Oregon

Kathleen Ellyn

The Hells Canyon Preservation Council (HCPC) last week filed a lawsuit to block the Sled Springs OHV Project planned by the Forest Service.

The project would establish a 144-mile trail system for Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) within the broader, nearly 40,000-acre Sled Spring Wildlife Management Unit.

Matthew Presusch

An environmental group is challenging in court a proposed off-highway vehicle area in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest of northeast Oregon.

The U.S. Forest Service plans to designate the Sled Springs OHV Trail System in 38,283 acres of federal forest north of Enterprise.

EUGENE, Oregon, December 7, 2009 (ENS) - Five environmental groups filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Forest Service to stop construction of a new road for off-road vehicles in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area in the Suislaw National Forest.

The lawsuit challenges the Forest Service’s approval of the Riley Ranch Access Project, which involves building a 14 to 24 foot wide motor vehicle route through an inventoried roadless area and also a section of the Oregon Dunes that has long been closed to motor vehicle use.

"The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is something to truly behold," says Josh Laughlin of Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands. "We have a world-class treasure right here in our backyard that is being seriously damaged by reckless and illegal ORV activity. It is time to draw a line in the sand."

Terry Richard

Members of central Oregon's Friends of the Oregon Badlands, along with Prineville Bureau of Land Management employee Gavin Hoban, have been presented the Public Lands Foundation's Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation and Citation.

The Badlands Wilderness Area was designated this year by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30. The award was presented Dec. 8 in Portland.

Sarah Peters

Five environmental groups jointly filed a lawsuit today against the United States Forest Service to stop construction of a new road for off-road vehicles (ORVs) in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (Oregon Dunes). The lawsuit challenges the Forest Service’s approval of the “Riley Ranch Access Project,” which involves building a 14- to 24-foot wide motor vehicle route through the heart of both an Inventoried Roadless Area and a section of the Oregon Dunes that has long been closed to motor vehicle use. The groups are particularly concerned that the new road will exacerbate existing problems with unlawful ORV riding within the dunes’ unique and highly sensitive habitats.

“The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is something to truly behold,” says Josh Laughlin of Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands. “We have a world-class treasure right here in our backyard that is being seriously damaged by reckless and illegal ORV activity. It is time to draw a line in the sand.”

Dennis Newman

A coalition of Oregon and Western environmental groups is suing to block the construction of a new road for OHVs in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Called the Riley Ranch Access Project, this new route would allow off road vehicles into an area of the dunes where they’ve never been allowed before.

“The Oregon Dunes already contain thousands of acres open to ORVs,” says Noah Greenwald, with the Center for Biological Diversity.  “Creating a new road in the roadless area is not necessary or in the public interest.”

REEDSPORT, Ore. (AP) - Conservation groups are suing the U.S. Forest Service over plans to build a new trail for off-road vehicles on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation area.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Eugene.

Kate McCarthy

For most of my 92 years, I've hiked the trails of Mount Hood National Forest. Through the decades, I've witnessed many changes on the mountain -- some driven by nature, others initiated by humans. From my vantage point, here on my family's property between Hood River and the mountain, the growing pressure that off-road vehicles are putting on Mount Hood reinforces the need for strong protection.

The natural beauty of Mount Hood is part of my personal history, and a desire to preserve it for future generations is why I proudly supported the wilderness legislation enacted last year. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer worked hard to make that happen, but now the mountain is facing another challenge that could compromise that hard work.

Kate Ramsayer

The juniper woodlands and sagebrush-covered stretches of Cline Buttes draw hikers, mountain bikers, equestrian and off-highway vehicle riders looking for a place to play near Redmond and Sisters.

Over the years, people have created a network of trails on and around the buttes — some on Bureau of Land Management land, and some edging into private property.