Proposed Supplementary Rules for Public Land in Oregon and Washington

[ADragoo]

From this morning's Federal Register (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-22608.htm):

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ACTION: Proposed Supplementary Rules on Public Land in Oregon and
Washington.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon State Office is
proposing supplementary rules for public lands within the States of
Oregon and Washington. These supplementary rules revise existing
supplementary rules and will apply to all BLM-managed lands within the
States of Oregon and Washington. These revisions are necessary in order
to protect public land natural resources and provide for the public's
health and safety, provide needed guidance in the areas of special
forest products and recreation, allow for the assessment of penalties
that are commensurate with the magnitude of prohibited acts, and
promote consistency between the BLM and other natural resource
agencies.

DATES: Comments on the proposed supplementary rules must be received or
postmarked by November 20, 2009, to be assured consideration. In
developing final supplementary rules, the BLM is not obligated to
consider comments postmarked or received in person or by electronic
mail after this date.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver comments to the Office of Law
Enforcement, BLM, Oregon State Office, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, Oregon
97208. You may also comment via the Internet e-mail address: ORWA--
Prop_Rule@blm.gov. Include ``Attn: Law Enforcement'' in your subject
line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Roop, Office of Law
Enforcement and Security, Oregon State Office, P.O. Box 2965, Portland,
Oregon 97208, telephone (503) 808-6410. Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the hearing impaired (TDD) may contact
this individual by calling the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS)
at (800) 877-8339, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will receive a
reply during business hours.

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Supplementary rules are also necessary to address the Juniper Dunes
Off-Highway Vehicle/All Terrain Vehicle (OHV/ATV) area. In the spring
of 2007, the BLM obtained an easement for public access to the Juniper
Dunes OHV/ATV area in Franklin County, which is located in southeast
Washington State. The BLM undertook a planning process for parking
areas and an informational kiosk. At that time, BLM determined that
rules were needed for the area.
The number of visitors to the Juniper Dunes OHV area has increased
steadily. Since the 1980s, the number of unofficial, privately-owned
OHV areas in southeast Washington State has decreased because many have
been converted to commercial or residential purposes. Another factor
has been improved public access to the Juniper Dunes due to the BLM's
acquisition of an easement. The BLM has observed not only increasing
numbers of visitors to the Juniper Dunes, but also increased numbers of
accidents involving OHVs. The planning process revealed a need to add
to the existing safety protocols in order to reduce the incidence and
severity of accidents at the Juniper Dunes.
In May 2007, the BLM posted temporary rules at the Dunes and in the
Spokane BLM office. These rules were based on safety concerns, were
modeled on the State of Washington's OHV/ATV regulations, and were
intended to reduce conflicts with and damage to adjacent private lands.
These proposed supplementary rules for the Juniper Dunes OHV/ATV area
would replace the temporary rules which have successfully reduced
safety issues and user/resident conflicts.

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4. Juniper Dunes OHV/ATV Use Area
(a) You must wear an industry approved safety helmet when operating
a motorcycle or OHV/ATV on all BLM lands or lands leased by the BLM and
roads within the Juniper Dunes area.
(b) You must not carry a passenger when operating a motorcycle or
ATV/OHV on BLM public lands unless the ATV/OHV is designed by the
manufacturer to carry a passenger.
(c) You must not operate a motorcycle or ATV/OHV without a safety
flag while on BLM lands in the Juniper Dunes. All such vehicles must
have a whip mast and a 6 inch x 12 inch red/orange safety flag. Flags
may be of pennant, triangle, square, or rectangular shape. Safety flags
must be attached within 10 inches of the tip of the whip mast with club
or other flags mounted below the safety flag or on another whip. Masts
must be a minimum of 6 feet in height/length or industry standard
height/length.
(d) You must not operate a motorcycle or ATV/OHV without a safety
flag on the Peterson Road, Juniper Road, Smith Canyon Road, and
Wilderness Road. Safety flags are not required for street-legal four
wheeled passenger vehicles on those roads.
(e) You must not race or drive recklessly or carelessly on Peterson
Road, Juniper Road, Smith Canyon Road, or Wilderness Road.
(f) You must not use wood pallets for any type of fire on BLM
public lands or roads in the Juniper Dunes area.

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[Grumpy]

Mike Shannahan will be at our Nov. meeting, and I'm pretty sure there'll be discussion between now and then as to this subject. We are working on getting lined out for a cleanup now, and discussing ways to make it unpleasant for some of the locals to go out there and have beer busts and illegal fires. I'm getting pretty annoyed with the whole access/safety/moron users thing out there...

[Arlene Brooks]

On May 18th, 2007 the Bureau of Land Mangement (BLM) posted temporary rules at the Dunes based on safety concerns and modeled after the State of Washingtion OHV/ATV regulations and were intended to reduce conflicts with damage to adjacent private lands; it also addressed the BLM obtaining an easement for public access, etc. (44 CFR 83641 (b)(2) - Uses and Activities.
(CFR = Code of Federal Regulations)

This new Proposed Supplementary Rule (Sept. '09) revises the '07 Rule. It contains six (6) sections; # 4 Juniper Dunes OHV/ATV Use Area addresses the same requirements as found in the May '07 temporary rules. EXCEPTION: language has been omitted requiring current state registration or visable stickers/tabs on OHV/ATV vehicles; nor does it state personal identification needs to be carried on the person operating the off road vehicle; (d) does add language addressing Juniper, Smith Canyon and Wilderness Roads - in May '07 only the Peterson Road was noted.

As you read the current BLM posting in the Federal Register - it implies requirements are leveled at OHV (motorcycle) and ATV (Quads) more than at the four wheel drive users. The only place four wheeled passenger vehicle is sighted - (d) "Safety flags are not required for street-legal vehicle on roads stated above."

It is clear the agency's defination for OHV/ATV needs to be clarified ( motorcycle/ATV/four wheel drive users). A letter has been drafted on behalf of the Association - requesting clarification on their OHV defination and the statement "requiring safety equipment for OHV users" - "they are mixing apples and oranges" again. I will keep everyone informed as to the outcome.

Arlene Brooks, WA. State Director (pnw4wda -c)

[Grumpy]

Arlene, could we get a copy of the letter for the the club? This whole Juniper thing may get to be a real issue directly...

[Arlene Brooks]

Dave,

I have sent you a copy for your club files; Region 4 Director, Earl Nettnin and Land Coordinators have a copy on file for their region also.

Arlene

[Art Waugh]

When the USFS banned booze at the Dunes NRA, their problems went way, way down, and so did the litter out on the sand. BLM might want to look at what they did, and see if they want to follow suit.

Flags required down here on ATV's and buggies/4x4's but not on bikes yet.