Forest order limits OHV use near lake

Written by Record Searchlight

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Drivers of off-highway vehicles (OHV) have been ordered to stay on national forest roads in the Jones Valley and Silverthorn areas on the Pit River arm of Lake Shasta.

The order was issued by Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials to give plants a chance to grow in areas that were burned in the 1999 Jones Fire and 2004 Bear Fire, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Jerry Mooney said Friday.

More OHV drivers were using the areas, making it difficult for ground cover, bushes and trees to make a comeback, forest officials said.

The order prohibits driving motor vehicles off roads above Lake Shasta's high-water mark at an elevation of 1,069 feet in the closure area. Driving below the high-water mark is permitted, Mooney said.

Source: http://www.redding.com/news/2009/oct/17/north-state-in-brief-oct-17-2009/

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Community Voices

“As a rancher who leases public lands for cattle, I’ve seen my share of cut fences and rangeland damaged by ORV use. I’ve also experienced ORV trespass onto my private lands. But I’ve had no way to identify the culprits when reporting trespass or illegal ORV use to local law enforcement. Congress should require that ORVs used on public lands have visible identification plates or decals. Doing so would remove the anonymity enjoyed by ORV riders who are bent on breaking the rules.”

- Ambers Thornburgh, second-generation rancher from Oregon who grazes cattle on his private land and adjacent lands leased from the Bureau of Land Management