Letter: A quieter Mount Hood

I applaud the U.S. Forest Service decision to restrict off-highway vehicles to four designated playgrounds on Mount Hood. While this creates what I consider to be an overly generous number of trails for a user group that comprises less than 1 percent of forest visitors, it does limit OHVs to areas of high current use and restricts them from many sensitive areas in the forest.

I regularly visit Mount Hood to hike, bird-watch, practice animal tracking, and learn about our abundant native plants and fungi. These recreational pursuits are destroyed by the proximity of OHVs and the creation of new motorized trails. The opposite, of course, is not true: The activities of a birder in the forest do not ruin the experience of an off-roader nearby.

Striking an appropriate balance in managing all types of recreational activities -- as the Forest Service attempts to do -- must take into account the exclusionary nature of one activity over others.

CANDACE LARSON
Southeast Portland

--

Source: http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2010/08/letters_sales_tax_mount_hood_o.html

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites