Big changes are coming to the Mt. Hood National Forest. Soon, the days of wide open access for OHV riders will be gone. For others, expect more quiet time in the forest with fewer noisy disruptions from off road vehicles.
These changes are outlined in a new off road travel plan that was just released by forest officials. If it goes through, off roading will be banned in most of the Mt. Hood National Forest, except for six areas that are scattered around the mountain.
Here’s a quick look at what’s being proposed:
Right Now:
- Off roading is allowed on about 2500 miles of roads and trails.
- Off roaders can drive off trails, officially known as cross country travel, on about 395,000 acres of the forest.
Under the new plan:
- Off roading is allowed in six areas with about 221 miles of roads and trails.
- Cross country travel is banned.
Courtesy NOAA
The history behind this goes back a little more than a decade. Starting in the late 1990′s, OHV use skyrocketed around the country. Forest officials became worried about the damage caused by off road vehicles that were getting bigger, faster and more powerful. In 2004, the U.S. Forest Service named unmanaged off roading as one of the four top threats to National Forests and Grasslands. The following year, it issued a new rule requiring all National Forests to draw up plans to control the use of OHVs. While recognizing off roading as a legitimate use of forests, federal officials said something had to be done to protect the natural resources.
The plan proposed for Mt. Hood calls for six OHV areas, some of which are controversial with environmental groups.
Bear Creek, on the north side of the mountain near Laurence Lake, calls for building 39 miles of new trails for off road motorcycles and brings off roading to an area where it hasn’t been before.
La Dee Flats, an area near Estacada, has seen heavy OHV use in the past. Environmentalists object that one of the trails goes right between two wilderness areas.
Gibson Prairie straddles the Hood River/Wasco County line northeast of Mt. Hood. The area is shared by horse riders, mountain bikers and off roaders. Forest officials expected the shared use to continue.
McCubbins Gulch near the intersection of Highways 26 and 216 is another area that already gets heavy OHV use.
Peavine, located in southern Clackamas County, is somewhat remote and accessible via forest service roads.
Rock Creek, in the eastern part of the forest, is controversial because it’s near a residential area. Some neighbors welcome the idea of having OHV access nearby while others worry about the noise and pollution.
To learn more, see the DEIS for the Mt. Hood Off-highway Vehicle Travel Management Plan. It lists four alternatives, ranging from doing nothing (very unlikely) to reducing to OHV travel to 3 areas with 96 miles of roads and trails. Mt. Hood officials are calling for Alternative 2 to be approved.
Today’s announcement kicks off a 60-day period of public comment. See the Mt. Hood travel management webpage for information on where to send letters or e-mail.
Forest officials have also scheduled two public hearings.
September 15
University Place Hotel & Conference Center
310 SW Lincoln
Portland
September 16
Hood River Inn
1108 East Marine Way
Hood River
Both meetings start at 6pm.
ATV and motorcycle riders need a place to use their bikes. We are (otherwise) law abiding American citizens who have paid for our recreation through OHV FEES. This new Travel proposal is just a trap for off-road recreationists. We are going to be painted into a corner. And we are like wild cats in a corner.
You (naturaloregon.org, Mt Hood NF) would be well served by advocating MORE PLACES and not LESS. People make or use the existing trails because you have not provided any legal OHV areas for them. Your poorly thought out plans are going to encourage rogue trail making, more environmental damage, and disdain for the authorities of the trails.
A trail that is established does not invite cross-country riding, and we would never advocate cross country riding or ANY damage to the forest anyway, so stop all the rhetoric! Do you realize we clean up others’ junk, WE are the people that help injured hikers and lost citizens out of the woods on our ATVs, we pack our stuff out just like you, and we enjoy the natural resource as much -IF NOT MORE- than non-motor users. When we do see hikers/horse people we are respectful of your RIGHT to enjoy the natural environment, just as you should respect OUR RIGHT to enjoy it..you have alot of nerve. A lot.
The Forest Service in Mt Hood NF itself does more forest floor damage in a year than a local group of dirt bikers ever could. Forest Service facilitates:
- massive silt/sediment from operating trackhoes and CATs ALL OVER THE AREAS(not just on established TRAILS)
- invasive species and damaging native flora.
- clearcutting/logging, which damages forest floors and species habitat.
