Timberline Bike Park – comments needed by Oct 31

THE BASIC STORY

Well, to make a long story short (you can read the longer story below), a federal judge recently ruled in favor of the USFS and Timberline. The only hurdle for the Timberline Bike Park now is a mandated comment period around the scope of the initial environmental assessment for the project.

GET INVOLVED

The Forest Service has some requirements on comments:

 
SUBJECT
Timberline Mountain Bike New Information
 
SAMPLE letter (please write your own)

District Ranger Westerbrook,

I am writing in support of the Timberline Ski Area Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Park project. This project has been analyzed and litigated since 2010. During that time I have stood in support of this project. In August 2016 the final National Marine Fisheries Service assessment found no risk Lower Columbia River fish stock. Three years of biological studies concerning Western bumble bees find their range broadening across the forest and no risk of them being federally listed. I recognize we need fish and pollination to live. I am fully satisfied with the comprehensive analysis. Please allow construction of this much desired public recreation asset to move forward on our land. Thank you for your public service.

Sincerley,
YOUR NAME GOES HERE

WHERE TO SEND YOUR LETTER
Email: comments-pacificnorthwest-mthood-zigzag@fs.fed.us
or
Fax: 503-668-1423
or
Physical Address:
Mt Hood National Forest
16400 Champion Way
Sandy, OR 97055-7248

The Timberline Bike Park proposal was approved in 2012 following 2 years of environmental studies, resulting in a comprehensive Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposal. The Forest Service issued a Decision and Finding of No significant Impact based on the analysis in the EA. This approval was subsequently appealed by a consortium of groups, led by the Friends of Mt. Hood. Upon review by the Region VI Regional Forester, the decision was upheld and the appeal was denied.

Just prior to the start of construction, the CRAG Law Firm, representing Friends of Mt. Hood, the Sierra Club, BARK and the NW Environmental Defense Center, filed suit against the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, and requested an injunction to halt any activity in regards to the proposed Bike Park. Timberline requested and was granted the right to be joined as a co-defendant intervenor with the Forest Service. A federal judge issued an interim injunction pending the court issuing a ruling regarding the merits of the issues in the case. This injunction applied to any trail building, but allowed most of the restoration work to proceed. The restoration work was substantially completed in the Fall of 2015. Subsequent to the initial stages of the law suit, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was also named in an amended complaint.

In the Spring of this year, the federal judge ruled in favor of the Forest Service, NMFS and Timberline on most of the issues in the lawsuit, and deferred ruling on the few remaining issues pending Forest Service and NMFS completion of updated reviews of additional information in the form of an additional NFMS Biological Opinion, and the results of further Western Bumblebee surveys.

Yesterday, the Forest Service issued their review of the additional information on their website, their reasoning behind why they feel that the new information is consistent with prior work, concluding that no supplemental EA or other additional NEPA is required and provided for another public comment period regarding their review and conclusions, ending October 31st. The intent of the comment period is to receive input from the public as to whether or not to prepare a supplemental EA or otherwise reopen the EA process, which would further delay implementation of the Bike Park project.

Winter is in full swing up in the 44 zone this year, which puts our trail projects on hold until the snow melts back enough to allow access again. In the meantime, we do have a few projects idling in the background. First is the Cooks Meadow trail extension project that we started in the November. Second is the planning process for the second annual Trailgate event to be held in July of 2016. Finally, third is working with other mountain bike and trail advocacy groups regarding Oregon Wild’s “unfinished business” for a proposed expansion of wilderness designation on the Mt. Hood National Forest.

Cooks Meadow and the National Forest Foundation
Come spring melt, the Cooks Meadow extension trail project will be a top priority along with the annual logout of downed timber on the 44 trail network. We were awarded a grant in from the National Forest Foundation (NFF) in 2015 to help offset the costs of our annual logout and work related to the Cooks Meadow extension project. We were awarded money under the National Forest Foundation Ski Conservation Fund (SCF). The grant is designed for action-oriented, on-the-ground projects that improve forest health and outdoor experiences on National Forests. Award funds come from guest contributions at ski areas and lodges operating on or adjacent to National Forest. In our case, money came through the Cooper Spur Mountain Resort on Hood’s northeast side. It’s great to have the support of local businesses and their patrons in our efforts to maintain and support the 44 trails! We look forward to getting back on the dirt to put our NFF funding to work this spring!

Trailgate 2016
Last summer, we held our first ever trail day event that focused on riding not working! Trailgate 2015 was a great success. Based out of the Billy Bob SnoPark on Mt Hood’s Barlow Ranger District, we hosted a couple hundred trail users for a beautiful day of pedaling, eating and music. Well, we filed the paperwork with the USFS to host Trailgate 2016 in July. We’ll be sure to keep you posted! You can also sign up for our mailing list (we never share it with anyone) and you’ll receive notices about 44 Trails Association related events and occasional trail news like fire closures, significant trail condition updates and such.

Wilderness Proposal
Oregon Wild is still working to expand the Mt Hood Wilderness designation in the Boulder Lake / Barlow District area of the Mount Hood National Forest. It’s all part of what they call “unfinished business” related to the 2009 legislation which added wilderness status to new sections of the Mt Hood National Forest.

We value our public lands and consider ourselves active stewards of our local forests and trails. We understand the value of wilderness but we do not support Oregon Wild’s expansion plan. We are working with other mountain bike trail advocacy groups including IMBA, OBRA and NWTA to create a unified and intelligent opposition to Oregon Wild’s efforts. We’ll be sure to keep you posted of any significant news on this front. In the meantime, you can read a little more about Oregon Wild’s plan and our reasons for being opposed as well as how and where to voice your opinion.

view of mt hood from cooks meadow extension

Well, it took a little longer than we were hoping, but the Hood River Ranger District just approved the proposed Cooks Meadow Extension Trail that we have been hoping to begin work on this fall.

44 Trails Association would like to thank all who commented and added their support  during the public process for the new trail.

map of area

The new trail will move the route off of the 4410 road and create approximately four miles of new single track! A short section (2/10 of a mile) at the very top, which crossed the High Prairie Meadow, was adjusted based on public comment. Although it would have been nice to roll through the meadow, we can live with 2/10 of a mile on the road to connect to the parking lot.

You can read the full Cooks Meadow decision document from the district ranger here.

We will announcing our work party schedule before the end of September and hope to hold at least one trail work day this October. Stay tuned for details or sign up for our e-mail list to be notified automatically.

Once completed, the Cooks Meadow extension will connect the lower Cooks Meadow trail with High Prairie and the 450 trail, creating a new loop ride and further working toward our goal of an interconnected trail system worthy of destination riding on the Mt Hood National Forest.