairs officer for the Mount Hood National Forest. “We’re trying to manage this type of recreation so that it’s sustainable.”

Acosta said a final decision, which will be used to prepare a Motor Vehicle Use Map for the forest, could not be issued sooner than 90 days after the draft was released.


Background

According to the draft, current policy allows OHVs in areas off roads and trails that have not been specifically closed to off-road use. Designating certain roads, trails and areas for OHV use could potentially enhance forest management, including sustaining natural resources, preserving areas for non-motorized experiences and enhancing opportunities for OHVs.

The Travel Management Rule of 2005 required each national forest or ranger district to designate the roads, trails and areas that are open to motor vehicles. The proposed action, outlined in the draft as alternative two, was released two years ago and two alternatives, three and four, were developed with public input. The DEIS also includes a “no action” alternative.

Acosta said alternatives three and four are the preferred options and that the public should focus on those two and their environmental consequences.


Alternative three

Alternative three considered all additional motorized routes proposed within public input, and also recommendations from consultation with government entities, such as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

In all, alternative three allows for OHV use on 223 miles of roads and 102 miles of trails in the following locations: Bear Creek, Gibson Prairie, Graham Pass, LaDee Flats, McCubbins Gulch, Mount Defiance, Peavine and Rock Creek. These areas would also be open to non-motorized users.

But alternative three isn’t a hit with Don Amador, the western representative for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving responsible recreational access to public lands. He noted that OHV users would be banned from more than 90 percent of the 2,400-mile network of forest roads.

“We just have to see at the end of the day what sort of commitment the forest has to OHV recreation, particularly when it comes to developing those OHV areas,” said Amador, who has visited the Mount Hood National Forest as an OHV user. “It’s a great place to recreate, and hopefully we’ll have a few trails when I come up there the next time.”

Meanwhile, Amador added that the draft did not appear to include suggestions of several areas for OHV use and other new motorized trails.

“At the end of the day, (the Blue Ribbon Coalition) is disappointed the (Mount Hood National Forest) has elected not to be an OHV forest and has misused the Travel Management Rule to apparently implement the closure agenda of local, state and national anti-access groups,” Amador wrote in an e-mail.


Alternative four

Similarly, alternative four considered all recommendations, reducing the number of OHV routes within the forest. This alternative includes OHV use on 59 miles of roads and 40 miles of trails in three locations: LaDee Flats, McCubbins Gulch and Rock Creek.

Alex P. Brown, executive director of Bark, an organization dedicated to forest restoration and preservation, praised alternative four as a “balanced approach.”

“We are particularly appreciative of the Forest Service in responding to Oregonians’ concerns in the creation of alternative four,” Brown said.

Brown also noted that the organization is not advocating a ban on OHV, but that the majority of visitors don’t go to Mount Hood to be around them.

“Everyone has the right to use the forest, but no one has the right to abuse it,” he said. “That abuse is something that has been occurring for decades now in the national forest system. Anything that improves forest conditions is progress in our mind.”

Brown added that alternative four keeps motorized recreation close to emergency access roads, reducing the strain on some on emergency infrastructure.


Next steps

In addition to the two open houses, the Forest Service will accept written comments on the draft document. Comments must be received by Oct. 28, 2009.

“If someone brings up new issues, for example, that’s not in the DEIS … then we’ll go back and take a look at those and incorporate the comments,” Acosta said.

A full copy of the draft, and instructions on how to submit written comments, are available through the Mount Hood National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/projects.