Wednesday, December 20, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
USFS closer to permit proposal
By Stephen Hamway
The Bulletin
BEND (AP) — After eight
months and more than 500
comments from Oregonians,
the U.S. Forest Service is clos-
ing in on a proposal that could
protect Central Oregon’s most
scenic areas from overuse.
The Forest Service kicked
off the project in the spring
by holding public meetings to
gauge interest in changing the
way trails and campgrounds
in five popular wilderness
areas, spanning up to 530,000
acres in the Deschutes and
Willamette national forests,
are managed. Today, officials
are optimistic a decision for
the project — known as the
Central Cascade Wilderness
Strategies Project — will be
released by summer.
“Folks understand and
agree that there’s a need to fig-
ure something else out,” said
Matt Peterson, project leader
for the Willamette National
Forest.
As Central Oregon and its
tourism sector have grown in
recent years, the number of
visitors to nearby public lands
has increased as well.
The region’s wilderness
areas — lands governed by
the federal Wilderness Act of
1964, which are held to stricter
standards for protection and
enhancement than the rest of
the forest — have not been
insulated from the growth.
According to a document
released in May, visitation to
the five most-used trails in the
Three Sisters Wilderness Area
increased by between 249 and
878 percent between 1991 and
2016. The increase has led to
additional trash, tree damage
and soil erosion in the wilder-
ness areas.
“Current trends suggest
that the character and condi-
tion of these wilderness areas
are being negatively affected
to the degree that changes to
visitor management area (are)
warranted,” the document
reads.
Around a year ago, the
Forest Service began look-
ing at visitor use across seven
wilderness areas with an
eye toward preserving those
areas for future generations.
Two public meetings held in
Bend during March each drew
around 100 people, according
to Beth Peer, special project
coordinator for the Deschutes
National Forest.
At the end of May, the
Forest Service released a pro-
posal for the affected wilder-
ness areas, which discussed
creating a limited entry per-
mit system for certain day-use
areas and all overnight camp-
ers in wilderness areas, along
with imposing restrictions
on campfires above certain
elevations.
Peer said the proposal drew
more than 500 comments,
from approval to refusal to
support any new regulations.
In a November newsletter,
the Forest Service noted that
many of those commenting
were concerned the proposal
was too broad and supported
restrictions on only the busiest
trails in the wilderness areas.
Peer added that a number of
comments expressed concerns
about the loss of spontaneity
that would result from a more
advanced permit system, but
noted that the current system
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has required a free self-issue
permit at all wilderness trail-
heads for around 20 years.
“We feel like we’re build-
ing the work done in the
1990s,” Peer said.
Dana Hendricks, regional
representative for the Pacific
Crest Trail Association, said
the organization met with
Forest Service officials early
in the summer to talk about
the project. Hendricks said
hikers coming through Oregon
on the Pacific Crest Trail have
to deal with a confusing mix
of permits in wilderness areas
along the trail. Going to one
standard permit could simplify
the process, Hendricks said.
“These systems have been
put in place piecemeal over
the last few decades,” she said.
The Forest Service will
incorporate public comment
to come up with specific alter-
natives, and draft an environ-
mental assessment by next
spring. A separate, paral-
lel public planning process,
focused on the logistics of a
fee and permit structure in wil-
derness areas, will begin in the
spring, according to Peterson.
17
Support for FAN...
PHOTO PROVIDED
The East of the Cascades Quilters (EOCQ) identified the
“Weekend Delights Backpack Program” facilitated by Sisters
Family Access Network (FAN) as the organization to support
at their annual Christmas Potluck held December 13. The
quilters donated healthy, nonperishable snacks to the program.
Fundraiser organizer Sally Blust, and EOCQ members Pamela Ake
and Caroline Lincoln, are pictured left to right.
Wishing you a safe & happy
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