North Fork and Pillchuck Closures

[Drone637]

North Fork will have ORV closures as of December 1st. It will only be open for street legal vehicles on normal roads, no ORV use allowed. The closure is due to the standard problems of environmental destructions, etc.

Pillchuck will be closed to all ORV use as of November 15th. This is due to a dramatic increase in usage and therefore medical emergencies and fatalities in the area. It is being closed for public safety and to protect the Snomomish County water quality inside the watershed, which has also taken a hit with the usage increase.

Comments and questions can be sent to orv_comments@wadnr.gov

There should be a press release at www.wadnr.gov as well, but the sight seems to be down.

[spidertoy]

The DNR had four representatives at the ORV committee meeting tonight, and they passed that message along, as well as handed out the press release, and several flyers that state the closures as well

[KP81]

so they are saying no trails at north fork? just logging roads? im one of those people who want what i can do and what i cant do really clear.

[Drone637]

From what I understand it is dirt road use only for North Fork. Pilchuck is closed completely. The problem with Pilchuck is the roads where not designed for ORV traffic, so the bikes and atv's had some nice stretches to really get their speed up.

Chris gave me a call to let me know what was going on, hopefully someone will post a flyer or a copy of the press release that spidertoy mentioned they were handing out. I now have a travelling job, so I'm a bit out of the loop but I thought I should throw the notice up.

[Kimmy]

Maps (both done as jpg and pdf):
www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/adm/comm/nr05_134_orvprmap.jpg
www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/adm/comm/nr05_134_orvprmap.pdf

www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/adm/comm/nr05_134_orvvicinity.jpg
www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/adm/comm/nr05_134_orvvicinity.pdf




DNR Announces Changes in Public Access for Motorized Recreation
Pilchuck Forest and North Fork Nooksack River area are affected

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today that efforts to design controls for safe and appropriate ORV riding in Pilchuck Forest and North Fork Nooksack River were not successful in addressing the safety and welfare of the visiting public, or preventing environmental damage.

Therefore, DNR will close the lands it manages in the Pilchuck Forest area to motorized vehicles effective November 15; and the DNR-managed land in the North Fork Nooksack River area will be limited to street-legal vehicles on roads only, starting December 1.

“It is important to manage and protect our natural resources while providing opportunities for public use and recreation,” said Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland. “We recognize the growth in ORV sports and the need for places to ride safely.”

Sutherland is working with user groups, elected officials, landowners, and other land management agencies, listening to concerns, and discussing the needs for safe and sustainable ORV opportunities throughout the state.

DNR is also participating in the Legislative Taskforce on ORV Noise Management (ESB 5089). “The task force provides a strong foundation for a statewide perspective of ORV recreation needs and impacts,” says Sutherland.

Pilchuck Forest is located in Snohomish County, about 10 miles east of Lake Stevens. The affected area of North Fork Nooksack River is located in Whatcom County, northeast of Bellingham near Deming.

Regarding the closures, DNR Northwest Region Manager William Wallace said: “I am deeply concerned over the numbers of serious injury accidents to ORV riders and the increasing damage to natural resources in the Pilchuck and North Fork areas. Given those concerns closures to ORVs in these two areas are unavoidable.”

State Department of Ecology shorelands specialist Jerry Shervey spoke of the environmental impacts to these two areas:” Keeping unauthorized off-road vehicles out of these areas is good for the environment," he said. “While it might be fun to splash through a creek or wetland, these activities cause bank erosion and stir up sediments that negatively affect water quality, and can harm important fish species, such as salmon and trout.”

Wallace said DNR is working with recreation groups, legislators and other officials, and members of the public to evaluate ORV opportunities throughout the state. “Our long-range goal is to work with other land management agencies in the state to develop a strategy for sustainable recreation opportunities for this fast-growing sport.”

Pilchuck Forest
The decision to close the Pilchuck Forest area to motorized use is a result of growing concern about public safety, because of the increase in intensity and concentration of ORV use on the roads and on user-built trails.

