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USFS - Motorized Access Plan - Your Comments Requestcd
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(June, 2008) The Forest Service is requesting public comment on its proposed Travel Management Plan for the Deschutes National Forest. The proposals include:
- • options and criteria for providing motorized acess for dispersed camping
- • specific areas that could be considered for developing specialized motorized trail systems.
The potential impact of the 300' rule contained in the proposals is considerable given the large
number of roads and trails in the Metolius Basin (even after many closures) . The maps here are the Metolius portions of maps of the entire Deschutes-Ochoco Forests indicating Motorized Travel Designations (right) and Motorized Access for Dispersed Camping (below). Click on the maps to bring up larger versions and access to the map keys.
Complete maps and a detailed description of the Travel Management Plan can be found at the Forest Service's Travel Management site. An Initial Scoping Letter including a form for your response to the plan is available as well, Your comments would be appreciated and should be posted by the week of by June 15.
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Destination Resorts - On Appeal
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(March, 2008) Opinions from Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) regarding Jefferson County's new Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance and destination resort mapping were handed down on February 8th. The results from Friends' perspective were mixed ... click for a comprehensive summary
Friends will join Central Oregon Landwatch in an appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals on three issues related to the destination resort findings:
- Inadequate protection of the groundwater that feeds the Metolius
- Failure to do an adequate inventory of Metolius Basin resources prior to mapping potential resort sites
- Failure to require an adequate assessment of the impact of natural disasters (fire) in the mapped areas
As the 2007 legislative session concluded Oregon's Governor, Ted Kulongoski, indicated that he did not support SB 30 to save the Metolius, preferring instead to see the issue resolved through the state's land use planning process. The governor outlined his position in a letter to Representative Diane Rosenbaum, chair of the House Rules Committee where the bill was being considered:
- "I believe the Metolius basin is a special place that deserves special protection.
Also, I believe Jefferson County’s “re-mapping” to allow the county to evaluate particular proposals to site destination resorts in the Metolius Basin should be assessed on the basis of its compliance with the legal standards and procedures set forth in state and local law. I understand there are several challenges to the county’s decision now before the Land Use Board of Appeals. I support following the established processes for resolving those challenges as they relate to land use decisions. For this reason, I do not support Senate Bill 30."
The governor did, however, indicate that he was directing the Oregon Departments of Water Resources, Fish and Wildlife, and Environmental Quality to assess whether or not existing laws were adequate to protect the water and wildlife resources of the Metolius and that he would support legislative remedies if existing laws were found to be inadequate. On review, each of these agencies has identified concerns about the impacts of resorts in and near the Metolius Basin, that these concerns are not addressed by current law, and that none of the three agencies possesses any power to prevent the construction of resorts in or near the Metolius Basin. Their conclusion:
In order to protect the Metolius, new legislative solutions are needed.
Governor Kulongoski needs to be reminded of his commitment. He can be reached at:
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503.378.4582
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160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, Oregon 97301
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Copies of LUBA's opinions and briefs of the appeals made by Friends and other appellants are available for your review:
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Metolius Stream Restoration
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(March, 2008) The Forest Service is set to move ahead with its Metolius River Wood Restoration Project pending any appeal of the final proposal. The purpose of the project is to restore fish habitat in the Metolius in anticipation of the return of chinook salmon to the river. The project will involve placement of ponderosa logs to create pools for resting and rearing of migrating fish. Logs will be placed in approximately 173 sites along a 9.8 mile stretch of the river from Riverside Campground to Bridge 99, The section of the river below Bridge 99 to Candle Creek was originally proposed as part of the project, but concerns about boater safety prompted a change in the original plan. A detailed description of the original proposals in the November, 2006 Forest Service Newsletter from the Sisters Ranger District is available for your study as is a copy of he Environmental Analysis of the project.
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Basin Thinning
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(February, 2008) Mild weather earlier this winter meant renewed thinning operations were able to get underway in the basin unhindered by excessive snow. By mid February Melcher Brothers of Lebanon, Oregon, has nearly completed work on a the 349 acre Green Thin operation on both sides of Road 14 about three miles in from Highway 20.
There will be no smoke in the basin from this operation. Melcher Brothers asked the Forest Service that they be allowed to remove the debris/slash in the new contract and utilize it rather than pile and burn. As a result, not only have logs have been transported to nearby mills, but slash has been chipped and hauled for use as fuel.
This project is a local example of the much broader Healthy Forest Initiative undertaken by the Forest Service nationally beginning in 2002 and resulting in over 2,000,000 acres of fuels reduction work.
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Thank-You Oregon
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(November, 2007) Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 49 to limit the extent of Measure 37 land use claims. Small, individual claims under the new law continue to be supported, but large scale development that threatened the state's agricultural and forest land are prevented.
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