Early impact: Snowshoe, ski with ranger tours canceled

Discover Your Forest’s Public Ski and Snowshoe tours will not be offered this weekend due to a lapse in federal funding, officials said Friday night.

Ski and snowshoe programs scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 10 AM, 1:30 PM and 2 PM will not be offered. These programs will resume once federal employees and Volunteers can return to service pending the resolution of budget issues.

From 1:00 pm to 3:00 p.m Sunday, families can attend the Discover Your Forest Junior Snow Ranger event at Mt. Bachelor West Village. The event is free, but donations are greatly appreciated to support Discover Your Forest programs throughout the Deschutes National Forest.

The Junior Snow Ranger event is designed for children in the 4th and 5th grade, but activities are appropriate for 7-11 year olds. Outdoor activities include snowshoeing, winter safety, exploring snowflakes, wildlife tracking, winter ecology and special appearances by the Mt. Bachelor Avalanche Rescue Dogs.

The program mission is to inspire youth to embrace a life-long relationship with the winter environment, and to become stewards of the land. It is a family program and adults are encouraged to play with their kids. People can stay for an hour or for the afternoon.

Discover Your Forest is the proud non-profit partner of the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Crooked River National Grassland. Along with our parent non-profit, Discover Your Northwest, we are committed to connecting visitors and volunteers with Central Oregon’s National Forests through great visitor services, accessible interpretive programs and opportunities to support our public lands.

For more information go to www.discoveryourforest.org or call 541.301.1844.