Sean C. Morgan
Off-highway vehicle enthusiasts are on the edge of a disaster, according to those who attended a trails meeting with Linn County Parks officials Thursday.
They have a shrinking number of options for places to ride, and the Tillamook Forest measure, Measure 34, will cut off even more if passed. Forest Service policy also is changing, to allow OHV use only where posted.
When they heard about Thursday night’s meeting and that the county was interested in off-highway vehicles (OHV), they showed up in force to support the idea of an OHV park. They came from all over Linn County with a handful coming from Lane County and other areas.
Lebanon hosted the meeting at the Santiam Travel Station. Attending the meeting were Linn County Parks Board members Will Tucker and Ozzie Shaw of Sweet Home; Linn County Parks Director Brian Carroll; Linn County Commissioner Cliff Wooten; and Jessica Coward, who serves on the Sweet Home City Council and hikes. Keith Cantrell and the Dixon family of Sweet Home also attended.
The objective of the meeting was to bring together the different groups and develop a working committee to develop ideas for creating a countywide trail network, one that connects city to city, community to community and even county to county into Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.
One woman, representing OHV users, from Junction City told parks officials, “Your interest is there. Our interest is there. The money is there.” She called for the creation of an OHV park. The money she referred to is state money collected as fees from OHV users. Other OHV users said the park would draw enthusiasts from all over even from outside the state and help bring tourist dollars to Linn County.
A few persons attending the meeting were interested in pedestrian trails, bike trails and equestrian trails.
Cantrell was concerned about potential conflicts between motorized uses and pedestrians. Another person, who uses both, said conflict also develops between equestrian and motorized vehicles.
A member of the Slow Spokes bicycle club told the group he would like to see a north-south passage through the county and Oregon.
The Northwest Stealheaders Association was interested in more access to the rivers.
Participants signed up into three committees to begin developing ideas and exploring issues related to developing trails in Linn County.
Carroll wanted to find out if the need was there and start a long-term process with the committees, looking over maps and making contacts with landowners, Weyerhaeuser for example, to find a way to develop trails and parks.
To build an OHV park, the county would need to find and acquire land where the neighbors can accept it, Tucker said. OHV users have dollars available at the state level, but they still need to locate land and hear from other user groups.
Carroll recognized that groups, like the Cascade Offroaders of Lebanon, want to be “sensitive to neighbors” and “tread lightly upon the land.”
“We know the problems you have in building trails not only with government but private property owners,” Shaw, who has worked with the Corps of Engineers on the Foster Lake Trail, said. The Parks Board is interested in doing it, but “we need people like yourself to help us determine what the needs are.”
Rodney W. Sell, maintenance services division manager for Lebanon, outlined Lebanon’s trail system and future plans. Right now, Lebanon has eight miles of existing trail. It plans 30 miles of trails eventually and is interested in connecting it into other trail systems, including a river trail along the South Santiam in the future.
The group also talked about a trail system planned in Lyons that will connect through the John Neal Memorial Park to other areas around the city.
Those are the types of things that Carroll and the Parks Board want to accomplish.
For more information, persons may contact the Carroll and the Parks Department at (541) 967-3917.