Monday, August 31, 2015

OHV Monitoring Reports Submitted to BLM and USFS

 
A view of the Hinkle Lake Basin and Whisky Peak from the summit of Arnold Mountain.

Recently I submitted the Applegate Valley OHV Monitoring Reports and Motorized Vehicle Closure Petitions to the BLM and Forest Service. Both the BLM and Forest Service have acknowledged receipt of these documents and I am awaiting their official response. 

The reports document the impacts of OHV use in the Applegate Valley and the petitions request official closure and/or decommissioning of unauthorized and damaging OHV trails. Many local residents helped to support this project by signing on to the petition, providing me with tips and information about OHV routes, and funding the Kickstarter campaign that made it all possible. Thank you all for your support. 

I would like to specifically thank those who funded my Kickstarter campaign and supported the Applegate Valley OHV Monitoring Project. Below are all the people that made the monitoring reports and petitions possible. Thanks!

David Callahan, Applegate, OR
Cherie Savoie Tintary, Forest Grove, OR
Leah Wingfield/Steve Clements, Jacksonville, OR
Chad Derosier, Ashland, OR
Chelsea Ruediger, Washington D.C.
Katherine Oldfield, Seattle, WA
Doranne Long, Grants Pass, OR
Greeley Wells, Jacksonville, OR
Jay Lininger, Talent, OR
Gary Lisman, Jacksonville, OR
Dave & Janet Kramer, Applegate, OR
Drummond Rennie, Jacksonville, OR
Cythia Cheney, Jacksonville, OR
Jane Fossen, Jacksonville, OR
Ann Gunter, Williams, OR
Rick & Louann Faist,
Karen Mitchell, Jacksonville, OR
Peter Salant, Jacksonville, OR
Mark Lansing
Eugene Weir, Ashland, OR
Morgan Lindsay, Ashland, OR
Spencer Lennard, Williams, OR
Jeff Judkins, Jacksonville, OR
Jessica Ruediger, Talent, OR
Vivian McAleavey, Jacksonville, OR
Ryan Ginn, Jacksonville, OR
Ken Chapman, Applegate, OR
Clint Driver, Jacksonville, OR
Wendy Seldon, Medford, OR
Dot Fisher-Smith, Ashland, OR
Annette Parsons, Grants Pass, OR
Dylan Owens, Ashland, OR
James Roemer
Ajit Singh, Ashland, OR
Chant Thomas & Susanna Bahaar, Jacksonville, OR
Jonathan Major, Jacksonville, OR
Jan Wright, Talent, OR
Diana Coogle, Applegate OR
Marion Hadden, Jacksonville, OR

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

OHV Monitoring Reports Released! Sign the petitions now!

OHV use is impacting many of the Botanical Areas designated to protect rare plant species and unique plant communities on the Siskiyou Crest. The Siskiyou Crest OHV Monitoring Report documents these impacts and recommends solutions. Please read the report and sign onto our petition for OHV closure on the Siskiyou Crest.


The Applegate Valley OHV Monitoring Project, the Siskiyou Crest Blog and Klamath Forest Alliance have joined forces to document the impact of OHV use on public land in the Applegate River watershed. In May, the Siskiyou Crest Blog initiated a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the Applegate Valley OHV Monitoring Project. Thanks to the support of the local community the project was funded.

Since June, I have hiked many miles of OHV routes in the blazing summer heat, spent countless hours writing and organizing reports, documenting the impacts and recommending management solutions. Now we need your help to make the biggest impact possible.

 I have produced a monitoring report for Medford District BLM lands in the Applegate Valley, and a separate report exploring OHV impacts on Forest Service land on the Siskiyou Crest. There are now two separate petitions for these different agencies: one for BLM land and another for Forest Service land. 

Please sign onto our petitions requesting an emergency OHV closure on trails, routes, and roads causing significant environmental and social impacts. Links to the reports and the petitions can be found below.   Check out the reports and sign onto both petitions to protect the Applegate Valley from unauthorized OHV use. Please spread widely. Together we can make a difference!

The Medford District BLM OHV Monitoring Report documents the impact of OHV use in the foothills of the Applegate Valley, including numerous roadless areas and areas identified as "lands with wilderness characteristics." Please read the report and sign on to our petition for OHV closure. 

2015 OHV Monitoring Reports 

Siskiyou Crest/Forest Service OHV Petition 

BLM OHV Petition