In addition, there are concerns about water quality and compatibility with forest land management. The area is part of the watershed that supplies drinking water to the City of Snohomish. ORV use has potential impacts to the municipal water supply due to riding in and along the shoreline of the Pilchuck River and its tributaries.

The Pilchuck area is managed as a working forest. Damage to the soil, logging roads, and the riparian area that buffers the Pilchuck River has reached unacceptable levels and DNR’s first priority is to the land and resources.

North Fork Nooksack River
DNR’s action to limit access in the North Fork Nooksack River area to street-legal vehicles on roads only is a result of concerns about protecting the environmental integrity and management of trust lands and resources.

Sediment getting into the river and to streams affects water quality and results in deterioration of salmon habitat. As in Pilchuck, the area is managed as a working forest. Damage to the soil, logging roads, and stream-side areas impacts DNR’s trust revenue and resources that benefit present and future generations.

ORV recreation opportunities on state lands

Riding off-road vehicles (ORVs) is a popular recreation activity that is enjoyed on state lands. Statewide, DNR offers a number of roads and 400 miles of ORV trails designated exclusively for motorized use, nine developed ORV areas, and dispersed multiple-use trails.

In Northwest Washington, DNR manages the Walker Valley ORV area, located centrally about 60 minutes from both the Pilchuck and North Fork. The Walker Valley areas is a fully authorized and managed ORV area with 36 miles of trails. Located off Highway 9 near Lake Cavanaugh, it is open year-round. Other areas for ORV riding on DNR-managed land include the Tahuya and Capitol Forests. Visit www.dnr.wa.gov/base/recreation.html for more information.

Recreation on state land offers a variety of activities

State lands in the care of DNR are managed for a number of public benefits. Recreation and public access enjoyed on state lands must be compatible with the first purpose of managing these lands – which is to produce revenue to support school construction and other public institutions. Activities on the land also must be compatible with good stewardship of the environment and public safety.

The department’s primary recreation focus is to provide public access opportunities on 2.2 million acres of state trust lands, with trails, trailhead facilities, and a primitive experience in a natural setting. Across Washington, the 1,100 miles of trails and 13,000 miles of roads provide considerable access for dispersed recreation activities, such as hunting, fishing, bird watching, and sightseeing.

[samuri-on35s]

so ther going to put a new sign on northfork sayign street legal only?

[Lynn Davison]

I am from Bellingham and have been involved in many cleanups with DRN visits at the North Fork and trying to educate people on tread lighty pack it in pack it out ect.

I have doing this for the past five years a the North Fork and as you all know, to no avail as it is closing December 1st. We need to stop kidding ourselfs, until we the ORV users stand together as one against the state keeping our areas open, The tree huggers will win and we will eather be outlaws weeling on private land or have to move to another state where wheeling it still allowe

P.S If our salmon are so indangered because on mud and silt running off the mountian into the river, then quit eating them!


Sad but true.

[Kimmy]

I attended a meeting at the DNR office last week, it was the monthly advisory board meeting but somehow rumor had gotten around that the meeting would address the North Fork and Pilchuck closures.

After the meeting addressing issues with Walker Valley the DNR - Stan Kurowski and Candace Johnson did state that the two closures were intended to be permanent. The Ms. Johnson stated that they had only learned of the closure 1 week prior to its public announcement. Much of the public that attended represented 4wd, atv and motorcycle users expressed their frustration with the closures and not being informed prior so that maybe something could have been done to prevent it.

A few continued to offer assistance to get it reopened and were told that it was closed and would not be reopened. The DNR cited no funds to operate or monitor the activities going on in those two areas. Excessive speed and serious accidents were cited for Pilchuck and sediment in sensitive areas that wash into the salmon bearing creeks and river were the cause for North Fork.

