Forest to revise camping and campfire closure orders

Release Date: Jun 16, 2020

Contact: Jean Nelson-Dean, Public Affairs Officer, Deschutes National Forest, 458-231-1242

Date: June 16, 2020                         

Forest to Revise Camping and Campfire Closure Orders

Combining several previous closure orders into a more comprehensive order

 

Bend, Ore.- The Deschutes National Forest is seeking public comment on a proposed Camping and Campfires Forest Order that would prohibit camping and campfires in specific areas on the national forest where those activities would cause adverse impacts to forest resources.

The new forest order primarily is taking most of the prohibitions from eight existing forest orders and combining them into one more comprehensive order. There will be minimal change to closures that are already being enforced. New items proposed to be included in the order are camping restrictions along the Cascade Lakes Highway Scenic Views Corridor and in the Three Creeks Lake area and campfire restrictions in the Tumalo Creek area and the Deschutes Wild and Scenic River Corridor. The draft environmental assessment is available online at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=57437 .

 

Public comment on this proposed forest order will be accepted for 30 calendar days and the public comment period will end on July 16, 2020 at midnight. Written comments must be submitted using one of the following methods:

• Electronic comments including attachments can be submitted to comments-pacificnorthwest-deschutes@usda.gov . Electronic comments must be submitted as part of the e-mail message, or as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text format (.rtf), or portable document format (.pdf) only.

• For electronically submitted comments, the sender should receive an automated acknowledgment from the agency as confirmation of receipt. If the sender does not receive an automated acknowledgment of the receipt of the comments, it is the sender’s responsibility to ensure timely receipt by other means.

• Postal mail or hand-delivery (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays) to: Holly Jewkes (Forest Supervisor), c/o Sasha Fertig, 63095 Deschutes Market Rd, Bend, OR 97701.
• FAX: 541-383-5553.

 

Only people who submit timely and specific written comments will have eligibility to file an objection. Names and contact information submitted with comments will become part of the public record and may be released under the Freedom of Information Act. Additional information can be obtained from: Sasha Fertig (Environmental Coordinator), 541-383-5563, sasha.fertig@usda.gov.

 

Background

A more comprehensive forest order, rather than multiple forest orders, would be more responsive to changing recreational use patterns, minimize or avoid adverse resource impacts, and clarify regulations to the public about   and how camping and campfires are prohibited or restricted. As background, recreational visits on the Deschutes National Forest have increased dramatically in recent years, with a 66 percent increase (1.9 to 3.2 million people) between 2013 and 2018 (USDA FS 2018b). Some areas where dispersed camping and campfires are occurring are located adjacent to streams and lakes, which if not managed properly can cause adverse impacts to water quality. Dispersed camping and campfires in some sensitive scenic areas is causing

visual changes noticeable to the casual forest visitor.

 

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