Mt Hood Wilderness

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mt hood wilderness proposal mapOregon Wild is still working to expand the Mt Hood Wilderness designation in the Boulder Lake / Barlow District area of the Mount Hood National Forest. It’s all part of what they call “unfinished business” related to the 2009 legislation which added wilderness status to new sections of the Mt Hood National Forest.

The newest additions sought will impact mountain bike recreation on the Barlow District of the Mt. Hood National Forest by closing access to bikes. Specifically, the Boulder Lake zone and the various rides that connect to that area will become closed to bikes. Mt bike access was already impacted by the 2009 Wilderness legislation and this proposal expands the impact.

At this point, the best way to voice your opinion on the proposal is to write our regional reps in the House and Senate – Walden, Wyden, Blumenauer. For those who would like to offer their opposition to increased wilderness designation, here are a few talking points:

  • Between wilderness designation and Bull Run watershed protection, the Mt Hood National Forest has very limited access for multi-use recreation. Adding wilderness designation to more areas further limits an already small multi-use trail system.
  • Contrived wilderness segments with preserved road access weaken the Wilderness Act by not staying true to the Act’s original intent.
  • These are lands which should be managed primarily for recreational value— the areas with true wilderness values on Mt. Hood have already hold wilderness designation.
  • Putting the wilderness blanket over these lands makes it difficult to manage them for recreational value — ie. trail maintenance and construction is limited to hand tools so all blowdown must be cleared without mechanized help (chainsaws).
  • We debated these same areas before the 2009 legislation was passed.  The current wilderness designation reflects a compromise that was reached between interested parties. Now, we’re being asked to compromise on the compromise.
  • The 2009 wilderness designation resulted in the loss of approximately 100 miles of multi-use trails and roads. Traffic and use on the remaining multi-use trails in the system has increased to the point that these trails are showing increased signs of wear and tear, requiring more maintenance.