Once again as someone pointed out, the greens are much more organized and are all fighting for one cause. We as motorized users fight too much among ourselves, we cant seem to organize (with or without larger organizations versus clubs), point blank not enough people care. Their time is valuable to themselves but not valuable enough to give to fight for the cause. Sad but true. Soon the time for waking up and smelling the coffee will be gone, it too will be an endangered plant and no longer available for brewing.

[Not-Jobless]

.Soon the time for waking up and smelling the coffee will be gone, it too will be an endangered plant and no longer available for brewing.

No way :eek: say it isn't so :sad:

[Kimmy]

I knew I would have YOUR attention with that one. :)

Sad but true, your choices will be a worn out, abused trail at WV or your regular saturday afternoon run at Reiter unless you want to travel south.

[pokey]

Once again as someone pointed out, the greens are much more organized and are all fighting for one cause. We as motorized users fight too much among ourselves, we cant seem to organize (with or without larger organizations versus clubs), point blank not enough people care. Their time is valuable to themselves but not valuable enough to give to fight for the cause. Sad but true. Soon the time for waking up and smelling the coffee will be gone, it too will be an endangered plant and no longer available for brewing.


People have to work to be organized. Maybe if we all DID come together under one roof and work together things would happen. Right now you cant even get the 4x4 users to join the one real blanket org that exists in and for the northwest. Until people pull their heads out and at least do that we will continue to spiral downhill. The main reason the greens are so strong is because of the numbers of members all working for the same cause. Now just thing that if everyone that owned a 4x4 belonged to one group how much power we could have. Now as a org we are doing something about working with other groups but we all need to be working together as well.

http://www.pnw4wda.org/land_matters/washington/WOHVA.htm

[Kimmy]

We belonged to the PNW for 6-7 years as individual members b4 we formed Northern Toys, the club members were required to join the PNW for 10 or so years the club was actively involved in the PNW. I spend the last 4-5 of those years being the Region 1 secretary, then the last year we were involved as the first PNW membership chairperson. I sat in the same board meetings you did Jim and listed to the amount of time spent on things other than important land issues. That was the straw that broke the camels back for me/us. Can you honestly tell me that the back stabbing even within the board members has resolved and disappeared and the organization has changed dramatically in the 3 years we have been gone from it?

what about the new organization being formed? the one that will include motorcycle and atv users along with 4wd owners - that is an organization that makes more sense to me for being one for all and all for one united. We all have our reasons for belonging to organizations (or not belonging due to personal experiences)

sorry this was off topic.

[pokey]

We belonged to the PNW for 6-7 years as individual members b4 we formed Northern Toys, the club members were required to join the PNW for 10 or so years the club was actively involved in the PNW. I spend the last 4-5 of those years being the Region 1 secretary, then the last year we were involved as the first PNW membership chairperson. I sat in the same board meetings you did Jim and listed to the amount of time spent on things other than important land issues. That was the straw that broke the camels back for me/us. Can you honestly tell me that the back stabbing even within the board members has resolved and disappeared and the organization has changed dramatically in the 3 years we have been gone from it?

what about the new organization being formed? the one that will include motorcycle and atv users along with 4wd owners - that is an organization that makes more sense to me for being one for all and all for one united. We all have our reasons for belonging to organizations (or not belonging due to personal experiences)

sorry this was off topic.

Yes we went through some crap but those days are long gone :) As far as the new group. Its great and to my knowledge the PNW4WDA is the only 4wd Org in it and that brings me back to my original point.

Ya know its fine to sit back and complain that the org "dosent do this and dosent do that" but how is it supposed to do these thing when people just quit or dont join beacause they get miffed. If you want change then you have to get your hands dirty and make a differance. We need a strong group if we ever want to stand a chance of fighting the greens. Can you imagine the fight we could bring if we had say 10,000 members? And we threatend to sue over clousers? and had the resources to back it up! If people would pull their heads out for a moment and get proactive and join the ONLY org that represents them in wash/ore/idaho we could start stopping these clousers before they happen. Until that happens we will just keep loosing until theres no legal wheeling left :sad:

[Lynn Davison]

You both talked about fighting the forces to be regarding our ORV cause, however, how do we fight elected officals using our monies against us. I know vote him out.

