Group challenges planned eastern Oregon ATV area

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.

But the Hells Canyon Preservation Council contends the plan will damage summer elk range in the Sled Springs area, and that increased OHV use will displace the herd.

“The Hells Canyon Preservation Council certainly isn’t the only entity concerned about the negative effects this project poses to local wildlife,” says council attorney Jennifer Schwartz. “In addition to (the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ), a broad coalition of sportsmen and the Nez Perce Tribe have also raised wildlife-related concerns.

The plan designates a 144-mile trail system for ATVs and other off-road vehicles, but it also closes 91 miles of roads to use of any kind, reducing the total miles of roads and motorized pathways in the area from 218 to 140 miles while eliminating unregulated cross-country travel, the Forest Service said.

The decision strikes "a reasonable balance among competing interest groups, individuals, and governments while conserving the lands and resources that I am responsible for managing on the Wallowa Valley Ranger District," said District Ranger Kenneth Gebhardt.

The decision comes in the context of a larger effort by the Wallowa-Whitman and other national forests to decide where off-highway vehicles should be allowed and where they should not be.

The Wallowa-Whitman has more miles of roads -- about 9,000 -- than the Oregon Department of Transportation maintains.

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Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/12/group_challenges_planned_easte.html

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