Off-Road Vehicles

There are appropriate places for ORVs and there are responsible ORV users. However, many public lands in the Klamath-Siskiyou have been seriously degraded due to unregulated and illegal ORV use. The Klamath-Siskiyou has special places, such as meadows, botanical preserves, and high elevation lakes that are at particular threat from ORVs. Wilderness areas, roadless lands and non-motorized recreation experiences are harmed when loud and aggressive ORV users take over an area.

Public land managers throughout the country are deciding where to encourage motorized recreation and where use must be restricted to protect wildlands and watersheds. With your help, KS Wild is encouraging local Forests to protect rare plant species, sensitive wildlands and riparian areas while allowing Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) use on many existing logging roads and motorized trails.

A Crumbling Infrastructure Impacts Water Quality

So why is something that sounds as dull as “travel management” such a big deal? During the logging boom on public lands during the 1970s and 1980s the BLM and the Forest Service built hundreds of thousands of miles of logging roads that the agencies now cannot afford to maintain. The financial backlog of road maintenance on BLM and Forest Service roads is now approaching several billion dollars! The Klamath National Forest alone has a backlog of $55.5 million in un-met road maintenance. The lack of maintenance is leading to plugged road culverts, road failures (such as slides and blowouts), and the delivery of massive amounts of sediment into streams and rivers. Badly built, poorly maintained logging roads are one of the most direct threats to water quality and fish habitat on our public lands.

Rare Plants At-Risk

Travel Management is also directly impacting many rare plant species. Port-Orford cedars, an extremely rare endemic conifer that is a vital part of streamside ecology in the Siskiyous, are succumbing to a fatal root disease that is commonly spread by mud hitching a ride on vehicles.  Meadows and wetlands that are hotspots of biodiversity are an almost irresistible lure to irresponsible ORV riders who like to go “muddin.” Many old logging and mining routes lead into and through rare plant habitat and Forest Service designated “research natural areas.”

Wildlands Under the Wheels

Some of the last, best, pristine wilderness quality landscapes in the Klamath Siskiyou are seeing more and more extreme backcountry off-road travel. Wildlands proposed by the Forest Service for wilderness designation on the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest have been the frequent scene of conflict between ORV riders and hikers and equestrians. Landscapes once known for their remote solitude and rugged biodiversity have been turned into motorized playgrounds.

 
KS Wild Responds

KS Wild responds to specific problem areas and attempts to force administrative action when illegal and destructive ORV use occurs. We encourage appropriate ORV use away from sensitive areas of public lands on the existing road system.

Programmatic Action

KS Wild also takes programmatic action to protect National Forests and BLM lands from ORV abuse. Through planning processes on several national forests KS Wild is able to remove ORVs from sensitive area and push for the ORV route designation only where appropriate.

KS Wild works to protect and restore all public lands and waters from the damage caused by off-road vehicles using a variety of legislative, administrative, legal, media, and grassroots strategies. The following is a travel management update for the national forests in the Klamath-Siskiyou.

Klamath National Forest

The Klamath is proposing to add 90 miles of illegally-created ORV routes to a road system that it can simply not afford to maintain. KS Wild will be working to get the Forest Service to identify and implement a sustainable transportation system. 

Six Rivers National Forest

The Six Rivers is all over the map. The Orleans District has already implemented a travel decision that closed some of the worst roads. The Smith River National Recreation Area has been caught up in appeals over allowing motorized use in roadless areas and botanical areas. And the rest of the Forest is far behind in their planning process.

Medford BLM

The BLM is proposing to turn thousands of acres of public forestlands into ORV playgrounds through a planning process called the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR). The WOPR sets the stage for the BLM to begin designating large swaths of forests as “ORV emphasis areas.” There will be no corresponding “hiking emphasis areas,” “wildlife emphasis areas,” or “watershed emphasis areas.” ORVs and logging are primarily what the BLM envisions for your public lands.

Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest

The Rogue-Siskiyou is proposing to close some of the most environmentally harmful logging roads (yeah!) while also proposing to allow motorized use in botanical areas, roadless areas and research natural areas (boo!).

Click here to learn about the nationwide "Travel Management and ORV Designation Process" on the USDA Forest Service website.

For more information on OHVs and their impact on public lands, visit: Wildlands CPR.

Click on the links below to read updates on the current "OHV Route Designation" process for each National Forest in the Klamath-Siskiyou:

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest

Klamath-National Forest

Six Rivers National Forest

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Click here to download the 2005 Final Travel Planning Rule.

Stay up-to-date! Sign up for KS Wild's monthly eNews by entering your email in the box at the right and clicking on the "arrow" button. We will keep you updated on public meetings, field trips and comment deadlines regarding the OHV planning process in the Klamath-Siskyou.