October 2017 Land Use Report

Land issues, laws, restrictions, etc...

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Grumpy
Peak Putters' Land-Use Coordinator
Peak Putters' Land-Use Coordinator
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October 2017 Land Use Report

Postby Grumpy » Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:33 am

1 - Not strictly lands, but Ed Campbell has resigned as WA. Director. No idea why. Arleen Brooks has stepped up to fill in.

2 - As has been discussed, Oregon Wild and "others' have filed suit to halt development of 137 miles of "new" trails on the Ochoco NF east of Prineville, OR. Thing is, these trails were already on the ground. This project just cleans things up, and makes a number of user created trails legal. Now BlueRibbon Coalition, PNW4WDA, and a couple of other OHV groups, have joined the action with the USFS. Good to see PNW step up. Updates will be posted as they become available.

Vehicle Riders Move to Join Ochoco Lawsuit

"PORTLAND, OR (September 28, 2017) – Off-highway vehicle groups have filed to become parties in a lawsuit involving vehicle access to central Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest. The groups seek to defend the Forest Service’s Summit Trail Project decision, which designates routes for vehicle travel. The case was filed by WildEarth Guardians, Oregon Wild, the Sierra Club, and Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and is assigned to Judge Patricia Sullivan, in the Pendleton Division of the U.S. District of Oregon.

A response to the motion is due in mid-October. It is likely that the merits of the case will be presented to the Court in early 2018.

“This project reflects excruciating analysis and patience by the agency and affected user groups,” said Larry Ulrich, President of the Ochoco Trail Riders. “This decision does not imperil wildlife or threaten new motorized access. It reduces historical trail mileage and the approved trails are carefully designated to minimize impacts to resources and provide a spectrum of visitor opportunities. This is a state of the art effort by the Forest Service which should be applauded, not overturned,” Ulrich concluded.

The Trail Riders are joined in the motion by the Oregon Motorcycle Riders Association, the Deschutes County 4 Wheelers, the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, and the BlueRibbon Coalition. The vehicle groups are seeking to defend the decision in court alongside the U.S. Forest Service. They are represented by Paul Turcke of Boise, Idaho."

3 - There is a new project on the Olympic NF called Calawah OHV Project. The 30 day comment period is now open. Here's a description:

The Preliminary Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Calawah Off-highway Vehicle (OHV) Project is now available for a 30-day public review and comment period. The preliminary EA discloses an analysis of environmental effects for the proposed action. The proposed action addresses ongoing unauthorized OHV use on the Olympic National Forest. The proposed action would designate about 22 miles of National Forest System Roads and unauthorized user created OHV trails for use and construct about 0.25 miles of new OHV trail. Designated roads and trails would be restricted to OHVs 50 inches wide or less. In order to focus use on the proposed OHV trail network and reduce resource impacts, about 6.6 miles of existing unauthorized user-created trails would be rehabilitated as part of the proposed action.

Given history, and the fact they are pushing a wilderness bill, I expect Wild Olympics to file suit to stop the project. Dan Boeholt and his crew have been successful is stopping this bill for the last 4 or 5 years.

4 - It's BlueRibbon BOD election time again, and Mona Drake from Deschutes County 4 Wheelers has jumped in the race. I recommend those of us who are member to support Mona. With the new legal action on the Ochoco, it would be a major benefit to have someone directly involved with those trails helping guide the process.
Dave
Have Scout, will wheel...Someday...Maybe


Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon80
-By driving a Scout, you my friend have recycled, which is more than those pansy Prius owners can say.
-I love driving a piece of history that was nearly lost.

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SPR
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Re: October 2017 Land Use Report

Postby SPR » Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:05 pm

Thanks Dave, I'll reference your report in meeting minutes for Oct.
I don't Text (at least not very well), I eat Blackberrys, and I only Twitter after sex...


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