-fertilizers, mountain boomer poisons, oil and diesel spills from contractor’s equipment
- road obliteration, where the excavated asphalt is broken into little pieces and discarded in the ditch(Fish Creek,4510/20 Rds)
-deep digs/ditches and giant burms, to close already-established roads and trails. In some cases there are giant digs that are 12 feet deep,12 feet wide and 40 feet long, and more. Occasionally, even MORE environmental damage occurs when the ATVers have to cut around these GIANT ENVIRONMENTAL SCARS, that are easily breached, and will always be easily breached. How ridiculous!
In Fish Creek, The ‘Forest’ apparently approved the obliteration of 45 road, and the discarding of BROKEN UP ASPHALT into the road bed and ditches all the way down that 18 mile road, in a WATERSHED area!!(go look) Can you imagine the environmental impact of that ONE Forest Service Project??? What frickin hypocrites!!!
We are absolutely blown away at the EXPENSES you have all gone to, to keep a minor problem in check. What a waste of our money and destruction to the forests in the process….
This ‘ATV problem’ is not unlike The Drug War or Prohibition, really. Do you really want to repeat those lost wars? Because you certainly will. ATVs are here to stay, so accommodate them or keep going like you have, basically causing forest damage through POOR management, allthewhile not stopping ATV use.
Oh, the vanity to think you can stop people from exploring the great outdoors on an OHV. Get Real.
There will need to be more law enforcement than you/we can afford, which will ultimately be ineffective. Theres alot of woods in Oregon. As well, theres alot of ATVs, offroad bikes, and riders who have a RIGHT to be there, and are not going to stop riding because you want it QUIET when you finally come out.
Pat Ryan
Please forward this to the Mt. Hood Ranger District and any other interested parties.
I strongly agree with the opinon’s expressed by Mr. Ryan. Thank you for speaking your mind and more importantly, truths. 4×4 enthusiast are as respectful to our forest as any other nature user. Hold individuals responsible not the 4×4 community. Would you go as far as to tell skiers or snowboarders they are destroying the slopes because they are using them? Must they cease enjoying their activities to preserve the mountain? I think I’ve made my point.
Its such a shame that we live in this wonderful part of the country, and the areas in which we can ride are being closed more and more every year. Such a shame.
Mt. Hood National Forest encompasses a 1.6 million acre region. According to this article, OHV riders could cross county ride on approximately a quarter of the forest! Can someone please foreward me a map of the 395,000 acres and 2500 miles of road and trail that are still open to ohv use? My family currently restricts our off-road use to established areas (as do all other ohv users I know), however these areas are often overcrowded. With the new forest management plan due later this year, I would like to experience riding in these areas before they become off limits. Adavolt@yahoo.com Thanks-Adam
At this point I don’t know if this has passed, but I sincerely hope it does NOT. I would support eliminating cross-country travel, but I think the forest should remain OPEN as it otherwise is to OHV use. Why cut the number of miles of trails by over 90% just because of a few bad apples? I’m getting seriously tired of the complaint of “noisy OHVs” — it’s an easy complaint to make. I also doubt there are all that many people out in the forest looking for solitude. If you want solitude, GO TO ALASKA. Oregon is pretty heavily populated and you aren’t going to get solitude here. Stop shutting down our riding areas.
This project is on hold for now. Mt. Hood National Forest decided in April it needed to do some additional environmental reviews.
That story is at:
Mt. Hood Delays Decision On ATV Plan
Everyone needs to go to these hearings and voice there opinion!!!!
The decision has been made. Please see Most Of Mt. Hood Forest Goes Off Limits To Off Roading
Dennis
Natural Oregon
my name is cody and im 19 and im actually studiens natural resources and i belive your looking at the picture wrong. your looking at how much of the forest is being ruined when you should look at how much of the forest is not being ruined. where i go riding at McCubbins Gulch for instance you never see people off road because there is so much good and respectable trail open to who ever want to ride on it. Every year there are alot of volunteers that go out on trails and pick up bebris and remove sections of logs that may block both trails and or roads. Again there volunteers they dont get paid and there doing it to help make it not only better and mor fun for familys like us but they strive to make our environment better. ODFW enforces exaust that cant be over so many decibels and has to be environmentaly friendly. IF a persons exaust does not meet these requirements if They could risk being ticketed but the police that patrol and they must replace the pipe with a odfw certified or a exause that has a spark arrester. just because you think that we are tearing up my hood national forest doesnt mean we really are. and where not going to pollute the air with better state regulations. infact i invite you to come out with my family, friends and i and see how much fun it really is and you will get a different perspective on in.
Thank you.