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Wednesday, July 6, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Metolius Loops Bikeway Students selected for conference
designation removed
By Ron thorkildson
Correspondent
The Oregon State Parks
and Recreation Commission
voted to remove the Metolius
Loops Scenic Bikeway desig-
nation at their June 29 public
meeting in Lebanon.
The change, which has
long been expected, resolves
a conflict with the pre-exist-
ing federal Wild and Scenic
River Management Plan that
preserves the natural qualities
of the Camp Sherman area by
limiting promotions, among
other things.
The State Scenic Bikeway
designation is a promotional
designation. Even without
the label “Scenic Bikeway,”
all public roads in the area
are available and open for
bicycling.
The Metolius Loops State
Scenic Bikeway was desig-
nated in 2011, and like all
bikeways, was promoted
nationally and internation-
ally online and in print by the
Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department, its program part-
ner Travel Oregon, and local
bicycle and tourism propo-
nents. This promotional mis-
sion unintentionally conflicted
with the Metolius Wild and
Scenic River Management
Plan which was signed in
1997 by the Forest Service,
following environmental
analysis and public comment.
The Metolius plan calls for
protecting the area’s primi-
tive, historic character and
preserving “Outstandingly
Remarkable Values” by not
permitting entities to promote
the area, reducing conges-
tion, managing signage to
perpetuate historic character,
and other standards. A goal is
to limit conflict and crowd-
ing in the Metolius Basin to
maintain a quality visitor rec-
reation experience.
After discovering the
problem two years ago, Camp
Sherman residents, bikeway
proponents, and staff with
the U.S. Forest Service and
OPRD tried unsuccessfully to
resolve the inherent conflict
between the two designations.
Because bikeways have to
complement existing plans,
the Metolius Loops route
probably wouldn’t earn des-
ignation if proposed today.
Since the Metolius bike-
way was never signed, noth-
ing will change on the ground
at Camp Sherman with
the removal of the Scenic
Bikeway designation. Cycling
will still be legal on those
public roads, though the route
will no longer be promoted
by the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department and
Travel Oregon.
Two Sisters High School
students have been selected
to attend an astronomy-
related conference in Carson
City, Nevada this summer.
Alex Burroughs and Rylee
Funk are president and vice
president of the student divi-
sion of the Sisters Astronomy
Club, who have recently been
active in the citizen science
RECON program. Citizen
science is scientific research
conducted by amateur or non-
professional scientists.
RECON, an acronym
for Research and Education
Collaborative Occultation
Network, is a project
designed to determine the size
of rocky, icy bodies that orbit
the sun beyond the planet
Neptune. Established and
run by Dr. Marc Buie of the
Southwest Research Institute
in Boulder, Colorado, and
Professor John Keller at
California Polytechnic State
University San Luis Obispo,
California, the project
employs the method of stel-
lar occultation to make this
measurement.
An occultation occurs
when an object in our solar
photo provided
Sisters high School students Alex Burroughs (l) and Rylee Funk will
attend an astronomy-related science conference this summer.
system moves in front of a
distant star, causing the star
to disappear for a brief period
of time. The amount of time
the star is hidden from view
by the intervening body is
proportional to the size and
shape of the body.
Burroughs and Funk were
among only eight students
chosen from over 50 par-
ticipating communities to
attend the RECON meeting.
All costs associated with the
conference, including travel,
food and lodging, will be
covered by RECON.
“Both these girls have
such passion for astronomy.
Going to this conference is
a great opportunity for them
to expand their understand-
ing and participate in the
astronomy community,” said
Sisters High School teacher
Rima Givot.
The two-and-a-half day
meeting will be held in early
August at the Jack C. Davis
Observatory at Western
Nevada College. The goals
of the meeting include refin-
ing team procedures and
practices, resolving tech-
nical issues, and sharing
RECON curricula activities
for engaging students in the
project.
RECON is funded by the
National Science Foundation.
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Reservations required
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