The Gorge's Fire Management Plan and Hiking's Future

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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bobcat
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Re: The Gorge's Fire Management Plan and Hiking's Future

Post by bobcat » February 14th, 2018, 9:08 am

Bosterson wrote:So aside from the obvious fortune to be made ambulance chasing, this doesn't seem super applicable to the Gorge,
Well, I was really just thinking about the lower Oneonta Gorge, which isn't a trail per se. I'm totally in favor of keeping that entirely closed for a while (not that my opinion means anything) until they figure out the dynamics post-fire (rocks coming down, trees coming down, probably multiple log jams - it's going to look very different in there).

Yep, the litigation frenzy is definitely a cultural thing even in terms of how each of the deceased benefits (and is accurately recognized) . . .

As for the rest, State Parks has been pro-active and have a plan for all of their trails to be worked on (Ainsworth, Angels Rest, Elowah and Upper McCord, etc). Still a general closure order although I think some of these will open up before summer as well as the undamaged east side (Viento, Wygant, Starvation Creek). Their trails are short and low, so their job is easier, and they don't have to deal with the totally scorched high ridges. Trail crews will not be restoring trails to "pre-fire" condition but to "good as new," including lots of minor reroutes. As you know, these particular trails serve a much vaster spectrum of humanity than, say, Wauneka Point.

Forest Service has scouted their trails, but their process is murkier and they seem to be holding back. I'll leave it to them to explain their thinking . . . (I should just note, however, that there are periods in the year when the agencies invoke their seasonal dollars, and that may be driving some of the timeline).

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