The Forest Service need and want your help in the continuing efforts to update the Forest Plans across the Blue Mountains National Forests — including the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests. In July and August there will be several opportunities for you to get involved and the public is invited to attend one of the public workshops listed below.
As you may know, the current Forest Plans are from 1990. Over the past 25 years, the landscape has changed significantly. Social and economic conditions have also changed across the Blue Mountains region since 1990. For these reasons and others, it is time for new Forest Plans to guide our future land-management decisions.
Last summer, 2014, the Forest Service received over 1,300 comment letters on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to the Blue Mountains Forest Plans. Based on the comments received and the feedback shared in public meetings, the FS heard an overall sense of dissatisfaction with the Forest Plans from diverse perspectives. Thanks to input from a wide range of people, some of the topics that deserve more discussion across the Blue Mountains are: (1) access, (2) grazing, and (3) pace & scale of restoration.
This summer and fall, the Forest Service will attend or co-host public workshops in communities across the Blue Mountains. Most of the community workshops or meetings will be professionally facilitated by Jack Southworth of High Desert Partnership.
The schedule for upcoming community workshops is listed below and also posted on the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision website: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/BlueMountainsPlanRevision
Tue Jul 7, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Malheur NF
Where: John Day, OR – Grant County Regional Airport
Wed Jul 8, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF
Where: Clarkston, WA – Floch Hall, Asotin Fairgrounds, Asotin Anatone Hwy
Thu Jul 9, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF
Where: Walla Walla, WA – Walla Walla Senior Center at the Park, 720 Sprague St
Mon Jul 13, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Wallowa-Whitman NF
Where: Enterprise, OR Cloverleaf Hall
Tue Jul 14, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Grazing Workshop – Malheur NF
Where: Burns, OR – Burns Community Center
Wed Jul 15, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF
Where: Richland, WA – Hanford Reach Interpretive Center, 1943 Columbia Park Trail
Thu Jul 16, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF / Malheur NF
Where: Ukiah, OR – Ukiah High School Gym
Tue Jul 21, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Grazing Workshop – Wallowa-Whitman NF
Where: Enterprise, OR Cloverleaf Hall
Wed Jul 22, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF
Where: Pendleton, OR – Tam stslikt Cultural Institute, 47106 Wildhorse Boulevard
Thu Jul 23, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Access Workshop – Umatilla NF
Where: Heppner, OR – Morrow County Fairgrounds Main Hall, 74473 Hwy 74-Lena
Tue Jul 28, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Pace/Scale of Restoration Workshop – Wallowa-Whitman NF
Where: Enterprise, OR Cloverleaf Hall
Mon Aug 17, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Pace/Scale of Restoration Workshop – Malheur NF
Where: John Day, OR – Grant County Regional Airport
Tue Aug 18, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Pace/Scale of Restoration Workshop – Malheur NF
Where: Burns, OR – Burns Community Center
Wed Aug 19, 2015, 6pm – 9pm
Grazing, Pace/Scale of Restoration Workshop – Malheur NF
Where: Long Creek, OR – Long Creek Community Hall
BRC believes that OHV recreationists should ask the agency to develop travel management strategies as part of their forest planning efforts.
Here are several concepts that should be included in the forest plan revision process:
ML 3 Roads to Trails – Reclassify ML3 roads to ML2 roads. Reclassify ML2 road to motorized trails or manage appropriate ML2 roads as “roads managed as trails.” Manage appropriate ML1 roads as “motorized trails.”
ML 2 Roads to Trails – Convert “roads-to-single track trails” or “roads-to-motorized trails less than 50 inches in width” and “roads managed as motorized trails greater than 50 inches in width” as a tool to help the agency achieve its budget objectives while still providing a substantive and high quality recreational route network.
Single Track Trails – 2005 Forest Service Travel Management Rule (TMR) Subpart B planning efforts in California and other Western States resulted in the loss of many, if not most, of our historic single-track motorcycle trails. Historic and legal motorized single-track opportunities such as enduro trails, old pack-mule/mining or pioneer trails were simply eliminated from consideration due to time constraints.
During Subpart B of Travel Management, the Forest Service promised OHV leadership that once these initial “foundational” route networks were established and codified that they would work with the users to either bring some of these historic single-track opportunities “back onto the system” or construct new engineered single-track system trails.
BRC believes that a strategy should be developed to replace the lost single-track experience. Retention or enhancement of high quality single-track dirt-bike trails is no different than keeping or enhancing “quiet” single-track hiking, equestrian, and mountain-bike trails.
Wet Weather Closures – Any TMR-based wet weather closure strategy should allow for native surfaced trails and roads to be open when soil conditions/lack-of-rainfall permits. If a wet weather closure is needed, the implementing Forest Order should be for the shortest period of time rather than a longer time period. In NEPA, it is always easier to extend a short closure versus repealing a longer closure.
Mitigate Trail Impacts from Non-Recreation Projects – The impacts from non-recreation projects such as vegetative treatments and wildlife protection efforts often include obliteration of the trail or removal of water control structures such as rolling dips and catch basins. Those trail mitigations can often cost $15,000 to $20,000/mile to install (or replace). BRC recommends that “trail mitigation” guidelines be added to relevant non-recreation projects.
Please feel free to urge the agency to include the aforementioned travel strategies in their forest planning process.
If you have any questions please contact Blue Mountain Forest Plan Revision Public Affairs Officer, Peter Fargo at 541-523-1231 or email at pfargo@fs.fed.us.