Thursday, December 11th, 2008
I.V. Quality of life Under Threat
By WOPR
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now in the process of changing how BLM land will be managed. At the present time it is totally multiple use. They are proposing designating 13 areas in the BLM’s Medford District to be Off-Highway Vehicle Emphasis Areas, where off road recreation vehicles will enjoy a use preference over all other use. One such area includes much of the land south of Deer Creek in the Thompson Creek, McMullen Creek and Reeves Creek areas. Another OHV Emphasis area is in Selma’s Crooks Creek area, which would be part of a larger off-road vehicle area extending northward over the ridge toward Grants Pass, terminating in Elliot Creek near Wonder.
Executive Order 11644 (Richard Nixon) remains THE prevailing law regarding what federal agencies must consider when designating both areas and trails for off-road vehicle use - http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11644.html Executive Order No. 11644 (1972 as amended by Executive Order No. 11989 (1977)) and 43 C.F.R. § 8342.1 require the BLM to ensure that ORV areas and trails are located:
1) to minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, air, or other resources of the public lands, and to prevent impairment of wilderness suitability;
2) to minimize harassment of wildlife or significant disruption of wildlife
habitats, and especially for protection of endangered or threatened species and their habitats;
3) to minimize conflicts between ORV use and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or neighboring public lands and to ensure compatibility with populated areas, taking into account noise and other factors; and
4) outside officially designated wilderness areas or primitive areas and in natural areas only if BLM determines that ORV use will not adversely affect their natural, esthetic, scenic, or other values for which such areas are established.
If these were to be adopted as an Off-Highway Vehicle Emphasis Areas as proposed, it will soon bring in large numbers of ORV users from outside the immediate area and displace all other forms of recreation and forest use.
It would seem there are far better locations for an off-road vehicle area than adjacent to an existing residential area. In other areas in Oregon that have been designated as off-road vehicle areas, adjacent residences have experienced a loss in resale value, as no one would intentionally buy into this undesirable location. Precious resources such as soil, water, fish and other wildlife have been greatly harmed. If you're not crazy about ATV/HOV's roaring around your property permanently and legally; if you don't like clear-cuts that look like moonscapes and make summers unbearable; then show up Tuesday and tell BLM. If you have an opinion or not, you will learn about the WOPR issue, which will affect your property value, hurt small businesses, and increase fire danger under any of the WOPR alternatives. "NO ACTION" is the best choice, but NOT the BLM's "no action", which would increase logging by 30% (global warming, anyone?). We need the Northwest Forest Plan to be truly implimented, period. See http://kswild.org for more info. If you feel the added noise and disruption caused by large numbers of off-road vehicles is undesirable, and are concerned about the loss of true multiple use, together with a decrease in your resale value, please comment as laid out below.
Public comments about the Bureau of Land Management’s Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) are being accepted until December 10. The comments and suggestions from the public, along with ideas from cooperating agencies, will be used by BLM to develop resource management plans. These will be analyzed in a final Draft Environmental Statement (EIS) next year.
Comments can be submitted electronically from http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/wopr
or mailed to:
Western Oregon Plan Revisions
P.O. Box 2965
Portland, OR 97208.
Copy to: Tim Reuwsaat
Medford BLM Chief,
Medford District Office
3040 Biddle Rd.
Medford, OR 97504
If you have questions, please contact Alan Hoffmeister, Western Oregon Plan Revision Public Outreach Coordinator at (503) 808-6629.
_______________________________
(2)
Western Oregon Plan Revisions (Date)
P.O. Box 2965
Portland, OR 97208.
SAMPLE LETTERS:
Sirs:
This letter addresses the OHV Emphasis Areas being proposed as part of Bureau of Land Management’s Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) . We live in an area which will be directly affected by an OHV emphasis area decision, and are gravely concerned about the impact on us personally.
We live on property off of Crooks Creek Road in Selma, Oregon, in the Illinois Valley. One of our primary reasons to move here 30 years ago and leave perfectly good jobs, and come to an area where making a living is definitely more difficult, was so that we could enjoy relative tranquility without being overrun by off-road vehicles.
