Open House Tuesday For Bagby Hot Springs Plan

http://news.opb.org/article/46212-open-house-tuesday-bagby-hot-springs-plan/

Rob Manning | January 18, 2011 | Portland, OR

The move to privatize oversight of Bagby Hot Springs and more than two dozen other sites in the Mount Hood National Forest comes before the public at an open house Tuesday.

The bathhouses at Bagby have been a popular Mt. Hood destination for years, but nighttime visitors have sometimes left trash and caused damage.

Last year, the Forest Service tested private interest by issuing a prospectus that included Bagby and 27 campgrounds.

Mt. Hood environmental and volunteer groups objected, saying that a private contractor might make unpopular changes to Bagby’s bath houses – and would charge admission.

Amy Harwood is with Bark, an environmental group focused on Mt. Hood.

Amy Harwood: “It’s really a high priority for us to make sure that Mt. Hood National Forest remain an accessible forest to the people that live around it, and people who come from around the world to visit.”

Bark has applauded the Forest Service’s decision to hold an open house tonight. It’s scheduled from 4 to 7, at the Forest Service building in Sandy.