Oregon

Matthew Preusch

LA GRANDE -- Next time you go to hike or camp in your favorite national forest, you're likely to hear fewer ATVs revving up.

And if you like to ride your dirt bikes or four-wheeler in the woods, you will soon have fewer places you're allowed to do it.

Checkpoints, quarantines, road signs and an emergency response fund: The 2009 Legislature spent the last six months revamping the state’s efforts to combat unwelcome invaders, whether they be fish, bugs or weeds.

And perhaps the most visible effect of the legislative onslaught will have originated in Bend: new signs that will be posted along state highways in appreciation of groups that commit to battling roadside noxious weeds.

Ariel Wesler

21-year old William Hudson is behind bars after trying to speed away from police on his ATV without a helmet while intoxicated.

Hudson allegedly burst into a friend's house earlier Thursday night and picked a fight at a home on Indian Circle. The incident was reported to police. They located Hudson near Southwest Salmon and 23rd around 11-30 but he sped off.

A Cumberland County man wanted by authorities in at least two counties is alleged to have attempted to run over a Monterey police officer who was attempting to take him into custody.

A second man, who had just been released from serving time in prison on drug charges, was taken into custody and charged with manufacture of methamphetamine, the Hilltop Express reported this week.

Paul Fattig

HELLGATE — Logs and large branches crisscross the old road like so many giant pickup sticks.

A few feet farther down the road, dirt berms that would cause a military tank driver to sweat bullets jut up every 100 feet or so as the road meanders through the forest down toward the Rogue River.

Brian MacMillan

You're supposed to see tracks left by bikers and hikers on the Peterson Ridge trail in Sisters. They're the only ones allowed here and it's clearly marked that way. This weekend, several ATV riders rode down this trail and heavily damaged it.

"Every time I hear of a motorized user who's going on non-motorized trails, I just get heartbroken. It's thousands of hours of volunteer work almost down the drain," says Woody Starr with the Central Oregon Trail Alliance.

Andrea Calcagno

NEAR JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- According to a new BLM report, off-highway vehicle trails in the Timber Mountain area could be significantly reduced.

The Bureau of Land Management released a draft of an environmental impact statement that proposes a 60 to 90 percent reduction of trails in the Timber Mountain area, also known as John's Peak. The plan is designed to protect BLM recreational land from negative environmental impact.

For the first time, off road vehicles are banned from the Ann's Butte area south of Sunriver off Spring River Road. "We've got the actual damage on the ground, erosion is happening as a result of off road motorized traffic," said Rolondo Mendez, Deputy District Ranger with the U.S. Forest Service.

The US Forest Service will now post signs and have law enforcement patrolling the area. Neighbors are relieved, a dozen of them started the Friends of Ann's Butte after finding trash and a lot of the natural resources destroyed. One spokesperson asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "It's hard to live with on a daily basis, it's depressing, it's just a horrible thing to see right in your back yard," he said.

Paul Fattig

Starting with the new year, all youth under 16 operating an all-terrain vehicle on public land must be supervised by an adult who has completed a state-approved safety-training class.

The youth will be required to complete the safety-training course, as well, and meet rider-fit guidelines for his or her vehicle.