Blog Archives for Sarah Peters

By Sarah Peters - July 22, 2010    Although the use of alcohol at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area was banned several years ago, as highlighted in our report "Six Strategies for Effective Enforcement," it is still apparently a problem.  An article from yesterday's Umpqua Post highlights the issue. 

By Sarah Peters - June 11, 2010    On Saturday, June 5, two road blowouts from plugged culverts closed a popular route on the Custer National Forest outside of Red Lodge, Montana and dumped debris and sediment into the Main Fork of Rock Creek.  The road is closed indefinitely until repairs can be made.   

By Sarah Peters - May 11, 2010   

By Sarah Peters - April 7, 2010    An article in the Douglas County, Oregon News-Review over the weekend highlighted damage that is occurring on private timber land in southern Oregon due to off road vehicle use.  While private land owners have in the past turned a blind eye to off road vehicle use on their lands, they now find themselves in a situation where the damage that is occurring is too great to ignore.  But, stopping the illegal trespass is easier said than done.  Read the full article here.

By Sarah Peters - December 23, 2009    Today Judge Molloy signed a settlement agreement between Wildlands CPR, Friends of the Bitterroot, and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest that removes authorization for snowmobile grooming in the northern half of the West Pioneers Wilderness Study Area for the 2009-2010 season, and terminates the authorization entirely after the present season. 

By Sarah Peters - December 8, 2009    Yesterday Wildlands CPR and four other conservation groups, Cascadia Wildlands, Umpqua Watersheds, Oregon Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity, joined forces to challenge a trail construction project slated for an undeveloped Roadless Area in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area on the Siuslaw National Forest. 

By Sarah Peters - October 14, 2009    The Forest Service announced today that it will be permanently closing the Upper Tellico OHV System to off road vehicle use.  This decision comes after over two years of study and heated debate.  Managers of the Forest finally admitted that the area is simply unsuitable for off road recreational use.  You can access the decision documents and Forest Service press release here.

By Sarah Peters - October 7, 2009    Last week a federal judge determined that the Forest Service did not adequately evaluate the effects of allowing road building and other activites on almost 1 million acres where that activity had previously been restricted. You can read more about the decision here.

By Sarah Peters - June 5, 2009    Next Thursday evening, June 11 at 7pm at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, MT is a film screening of a new movie entitled "Division Street," co-sponsored by American Wildlands and Transportation For America. A panel discussion with the film's producer, Eric Bendick, and representatives from Tranportation For America and America Wildlands will begin at 8:15pm.  “Division Street” presents a new generation of ecologists, engineers, city-planners, and everyday citizens who are making way for wildlife by transforming the future of the American road.

By Sarah Peters - May 26, 2009    Last week the Minnesota Governor signed a state parks bill into law that also increased the fines for resource damage casued by ORVs.  The law makes reckless destruction of wetlands a gross misdemeanor, rather than just a misdemeanor.  This means that individuals convicted of wetland violations or illegal riding in rivers, lakes, state parks or state natural areas could face a penalty of up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $3,000.  They would also be banned from riding an ORV for a year.  If caught a second time, their machine could be immediately confiscated and forfeiture pro