C.O. wilderness feeling impact of surge in visitors

A Wilderness Pub Panel hosted by Discover Your Forest focused on the future of wilderness management in Central Oregon on Tuesday evening.

Loss of solitude in wilderness areas, trash and human waste, and the increased human footprint were all effects discussed by the panel.

The panel loosely defined the wilderness as much of the public, recreational land in Central Oregon.

The panelists included Kevney Dugan, Visit Bend President and CEO; Garth Fuller of The Nature Conservancy in Eastern Oregon; Troy Hall, Oregon State University’s Department Head of Forest Ecosystems and Society; Kim McCarrel, Oregon Equestrian Trails Vice President Public Lands and Author,; and Amy Tinderholt, the deputy district ranger for the Forest Service Bend-Ft. Rock Ranger District.

Part of the problem is trying to figure out what is best for the public lands, such as secured parking and trash disposal, while also providing a wide range of recreational opportunities for residents and visitors.

Dick Malone of Bend said he wants to know how the Deschutes National Forest is going to handle it.

“I know that people are leaving a footprint, is it really noticeable, but I think a lot of the people here that use the trails are very considerate,” Malone said. “There are the folks that aren’t used to wilderness areas that I think need to be educated. I am concerned about the traffic, dogs, and what they do to wildlife in the wilderness areas.”

According to the Forest Service, by 2065, the population will be over 350,000 people in Deschutes County — many of whom will want to hike South Sister or Broken Top.

The Forest Service is trying to avoid harm to the environment through overuse. Hall said about 85 percent of wilderness use is during the day, and wilderness managers are also seeing the effects of GPS technology, because people are starting to forge their own trails.

“Wilderness managers are supposed to protect these unique opportunities for solitude, and when uses increase 500 percent in some areas, many people think that has diminished those opportunities,” Hall said. “That’s not necessarily harming the wilderness as much, but then we also have documented that impacts from camping have some pretty significant impacts on vegetation types.”

Hall said research has pointed to a “leave-no-trace” method, where people pack things in and pack everything back out.

But Tinderholt said wilderness visitation is a big problem and managers have a duty to uphold the Wilderness Act.

“What we are hoping to do is preserve some areas where there is an idea that you can experience solitude, where you are expected to have some self reliance, and you can go out and have that feeling of exploration,” Tinderholt said. “I imagine a lot of areas that are heavily signed and you can enjoy it with a lot of people, but these areas are different in the way we are supposed to manage them.”

The Forest Service is working on alternative permit strategies to potentially limit some of the entry into the wilderness areas. If you would like to learn more, visit the link below:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/projectdetail/deschutes/landmanagement/planning/?cid=FSEPRD543135