news
A DISCIPLES OF DIRT VOLUNTEER WORKS ON THE
THURSTON HILLS MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL
PHOTO BY COLIN HOUCK
Get Dirty
DISCIPLES OF DIRT PLAN FILM
FEST TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF
MOUNTAIN BIKING AS A LOGGING
CONTROVERSY GROWS
By Colin Houck
A
s Lane County mountain biking
enthusiasts gear up for the 2019
Oregon outdoors season, local club
Disciples of Dirt (DoD) is looking to
generate some early excitement while
area trails dry out, snow melts and
a variety of planned maintenance
projects are completed. At the same time, a local timber
sale has potential benefits and pitfalls for cyclists and
tree huggers.
DoD, in conjunction with Trails in Motion, an
international trail-running and biking film tour
organization, will host its first-ever screening of
mountain biking-themed short films, Feb. 23, in support
of their mission to support and grow opportunities for
the sport in the Eugene-Springfield area.
DoD Board Chairman Lee Wilkinson describes
the event as an opportunity for the local mountain
biking community to come together in appreciation
6
F E B R U A R Y
2 1 ,
2 0 1 9
and support of their shared passion, even if wintry
conditions make for less than ideal riding. All proceeds
from the event will go towards maintenance and
expansion of existing trails as well as towards building
new trail networks, he says.
Last year, DoD partnered with Springfield’s
Willamalane Park and Recreation District on a 1.5-mile
section of single-track trail in the 665-acre Thurston
Hills Natural Area. The trail has since proven extremely
popular — so much so that DoD and Willamalane are
again partnering to add up to five miles of trails to that
project, with the hopes of having the new sections open
within the year.
Additionally, DoD has been working with the Bureau
of Land Management on a joint project to open nearly
nine more miles of trails on federal land directly
adjacent, and connecting to the Thurston Hills Natural
Area. According to Wilkinson, if everything goes as
planned, work on those trails could begin as soon as
2021.
As Eugene Weekly reported last summer, the
proposed project, which many had hoped would be
a trail system in undisturbed forest, quickly became
mired in controversy as BLM announced plans to log
the area via a proposed timber sale. Dubbed the “Pedal
Power” sale, at the time BLM’s plan was to clearcut 155
acres of mature forest, much of which the trail system
would run through.
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Oregon Wild and Cascadia
Wildlands filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eugene
challenging the BLM plan, citing increased fire hazards
and threats to recreation from the proposed logging.
Leading up to the lawsuit, community members and
stakeholders had voiced considerable opposition to
the BLM plan, with Rep. Peter DeFazio and state Sen.
Lee Beyer weighing-in, and DeFazio penning a strongly-
worded letter against the plan.
At the time, BLM acting field director Michael Kinsey
said that while the agency would continue to hold
dialogue with partners and community members, for all
intents and purposes, the decision was final.
The sale was ultimately approved, albeit at a much-
reduced scale.
On Feb. 11, Seneca Jones Timber Company
announced in a press release that it had been awarded
the Pedal Power contract, but that the original plan to
clear-cut 155 acres has been amended to just 92 total
acres to be spread out in patches throughout the 394-
acre project area.
While DoD is pleased with the outcome of the process,
others are less enthusiastic. As it did then, Oregon Wild
maintains that BLM’s plan is shortsighted, and that
it remains disappointed that BLM never considered
thinning — a far less intrusive approach — as an option.
For DoD’s part, Wilkinson says that the group’s goal
is to provide as much opportunity to Oregon mountain
bikers as possible, and the group is excited to continue
to work with its partners and community members in
service of that goal. ■
The film screening is 6-10 pm Feb. 23 at 400 International Way, Suite
120, Springfield. The films include Outlaw Diaries II, Fall Impressions,
Tour of Ara, High Altitude Lines, Beyond the Bike, Chasing Wild and
Huayhuash.
In addition to the film screening, organizers say the DoD/ Trails in
Motion event will feature a silent auction, a raffle, pizza provided by A
Wheel Apizza and a selection of local microbrews. Elevate Kombucha
will be providing non-alcoholic beverages. Tickets are $15-25.
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M