Selma OR

Written by Rhonda H., Selma, OR

"I do a lot of hiking on the rural BLM lands adjacent to my home. A few years ago, I became alarmed when I began seeing OHV riders with brush-cutting tools and chainsaws strapped onto their motorcycles as they passed by me on my hikes. I became suspicious, and soon I discovered that several local riders were systematically creating a huge network of illegal trails on BLM lands, cutting all the trees and brush that barred their way. I then personally showed a BLM Enforcement Officer on-site evidence of several of these trails; but two years later, no action has been taken to close these trails, or to catch the perpetrators. The BLM claims that budgetary restrictions keep them from tracking all the damage being caused by OHV riders, so enforcement on the lands administered by them is currently not taking place at all in this part of Southern Oregon. Meanwhile, these user-created trails continue to multiply."

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Community Voices

“During the past decade, I have personally had six out of seven elk hunts ruined by the careless intrusions of ATV operators. This epidemic has forced me to abandon one prime hunting area after another, only to encounter the same situation elsewhere. The shameful part of this picture is that the overwhelming majority of these ATV’ers are young and healthy, not decrepit or physically challenged. Maybe these riders would be more respectful of other people's outdoor experience if they knew we could ID them."

- Bill Sustrich, Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers