Forest travel plan decision will take time

Oct 05, 2009 (The Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- TVLMA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- With the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement at an end, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest's Travel Management Plan is in the hands of the decision makers.

Now it's time to try and come up with a document that strikes a balance between adequate public access and sound environmental practices. That's going to take a while, according to Travel Management Plan Team Leader Cindy Christensen.

Christensen said she recently finished reviewing approximately 400 individual letters and 500 form letters that came in during the public comment period.

In addition, the citizens group Forest Access For All re-submitted a petition asking for open access. The petition is signed by 6,000 people, Christensen said.

She said the public comments will be sorted by concern and a database will be developed to help officials settle on a plan.

"We will analyze the comments to help develop the preferred alternative," Christensen said.

Christensen said that sometime between now and spring a Final Environmental Impact Statement will be issued. The FEIS will include a record of decision describing the preferred alternative and the rationale for selecting it.

A 45-day appeal period will follow. After any appeals are resolved, the forest will develop a Motor Vehicle Use Map reflecting the travel management changes.

"I don't expect the map will be developed before December 2010," Christensen said.

At present, the forest includes about 6,700 miles of routes open to motor vehicle traffic. Cross country travel is permitted within current open areas.

Forest officials say they are seeking a plan that satisfies a high number of users, provides diverse recreational

opportunities and protects the environment. Locally, disagreement over what the plan should be runs deep.

Of six alternatives listed in the DEIS, the most restrictive one, Alternative Six, would designate only 2,300 miles of roads and trails for vehicle use and would prohibit cross-country travel. About 4,400 miles of currently open roads and trails could be shut down.

This option is the one favored by environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, the Hells Canyon Preservation Council and the American Hiking Society. The option has been called the Conservation Organization Alternative.

In a web posting, the Juniper Group, a Sierra Club chapter involved in conservation in Central and Eastern Oregon, says that growing ATV use on the forest adversely impacts habitat, disrupts wildlife and introduces invasive species of plants.

Not only that, motorized use disturbs the peace of the forest, the group says.

"The moccasin, the boot and the horse's hoof have trod the region for centuries," the posting says. "Motor vehicles are harmful invaders with no historical or cultural precedent."

During the public comment period, the Juniper chapter urged people to submit comments in favor of Alternative 6, and provided a form letter for doing so.

But a highly restrictive plan doesn't sit well with local forest users who go to the woods to ride off-highway vehicles, cut wood, hunt, fish, camp, pick berries and mushrooms, and more. In meetings region-wide since the Wallowa-Whitman said it would develop a plan, many people have voiced strong objections.

Union County officials see severely reduced access as a threat to the county's social and cultural structure, and to the economy as well. They've spoken against sweeping closures.

"This tears at the fabric of Union County," said County Commissioner Mark Davidson. "For a lot of people in Union County and Northeast Oregon, the recreational opportunities in the forest are a way of life. I think a lot of the focus for this has been on ATV use, but many of the roads will be closed to other uses."

Davidson said economic consequences, though not easy to quantify, will be felt.

"If there's less access people will be buying fewer ATVs and less gas. We'll also see fewer people coming here from out of the area. They'll find other places to go," he said.

At the other end of the scale from Alternative Six is Alternative One, a no-action option that would leave access at current levels.

In between is Alternative 3, which would designate 5,100 miles of routes for motor vehicle use and would prohibit cross country travel in Wallowa, Baker and Grant counties, while allowing cross country travel in four designated areas in Union and Umatilla counties. According to the DEIS, Alternative Five allows for some resource protection.

Though Union County government favors this alternative, it likely won't be implemented because of planning guidelines and requirements from various public resource agencies.

So when it came to submitting comments, the county board of commissioners adhered to recommendations made by its Travel Management Plan Advisory Committee.

"Barring Alternative 3, we've given a detailed list of roads we feel are critical to remain open," Davidson said.

In a survey conducted this year, the committee identified 283 roads totaling 236 miles that are physically closed, inaccessible, or impossible to locate.

"Those are the ones we identified, but there are certainly more out there," said J.B. Brock, the county's liaison to the committee.

The committee said those roads should be the first ones to be removed from the Forest's road inventory. It also identified four areas within Union County as "priority" areas for motor vehicle access.

Those include the Five Points Creek Area adjacent to the Mount Emily Recreation Area, the South Fork Catherine Creek Trail, the Starkey green dot road system and the Breshears ATV trail system.

Davidson said he didn't want to try and predict which plan alternative will be chosen. He seemed resigned to the fact that some access will be lost, but hopeful that decision makers will take the county's comments to heart.

"We realize there will be some closures because of this process," he said. "We've tried to highlight the areas that we know are critical to our constituents."

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