Siuslaw National Forest

Forest Service to Host Additional Travel Management Open House

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Contacts:
Kathy Fletcher, 541-750-7003
Frank Davis, 541-750-7077
Joni Quarnstrom, 541-750-7075

February 26, 2008

Corvallis, OR - As a way to accommodate as many people as possible interested in the travel rule proposal for future motorized access and motorized use areas on national forests, the Siuslaw National Forest will be hosting an additional open house in Albany on Saturday, March 1.

According to Team Leader, Frank Davis the open house will feature stations where attendees will be able to visit with Forest staff and see maps showing proposed changes to motorized use on the Siuslaw National Forest

The open house will be held from noon until 3 p.m. at the Phoenix Inn located at the intersection of I-5 and Highway 20, exit number 233.

“We’ve gotten a lot of interest in the project during the five open houses we’ve held in Corvallis and on the Coast throughout February”, said Davis. “However we had a request to make one available on Saturday so more people could attend. We are honoring that request”.

A new Travel Rule (36 CFR 21) adopted in 2005 requires that each national forest across the country review its motorized use and publish a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) that shows all the roads, trails and areas on that forest where motor vehicles may be operated, including vehicle types and seasonal restrictions. According to the Rule, areas and routes not shown on the MVUM will be closed to motorized use. This would be a change from the current situation on the Siuslaw which allows motorized use unless designated as closed.

The proposal for which the Forest is seeking public comment includes:

• Limiting street legal motorized vehicle use to Key (major) roads and open Non-Key (project) roads, trails and areas.
• Limiting non-street-legal motorized vehicle use to open Non-Key (project) roads, trails and areas.
• Limiting motorized vehicle use to designated open areas, such as the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and Sand Lake Recreation Area. Management of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and Sand Lake Recreation Area would remain the same.
• Closing Joshua Lane and Collard Lake open sand areas (about 300 total acres) near Florence. A series of problems related to OHV use have developed or worsened which include noise disturbance to nearby residences, trash, traffic through residential neighborhoods, trespass onto adjacent ownerships, no legal right-of-way to access the Collard Lake area, and damage to a sensitive plant community.

Last summer, the Siuslaw National ForestForest hosted Phase I of their Travel Management Project (the Project) by asking the public to help help the forest “round-out” its inventory of roads, trails and areas that have historical off-highway motorized use, including dispersed campsites. It is now time to begin Phase II of the Project, the Environmental Analysis.

All national forests in the country will be going through a travel management planning process to designate roads, trails and areas that will be open for motorized use. Each forest will publish a Motor Vehicle Use Map by 2009 to show designated routes and seasonal restrictions. Under the Travel Management Rule only those routes, areas and dispersed camps displayed on the Motor Vehicle Use Map will remain open for motorized use. Roads, trails and areas not designated as open, will be closed to motorized use. This is a change from the current situation on the Siuslaw which allows motorized use unless designated as closed.

The new Travel Rule was adopted and national forests nationwide are reviewing their current motorized use This is being done largelylargely to address one of the Forest Service Chief’s “four threats” to national forest lands – unmanaged recreation use, especially unmanaged off-highway vehicle use. A National Forest managers believe that a designated system of roads, trails, and areas for motor vehicle use will result in better environmental protection and high-quality access to National Forest System lands.

On January 14, 2008, the Project Scoping letter was mailed to those interested in the process and can be viewed on the Forest web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/. In addition to attending an open house, written comments can be sent to: Frank Davis, Natural Resource Planner, Siuslaw National Forest, P.O Box 11484077 SW Research Way, Corvallis, OR 9733397339-1148; or by e-mail at “comments-pacificnorthwest-siuslaw @fs.fed.us”.

Written comments shall include:

(1) Your name, address, and (if possible) telephone number.
(2) Title of the proposed project on which you are commenting.
(3) Specific facts or comments along with supporting reasons that you believe the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision.

Your comments can help us design better projects, make us aware of issues we don’t already know about, and in general, help us do a better job of planning. Site-specific comments are the most helpful. For example, simply stating that you are opposed to road closures is not as helpful as telling us which road(s) you would like us to leave should remain open and why.

For more information about the Travel Management Rule, or the Project, please visit the web at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/ or call Frank Davis, Project Leader, at 541-750-7077 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

USDA Forest Service, Siuslaw National Forest
Last modified Tuesday, February 26 2008