Stage 3 Public Use Fire Restrictions (Wild and Scenic Lower Rogue River)

Pursuant to 16 USC § 551 and 36 CFR § 261.50(a), and to provide for public safety and protect natural resources, the following acts are prohibited within the boundaries of the Wild section of the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, during the annual Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest Oregon declared closed fire season as described below and shown in map attached as Exhibit J. 

This Order is effective at 00:01 am on July 17th, 2026, until November 30, 2026, unless rescinded sooner.

PROHIBITION:

1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire except: [36 CFR § 261.52(a)]
   1. In commercially produced pressurized liquid or gas stoves in a cleared area naturally free of vegetation below the high-water mark from Marial downstream to the mouth of Watson Creek.
2. Using an explosive. [36 CFR § 261.52(b)]
3. All individuals or groups in the Rogue River Wild and Scenic area that are building, maintaining, attending, or using an allowable fire must have a shovel and a bucket. [36 CFR § 261.52(f)]
4. Smoking, except: [36 CFR § 261.52(d)]
   1. While aboard a watercraft while navigating, or at rest, on a waterway.
   2. On sand and gravel bars between the river and the high-water mark naturally free of flammable vegetation.
5. Operating an internal combustion engine, with the following exceptions: [36 CFR § 261.52(g)]
   1. While on a motor vehicle on Forest Development Roads or within designated parking areas.
   2. While aboard watercraft while navigating or at rest on a waterway.
   3. Approved off-Highway Vehicles (“OHVs”) on forest roads and trails.

Description of Restriction Area:

The Wild section of the Rogue Wild and Scenic River beginning at the Forest boundary in the southwest ¼ of the southeast ¼ of Section 9, T.33S., R.10W., following downriver in a southwesterly direction to the mouth of Watson Creek in the northeast ¼ of the northeast ¼ of Section 17, T.34S., R.11W., within the Willamette Meridian, Oregon as shown on map attached as Exhibit J.
 

EXEMPTIONS:

Pursuant to 36 CFR § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this order:

1. Persons with a Forest Service Permit No. FS-7700-48 (Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation Order), specifically exempting them from this Order.
2. Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of any organized rescue or fire fighting force in the performance of an official duty.

These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions in 36 C.F.R. Part 261, Subpart A.

Violations of this prohibition are punishable as a Class B Misdemeanor, by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both (16 USC § 551; 18 USC § 3559 and 18USC § 3571 and 3581). 

Executed in Medford, OR this 16th day of July 2026.