Closures rankle ATVers: Move by Umatilla forest to close parts of popular roads may lead to formation of group interested in decision making

Eric Barker

POMEROY -- In a move to increase safety, some of the main roads in the Blue Mountains have been closed to all-terrain vehicle traffic by Umatilla National Forest officials.

The change has riled local ATV riders, who plan to form a group to protest the closures and to have a stronger voice in future management decisions.

Monte Fujishin, ranger of the Pomeroy Ranger District, said a national travel planning rule implemented in 2005 compelled the forest to take a look at all of the roads on the forest where Washington state motor vehicle rules apply and determine if having full-sized vehicles and smaller off-road ATVs and off-road motorcycles was safe.

The forest decided about 76 miles of some of the forest's main access routes, including 50 miles on the Pomeroy district, were not safe for off-road vehicles. The change does not affect street-legal vehicles.
For a complete list of the affected roadways, see the list at the end of this article.

"What we are trying to do is make decisions to keep people as safe as we can on our road system," Fujishin said. "I realize some people don't agree that is our job."

Most of the roads on the district remain open to ATV use. But in some places the closure will make it impossible for ATVers to ride from one area to another, and will also eliminate some popular loop rides.

"I think it's insane," said Jim Storey of Pomeroy. "That road up there is plenty wide for two cars. Why isn't it wide enough for a car and a four-wheeler?"

Storey and others will hold a 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday at Donna's Drive-In in Pomeroy to organize an ATV group and protest the move by the Forest Service.

"We would like to have even people from Lewiston or Clarkston, they all use our mountains," he said. "We would just like to have our mountains back."

Ben Keller, Garfield County undersheriff, also is part of the move to form a local ATV group to give riders more of a voice in Forest Service decisions. Keller worked last year to pass an ordinance allowing ATVs to ride on Pomeroy and Garfield County roads so people could leave their homes and head into the mountains.

"We did push for an (ATV) ordinance and we got it last year and we have had zero problems with it," he said.
Keller also rides on forest roads in Idaho and said he doesn't understand the difference.

"Where I ride in Idaho, it is big business. Little towns make a lot of money off of four-wheelers. It is going to benefit everybody if they allow more access."

Fujishin said it is possible some of the recently closed roads can be reopened. Now that specific safety issues have been identified on specific road sections, forest officials will see if there is anything that can be done to fix the problems.

"Now we can go back and look at the roads individually and see if there is mitigation we can do and make them safe for mixed use," he said. "It is going to take time. Everyone is going to be different. It is going to take looking at each road system and seeing what about it was unsafe and seeing what we can do about it."

There have also been discussions about completing a long-planned ATV trail known as the North/South Route that would parallel the 40 Road that leads from Pomeroy across the mountains to Troy, Ore. Fujishin said the agency has completed environmental analysis needed for the trail, but has to find money to build it.

Keller said the proposed ATV group would be interested in helping build the route.

"I think we are going to have enough people in this club or group, if we wanted to do a project, that is something we can do, if they just allowed us."

Maps of the closed section are available on the Umatilla National Forest Web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/ or at forest offices.

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Source: http://dailyme.com/story/2010042900003143/closures-rankle-atvers-move-umatilla-forest.html

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