This proposed designation puts a cloud over our future plans to enjoy retirement that we have been working toward for the years that we have been here. We have invested considerable extra expense to locate in an area that we felt would offer the best chance for peace and tranquility in the years to come. If implemented, life as we have enjoyed it would be over. Occasional off-road vehicle use by locals in the neighborhood is bad enough, but if the OHV Emphasis Area is designated, more and more users will come in from outside the area until the noise and disruption becomes unbearable for local residents. We have adjusted over time to the possibility that the neighboring BLM could be logged, but not to this unwarranted and unnecessary emphasis on increased ORV use.
We feel that we are being backed into a corner from which we cannot run. We need to fight this designation by every means legally possible. BLM’s own laws require adjacent residences be given consideration when locating ORV sites. If we lose, we have a home that cannot be lived in and will not be saleable. Will the BLM feel the obligation to reimburse us for our loss in resale value?
Just because off-road vehicle users have traveled through these proposed emphasis areas, is not a reason to assume that they automatically should be included in a future emphasis area. All areas of the BLM that are not specifically closed to ORVs have been traveled through. Those of us who enjoy non-motorized activities should also have the right to control our future. Living in our homes is a non-motorized activity.
You may feel our attitude is indicative of persons who subscribe to the “not in my backyard,” mindset, when in fact, if these OHV Emphasis Areas are properly sited they don’t need to be in anyone’s backyard. We feel that there are areas which would be far more appropriate for designated off-road vehicle use, however the BLM has failed to set forth criteria in the WOPR that would be appropriate for OHV Emphasis areas. What criteria did BLM use? Prior to designating areas we request that criteria be set forth for responsible OHV use designations.
If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact me.
Sincerely,
(Name)
(Address)
(Phone #)
Copy to: Tim Reuwsaat, Medford BLM Chief,
Medford District Office
3040 Biddle Rd.
Medford, OR 97504
Also, the BLM is hosting Openn Houses on their Off-Highway Vehicle Planning
November 28, 2007—The Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District will host Open Houses in Grants Pass and Medford on Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV)
planning issues during the first week of December. The meetings will focus on the proposed OHV emphasis areas as described in the Western
Oregon Plan Revision Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
“During the course of the comment period for the Draft EIS, OHV use has been one of the major topics in the Medford District and with the
comment period extended until January 11, we thought it would be a good idea to provide more information to the public about the OHV use and
planning,” said Tim Reuwsaat, District Manager. The open houses will provide an opportunity for public comments on each area and BLM experts
will be in attendance to answer questions about OHV policy and the planning process. “We would greatly appreciate the comments of those
who use and live near these areas so we can craft a better plan for the future,” added Reuwsaat.
The Grants Pass Open House will be on December 4 from 6-8 p.m. at the Grants Pass Interagency Office:
2164 NE Spalding Avenue
Grants Pass, OR
541-471-6500
The Medford Open House will be on December 6 from 6-8 p.m. at the Medford BLM Office:
3040 Biddle Road
Medford, OR
541-618-2200
For more information, contact Jim Whittington, Public Affairs Officer, at 541-618-2220.
Jim Whittington
Public Affairs Specialist
Bureau of Land Management
Medford District Office
3040 Biddle Road
Medford, OR 97504
541-618-2220 (work)
541-261-0424 (cell)
541-618-2400 (fax)
jim_whittington@blm.gov
Voice your concern regarding: BLM’s is proposed designation of 13 OHV Emphasis Areas covering thousands of acres in BLM’s Medford District, including Illinois Valley OHV Emphasis Area and Elliot Creek Emphasis Area. (Check the map on WOPR’s page 160.) BLM proposes sacrificing forests, lands neighboring home sites, streams and habitat to enable quads’ and motorcycles’ noisy, polluting, critter-terrifying activity. OHV impacts include: Degraded plant and wildlife habitat; Disrupted and eroded soils; Reduced plant populations, diversity, and health; Wildlife impacted in multiple ways; Increased mortality, changed behavior, harassment, and reductions in diversity; Damaged and threatened cultural resources; and Interference with low-impact commodity activities such as sustainable resource activities, and recreation such as hikers, mountain bike riders, horseback riders, birdwatchers, photographers; and many others.