PEAK PUTTERS

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Enviros Extend Hand of Friendship to OHV?




In 2005, I wrote my “I Have a Dreamâ€

This article may have started what Jody is talking about:

A Packed 24 Hours in the Oregon Dunes
Created by Sarah Peters on March 21, 2012
Well, this past weekend brought an action-packed overnight trip to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and the beginning of what I hope is a successful partnership to work on Dunes restoration. The Oregon Dunes stretch along the central Oregon coast from just south of Florence to just north of Coos Bay (about 40 miles), and provide amazing recreation opportunities and breathtaking scenery.

After watching my alma mater Indiana University pull out a victory and make it to the Sweet Sixteen (Go Hoosiers!), I started off on my adventure near dusk, parking at my favorite trailhead in the Dunes, launching my backpack onto my back, and hiking in to find an overnight resting spot. I made it in time to set up my tent and enjoy the sunset, perched up in the heart of one of the nonmotorized sections of the Dunes.



View of the Pacific Ocean from my campsite in the nonmotorized section of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (notice the beachgrass taking hold in the open sand).
It still gets dark relatively early, and so there was plenty of tent time for reading, listening to the frogs serenade me, and some star gazing that was simply amazing. Of course, being that it is still winter on the Oregon Coast, I awoke around 3 am to strong winds and driving rain (possibly sleet) and sand. Luckily, my book was still handy, I was in my 5 degree sleeping bag, and my tent held up, so a few hours later, when the world around me settled down, I drifted back to sleep.

Dawn brought a lull in the rain/snow mixture just long enough for me to pack up and get started hiking out. And a short time later I was on my way south, heading to meet with Jody, from Save the Riders Dunes. Over coffee and breakfast, the sun came out and we talked about life and our mutual love of the Oregon Dunes. Jody is one of the nicest folks I've met in a while and has been recreating, both in vehicles and on foot, in the Dunes almost his entire life. It was great to get his perspective, and find that we do have lots in common.

Now for a confession. After breakfast, we headed to Riley Ranch to meet up with some other folks from Save the Riders Dunes, and via the newly opened Riley Ranch access route our group of a full size pickup, a three wheeler, two side by side UTVs, and several more four wheelers, made our way into the Dunes. This was my first time visiting the Dunes via motor, and thankfully Jody did all the driving in his pickup. He is an excellent driver, and I learned a lot both about how the Dunes move and about the history of the area. I also have to admit that though I enjoyed the company immensely, and I'd go again so long as Jody is driving, I'd still much rather be on my own two feet (sorry Jody!).



Part of our group riding in a portion of the Oregon Dunes open to cross country motor vehicle use.
After exploring the open dunes, and some of the nearby trails, by vehicle, we headed over to park near Spinreel Campground for my favorite part of the day. We hiked over the foredune and onto the beach, enjoying a gentle breeze and sunshine. Our destination was Tenmile Creek, an area where, years ago, the Forest Service did beach grass removal on the foredunes and created some of the best snowy plover habitat that exists on the Oregon Dunes.



Western snowy plover near Tenmile Creek in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
This is what we had been talking all day about - removal of nonnative and highly invasive european beachgrass and restoration of the Dunes ecosystem, both for the plovers and for the riders. It was encouraging to see the plovers running around in the debris and beginning the process of mating and nesting. Just as it had been good for me to be with the riders as they enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day on the Oregon Dunes.

Here’s to hoping that Jody and I and the other folks who are passionate about the Dunes can continue on common ground as we take the next step of working with the Forest Service to try to save this special place.

.Comments
Lance Rowland (not verified)

Wed, 03/21/2012 - 13:27

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Re: Working Together
My comment is to reinforce the fact that both motorized and non-motorized groups can, may and must achieve harmony together within the ODNRA. Open sand is self-healing, thanks to Mother Nature's breezes. The fact that the beachgrass is hampering this natural self-healing effect needs to be rectified prior to loosing our dunes as we know them now and retain them for future generations.

reply.Barbara Rowland (not verified)

Wed, 03/21/2012 - 13:30

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Dunes
It was great meeting you Sarah, glad you enjoyed your time with us and to come to a mutual connect of the dunes...we all love the Dunes..

reply.Sarah Peters

Fri, 03/23/2012 - 17:10

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Thanks!
Thanks Barbara and Lance for your comments. It was definitely great to meet you both, and to get out on the Dunes with you, too.

reply.Dave Walters (not verified)

Sat, 03/24/2012 - 14:19

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ODNRA
Sarah, I'm glad you were able to spent time with Lance and Barb! Their efforts in the Dunes make me smile. I grew up in Coos Bay, and have been in that sand since the late 50's. Rehabing those Dunes is a major project that needs to take place to return them to what they were 40 plus years ago. In other words, open sand! Please work with STRD to help this happen. You couldn't have better allies than the Rowlands.

reply.jim furnish (not verified)

Wed, 03/28/2012 - 15:34

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your dunes trip
This item evoked many great memories. I was the Siuslaw Forest Supv (mid-90's) when we ensured the sanctity of the non-motorized recreation area you camped in. We also identified our highest priorities for beachgrass removal/plover habitat restoration. lt's wonderful to see that legacy working. The Dunes are truly a magical, unique area. Glad to see you at work down there!

reply.

