Help Defend Hinkle Lake from Illegal ORV Use

Hinkle Lake Botanical Area, west of Applegate Lake in Josephine County, consists of extensive wet meadows containing numerous high elevation serpentine species, including endemic species such as the Trifolium howellii (Canyon Clover).

While it is an easy and enjoyable walk into the botanical area, some people only value this special place as a spot to trash with their off-road vehicles. Hinkle Lake road has been formally closed to off-road vehicle use since 1980, but continuing illegal ORV use is tearing up the wetlands, and putting extremely rare plants at further risk. Unfortunately the closure has been unenforced and the damage intensifies with each passing year. A gate was installed a few years ago in an effort to limit ORVs, but it has not acted successfully to restrict access off-road vehicles for more than a month or two at a time, due to continued vandalism.

The Hinkle Lake area deserves to be protected, not only from illegal ORVs, but also from other threats, including grazing. Let the forest service know that you value this special area and ask them to enforce the law by adequately blocking off-road vehicles and officially designating the old road as a hiking trail for the enjoyment of all forest users.