Pacific Northwest Backroad Adventures

No. 08-103
May 29, 2008
Contact: Princess Jackson-Smith, 360-902-1066

Public Hearings Will Be Held Around The State In June

OLYMPIA - The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in the process of revising Chapter 332-52 of the Washington Administrative Code, pertaining to recreation on DNR-managed lands. The rules provide basic standards for public safety and natural resource protection when accessing and recreating on these lands.

The department invites the public to participate by reviewing the draft rule language and attending one of the public hearings to be held in June in the following locations: Mount Vernon, Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Issaquah, Vancouver, Ellensburg, Olympia, and Okanogan.

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BLUERIBBON COALITION ACTION ALERT!

Forest Service to Host Next Series of Open Houses on Motorized Access

The Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River Grassland are formulating a new travel plan that will limit ALL vehicle use to designated roads, trails and areas. The public is invited to attend any of several upcoming open houses scheduled in Central Oregon communities. The Forest Service (FS) is asking for your input during the 45-day public comment period, which will run through June 15, 2008.

Over the past year, personnel at the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests have been working with citizens, as well as state, county and local governments to identify how to provide for motorized access to dispersed campsites. The FS is now ready to begin environmental analysis of the proposal.
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The Salmon-Challis National Forest is formulating a new travel plan that will limit ALL vehicle use to designated roads, trails and areas. The Forest Service (FS) will be hosting a series of public meetings on the travel planning process during the month of August 2007.

See http://orc.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=449295&ref=25 for more details about the travel plan and a meeting schedule.

The official Salmon-Challis National Forest Travel Management Plan is located at http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/sc/recreation/Travel%20Plan/index.shtml

MISSOULA - Congress is considering a $65 million program to decommission roads the U.S. Forest Service doesnt want or didnt authorize.

The agency currently faces a $10 billion backlog of road maintenance needs and has struggled for years to find the money to keep up its 400,000 miles of road that crisscross national forests.

The “Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Initiative” being considered by the House of Representatives would set aside funds for road decommissioning, road and trail repair and maintenance and the removal of fish barriers.

Read more at BillingsGazette.com: Congress aims at unwanted roads

After getting my Jeep back together, I wanted to get a multi-day camping/road trip in. I wanted to see how my newly built cargo box was going to work and experiment with stowing camping gear for a 3-day mini-expedition plus a dog.

My goals for this trip weren’t to go wheeling, especially since I was traveling solo. I wanted to hit the back roads and travel as much gravel and/or primitive roads as possible, carrying all my supplies, stopping only for fuel as needed (since I don’t have a gas can carrier yet).

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This is a collection of photos taken between August 6-8, 2006 while taking a backroads tour of the Olympic Peninsula in my Jeep. The gallery features many of the scenic views from the overland routes driven including some from the Olympic National Park.

You can view the gallery at Olympic Peninsula Backroads Tour

Enjoy the pics.