From Save The Riser's Dunes FB wall:

A Monumental event happened 4/3/2012, STRD, Forest Service and enviromental Group Wildlands CPR, sat down together and had a meeting on preserving our beloved Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area..ODNRA..here is a summary....a letter that STRD president wrote about this historic event...

4/4/2012
Yesterday, for the ...first time in the history of the Oregon Dunes, an environmental group; Wildlands CPR and an OHV group; Save the Riders Dunes (STRD) sat down with the Forest Service to discuss the future of the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area (ODNRA). We all agreed we are losing the ODNRA to the unchecked growth of beach grass, scotch broom and shore pine. Restoration to open free flowing sand is our only hope to keep the ODNRA from certain death. All stake holders agreed that we can share the dunes. We also all agreed that we can work together and in doing so keep the areas most important to each of us healthy and manageable.
The ODNRA will never be open free flowing sand again. The area is too big and unwanted vegetation too widespread to eradicate it no matter how much money is available. The beach grass is just too tenacious. We need to focus our efforts of restoration on specific areas that will achieve 4 main objectives: Snowy Plover habitat, Open OHV areas, native plant communities and the visual beauty of the dunes themselves.
There were discussions on exactly how to accomplish these goals but first we need the organization and some basic knowledge to start the process. There needs to be two main groups initiated. One would be the stakeholders themselves. This would look similar to the 10C Work Group. Examples would be Enviros, OHV, USFS, BLM, Counties Corp of Engineers etc. The second group would be what is called the “Ologistâ€

Bio of W_CPR staff who wrote the above and is meeting with STRD:


Sarah Peters, Legal Liaison/Staff Attorney (Oregon)



Sarah has a JD from the University of Oregon School of Law and a BS in Environmental Science from Indiana University. Sarah graduated from UO Law with certificates in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Public Interest Law, and Pro Bono Work and is a member of the State Bars of Colorado (inactive), Montana, and Oregon. Sarah is on the board of Cascadia Wildlands and Friends of Land Air Water, as well as a member of a Bureau of Land Management Eugene District Resource Advisory Council.

It's ok to be cooperative if they want to help doing something good. But never be fooled into believing ANY "green" group is your friend, or will EVER be for anything that is good, or that isn't about closing things down and shooing us all off ALL the public lands. They are not our friends, they have a specific agenda, and that agenda is never what they say it is. They are all for removing ALL of our uses from ALL public lands - ALL of the groups, as well.

I used to think these people had good motives, but I no longer do. It's all about power, control, and a pseudo religious "green" dogma that has no basis in reality, science, or reason. They will use those (science, etc) when they can, and when it's not in their favor, they will use anything, including bribery, fraud, and just simply getting into office and implementing it with like minded other public employees.

And it won't stop until or unless the vast majority of federal land is returned to the states, who should own and manage them. It is simply impossible to hold federal agencies to account, or exert ANY signficant influence on their management. To them, this is all a one way ratchet... We may hold things off for a while, but we never gain ground- and we lose it constantly - ust like EPA regulations There is only one end-point, and that is no use, zero impact, no human presence.

Read the following:

http://breakthroughjournal.org/content/ ... poce.shtml



http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2012/04/03/1


It's a bit of reading, but I found it interesting. Make sure and have a cup of coffee to help

Power wagon and I share the same viewpoint on this. No sense trying to negotiate with a fundamentalist econazi.

I think a very few of them are starting to get a reality check, and maybe we can help push them back into the real world

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. . .

OldGreen wrote:Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. . .

That's a two way street.

White trash wrote:

OldGreen wrote:Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. . .

That's a two way street.

Yep. It is obvious that is their tactic. The OHV community in the area is acting in kind. I'm sure there are no illusions and no love lost. . .or gained.

OldGreen wrote:

White trash wrote:

OldGreen wrote:Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. . .

That's a two way street.

Yep. It is obvious that is their tactic. The OHV community in the area is acting in kind. I'm sure there are no illusions and no love lost. . .or gained.

The biggest losers in this.... Our public lands, and the people. Not future generations, but our lands.

Despite the prevalent idea that man's use is always harmful to the land, I disagree. Man alters the landscape, but if we're prudent, that "alteration" is not destructive, it is merely "different" than if we did nothing. Which is the same for most wildlife. Most wildlife has an impact, and rarely is it strictly beneficial. For the most part, it's just "different", with improvements to some things, and not for others.

But the "green" philosophy is that any and all impacts by man are highly destructive, in that the "change" is just wrong. This assumption permeates state and federal policy concerning public lands, and until this assumption is no longer the operational philosophy, we'll never gain any ground.

Seems to me, if you read it close, Karieva may be coming to that conclusion...

Sounds like we're talking about evolution here. No one was around to tell the apes that if you keep that up you'll become a civilized man. I'm going out on a limb here and going to say that that was for the best....right?

I'd sure like to think so