Rec area near Sisters gains protections
A popular recreation area on the Sisters Ranger District northwest of Sisters is getting added protections — including boulders in campsites and decommissioned trails — “to preserve its beauty and health into the future,” officials said Monday.
The Sisters Ranger District is addressing overuse issues in the Meadow Lakes Basin area, near Cache Mountain, “and wants to let the public know about the changes,” an announcement said.
Boulders have been placed in seven of the most highly used dispersed campsites to prevent continued vegetation and riparian damage in those sites.
People can continue to access the campsites. In addition, less than one mile of user created roads and trails was decommissioned and will be planted with native and riparian plants in coming months.
Recreationists coming to the area are asked to respect these protections in order to avoid more expensive restoration efforts or closures.
For more information contact Kirk Flannigan at the Sisters Ranger District, 541-549-7730.
Meadow Lakes Basin is a popular recreation area that is enjoyed by birders, OHV enthusiasts, fishermen, campers, and kayakers. The basin shares a boundary with the Willamette National Forest and the Santiam Pass OHV area, and receives a number of visitors from both western and central Oregon.
Sisters District employees have been monitoring use, educating visitors, and inventorying roads and trails in the area over the last several years. They said human impacts have been accumulating and are visible throughout the basin.
Resource damage including destruction of trees, degradation of riparian areas, accumulation of trash and human waste have been a constant concern in the lakes basin. In addition, user created roads and trails are braided around the lakes and system roads.
