Interesting article in the Oregonian on forest road removal near Bull Run:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonia ... xml&coll=7
From the article:
"The agency has "decommissioned" and actively removed 45 miles of road within the 65,500 acres that drain into Portland's water supply. Now crews are taking out the final 18 miles of road in the critical area. "
Mt Hood NF road removal
Re: Mt Hood NF road removal
Based on the excerpt of the removal map, they appear to be decomissioning many unmonitored inbound roads to the Bull Run area. I'm sure the stated maintenance and water quality concerns are a big part of the reasoning, but I wonder if watershed security and keeping the public out are also major factors. I've heard that illegal hunting in Bull Run has been a problem for a number of years.
The top right road system shown in red leads from the Nesmith Point / Moffet Creek area. The PDF doesn't go far enough east to show it, but I wonder if they're going to tear up the old roads leading from the Tanner Butte / Eagle-Tanner junction or the old road / game trail paralleling the PCT south of Indian Mountain. I couldn't find a full map on the Portland Water Bureau website, and it's mostly a curiosity of mine, so a public records request isn't worth the time or cost.
I'm a big advocate for open access to public lands, and I'm somewhat puzzled by the extremely restricted usage of such a wide swath of prime wilderness. In Central Oregon, the Bridge Creek watershed east of Tumalo Mountain serves as the Bend city water supply. They have an open usage policy for non-mechanized recreation (hiking, backpacking, etc) in the area. Mountain bikes are restricted from the area, presumably due to their increased trail erosion effects? In any case, I just wish Portland was as generous with Bull Run as Bend is with Bridge Creek.
The top right road system shown in red leads from the Nesmith Point / Moffet Creek area. The PDF doesn't go far enough east to show it, but I wonder if they're going to tear up the old roads leading from the Tanner Butte / Eagle-Tanner junction or the old road / game trail paralleling the PCT south of Indian Mountain. I couldn't find a full map on the Portland Water Bureau website, and it's mostly a curiosity of mine, so a public records request isn't worth the time or cost.
I'm a big advocate for open access to public lands, and I'm somewhat puzzled by the extremely restricted usage of such a wide swath of prime wilderness. In Central Oregon, the Bridge Creek watershed east of Tumalo Mountain serves as the Bend city water supply. They have an open usage policy for non-mechanized recreation (hiking, backpacking, etc) in the area. Mountain bikes are restricted from the area, presumably due to their increased trail erosion effects? In any case, I just wish Portland was as generous with Bull Run as Bend is with Bridge Creek.
Last edited by jimsiff on September 3rd, 2008, 6:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
-Jim
Re: Mt Hood NF road removal
It seems weird to me that Olallie Lake is closed only to swimming but open for other recreation even though it is part of the water supply for Salem. Yet we cannot even legally get near the Bull Run lakes.