Mr. Doug Sutherland, our Public Lands Commissioner should not be taking the law into his own hands by rewriting the WACs when the controlling RCWs have not been changed by the Legislature.

If DNR had used the time and public monies to enforce existing laws instead of attempting to enact WACs that essentially address the same issues the problems would have been solved long ago.

Kimmy, you said a few people spoke up at the DNR meeting regarding reopening areas that have been closed and DNR's resopnse was they don't have enough resources to patrol their, (OUR), land.

"I find it odd that five DNR officers driving Ford F-150's with motorcycles in the back, showed up at the North Fork gravel pit two weeks before the closure date to tell us that you were closing the mountain. However, DNR said they don't have resources???


They also said the area was being closed due to discussions with local public safety officials, I have not heard of anyone being hurt at the North Fork? They keep bringing up salmon spawning areas being ruined. We both know that the salmon are not even making it to the spawning grounds as they are dying in the illegal nets down river! I fired off a letter to Mr. Sutherland regarding these and other ORV issues and their office e-mailed me and said would get back within 10 working days. The 10 days are comming up soon. I will post their response when I get it.

And once again, if the salmon are that endangered, maybe we should quit eating them?

I'm afraid that by closing these DNR areas we all use and as tax payers, own, you are going to have renegade ORV users of all kinds using private land with out permission and we don't even want to talk about the ramifications of that?

Reading the proposed revisions to WAC 332-52 and especially WAC 332-52-070 gives one pause to consider how far the Department of Natural Resources has drifted from the admirable agenda that it once had of building trails and campgrounds and actively inviting the public to use and enjoy state lands.

Perhaps it is time for us to request the State Legislature to step in and
get things back on track.

By the way what is your take on CLOUT?

Lynn Davison

[samuri-on35s]

the samlon have been dead for year they wont come back like they used too. i guess its been that way since the 70s like used to be. maby becoming more of a group and working with dnr to get it open again will work. i mean look at rige rams.what is a DNR officer going to say with that one guys full size heading towards them?

[Kimmy]

Lynn, I thought that m aybe you would have been at the meeting.

Our club has worked with the NW Region DNR office for the past 10 years involved in discussions about Walker and North Fork. I have stacks of copies of letters that we and the club (and others) have written in support of these areas. We dont just "sit back and let others do the work or just complain" Jim. We have been an active part in land matters for a long time. We do belong to a "blanket organization" - The Blue Ribbon Coalition. I didnt expect you to understand my reasons - some of you can put up with more BS than others.

I support clubs and individuals who support our sport. I dont care how they do it or if they are in a club or not - if someone does something, ie writes letters, contacts representatives, researches the issues, shares information, attends rallys etc that is all good.

Samuri-on 35's why dont you call the DNR office in Sedro Woolley and talk to Candace Johnson or Stan Kurowski 360-856-3500 and see what kind of response you get to "working with the DNR to get it open again".

Lynn, Sutherland (other than maybe this most recent issue) has been Very supportive of ORV issues, I attended a conference that he spoke at and was convinced he was WAAAAAYYY more open to ORV use than Jennifer Belcher ever was. You might also want to look at our Gov and see how she along with other reps feel about orv use and then tell us how the few voting ORV users in our area can outweigh the hikers and the other wilderness supporters - we are outnumbered and Im not sure how to change that. Any one else got any ideas for local representatives and short of finding some orv supporter to run for office in respective counties...

[Kimmy]

also, Lynn the DNR is using emphasis patrols, using officers from other regions to come and patrol - this will be occuring at both N Fork and WV.

Lynn give me a call and can discuss some of the trail issues...