OHV Trails in the works for Clatsop State Forest (Oregon)
February 27th, 2008
By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian
A network of trails designed for off-highway vehicles is in the works for a section of the Clatsop State Forest southeast of Knappa.
Local foresters and local all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts have been planning the trail system for years, and this month it finally got the green light from the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The state is partnering with local volunteers to install and manage motorized vehicle trails southeast of Knappa around Nicolai Mountain, according to Larry Sprouse, a support unit forester who is spearheading the effort for ODF's Astoria District. The project will add staging areas and parking lots to improve access to the trails off U.S. Highway 30 .
Sprouse said the effort is a response to growing regional interest in off-highway vehicles (OHVs), which have become increasingly popular nationwide.
"National OHV use is exploding, and we certainly are seeing increased use across the Clatsop State Forest here," he said.
Years of preplanning has gone into the project already, said Sprouse, and it will still take another few years before the project really takes off. But last week, the state officially agreed to support an OHV program for the Clatsop forest. That means ODF will ensure proper law enforcement, resource protection and education, he said.
Don Hall, owner of L & D Race Tech in Warrenton, has been involved in the trails project planning process for four years as one of 11 members on the Clatsop State Forest Recreation Advisory Committee. The group met Tuesday, Feb. 19, to discuss plans to move forward.
The formal state forest trail system will regulate what is at least 40 miles of makeshift trails that are currently in "a motorized-zone free-for-all," said Hall. Once the state project gets going, the area will look more like the Tillamook State Forest's Browns Camp trails off State Highway 6.
"That's what we're going to try to copy," he said. "It'll keep kids off logging roads. ... It's a beautiful forest if you're into wildlife or just puttering around."
The trails won't be as extensive as the 140-mile Browns Camp system in the Tillamook State Forest, he said, but they will invite adventurers in four-wheel drive vehicles, ATVs and dirt bikes to explore an eastern section of the Clatsop State Forest.
Hall is a founder of the Pacific Trail Riders Club, a group of 140 off-road vehicle users in Clatsop County that holds trash clean-ups and ATV safety sessions; its members have been the biggest proponents of the state forest trails project.
The club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shive-ly Hall, 1530 Shively Park Road, in Astoria. Club secretary Peggy Mills said the group is accepting new members to help plan the trails project. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of the month at Shively Hall.
"This is an exciting time for all ATV enthusiasts and a wonderful opportunity to be a part of creating a new recreational activity in Clatsop County," said Mills.
Article Reference: The Daily Astorian • The North Coast's Newspaper
By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian
A network of trails designed for off-highway vehicles is in the works for a section of the Clatsop State Forest southeast of Knappa.
Local foresters and local all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts have been planning the trail system for years, and this month it finally got the green light from the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The state is partnering with local volunteers to install and manage motorized vehicle trails southeast of Knappa around Nicolai Mountain, according to Larry Sprouse, a support unit forester who is spearheading the effort for ODF's Astoria District. The project will add staging areas and parking lots to improve access to the trails off U.S. Highway 30 .
Sprouse said the effort is a response to growing regional interest in off-highway vehicles (OHVs), which have become increasingly popular nationwide.
"National OHV use is exploding, and we certainly are seeing increased use across the Clatsop State Forest here," he said.
Years of preplanning has gone into the project already, said Sprouse, and it will still take another few years before the project really takes off. But last week, the state officially agreed to support an OHV program for the Clatsop forest. That means ODF will ensure proper law enforcement, resource protection and education, he said.
Don Hall, owner of L & D Race Tech in Warrenton, has been involved in the trails project planning process for four years as one of 11 members on the Clatsop State Forest Recreation Advisory Committee. The group met Tuesday, Feb. 19, to discuss plans to move forward.
The formal state forest trail system will regulate what is at least 40 miles of makeshift trails that are currently in "a motorized-zone free-for-all," said Hall. Once the state project gets going, the area will look more like the Tillamook State Forest's Browns Camp trails off State Highway 6.
"That's what we're going to try to copy," he said. "It'll keep kids off logging roads. ... It's a beautiful forest if you're into wildlife or just puttering around."
The trails won't be as extensive as the 140-mile Browns Camp system in the Tillamook State Forest, he said, but they will invite adventurers in four-wheel drive vehicles, ATVs and dirt bikes to explore an eastern section of the Clatsop State Forest.
Hall is a founder of the Pacific Trail Riders Club, a group of 140 off-road vehicle users in Clatsop County that holds trash clean-ups and ATV safety sessions; its members have been the biggest proponents of the state forest trails project.
The club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shive-ly Hall, 1530 Shively Park Road, in Astoria. Club secretary Peggy Mills said the group is accepting new members to help plan the trails project. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of the month at Shively Hall.
"This is an exciting time for all ATV enthusiasts and a wonderful opportunity to be a part of creating a new recreational activity in Clatsop County," said Mills.
Article Reference: The Daily Astorian • The North Coast's Newspaper
