National forests around the region have begun unveiling new strategies to close, shorten seasons or levy new fees at campgrounds, trailheads and other recreation sites that they can no longer afford to maintain.
Blueprints for the Deschutes, Willamette and Umpqua national forests in Oregon call for shutting down lesser-used campgrounds such as the Shady Dell Campground near Oakridge and charging fees at the Clear Lake picnic area east of Eugene.
It's part of a nationwide strategy by the U.S. Forest Service to bring its aging array of recreation facilities into line with the shrinking pool of money it has to maintain them -- and with what the public wants.
Funding for recreation sites in Oregon and Washington has dropped from $25.7 million in fiscal 2005 to $21.9 million proposed in President Bush's 2007 budget.
While the sites targeted for closure may not be the most popular, officials acknowledge they may include favorite out-of-the-way spots where some families have camped for years.
It reflects the hard times now faced by national forests no longer flush with money like they had during the logging heyday.
Each national forest is ranking its recreation sites according to factors such as how closely it fits with the forest's main attractions. Highly ranked sites may be upgraded, while low-ranked sites may be closed or operated for shorter periods each year.
The approach tries to do in an organized way what might otherwise happen haphazardly when a funding crisis hits, forest officials say.
"Where we're shortening the season, we're matching it to where the use is," said Doris Tai of the Willamette National Forest. "We don't intend to go in and make changes overnight."
But Scott Silver of the Bend group Wild Wilderness, which opposes commercialization of public lands, said the process favors the busiest sites at the busiest times of the year over the quieter places in the off-season. That undermines the allure of public lands, he said.
"It just herds people through like cattle," he said. "Nobody gets to experience what the forest is really like during the slower times."
The Gifford Pinchot and Mount Hood national forests closer to Portland have not unveiled their strategies. But Ron Freeman of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington said initial indications are that about 20 of the forest's recreation sites might face closure.
Other alternatives might include shutting down a campground's water system to avoid costly repairs and leaving it open to campers who bring their own water, he said.
The Gifford Pinchot will have to dip into its reserve money to pay for operating its visitor centers around Mount St. Helens next year, he said.
Many of national forest campgrounds built decades ago along shady streams or in high valleys have reached the end of their lives, forest officials say. They need either expensive overhauls to bring them up to standard, or they need to be closed.
The Willamette National Forest that encompasses Detroit Lake and the McKenzie River east of Salem and Eugene examined 171 sites and is proposing to shut down 10 and reduce the seasons or facilities at 22 more.
But 53 campgrounds and other sites could get upgrades, including new toilets. As many as 10 might be converted to privately operated concession sites, and nine could see increased fees.
Plans for higher fees might be complicated by a federal court ruling in Arizona earlier this month that found the Forest Service is illegally charging fees for parking along forest roads and trailheads. A federal magistrate there concluded the Forest Service had gone beyond what Congress allowed in charging recreation fees for using public lands.
Federal recreation fees have become an important source of revenue for maintaining trailheads, picnic sites and other national facilities. They include the Northwest Forest Pass, required for use of forests in Oregon and Washington, but are hotly debated by critics who argue the public should not have to pay to use public lands.
The Arizona ruling does not invalidate fees across the country but raises questions about whether national forests elsewhere can make their own fees stick.
"This is the first case in the country to come down this way, so the implications are major," said Mary Ellen Barilotti, the attorney who won the Arizona case on behalf of a client who had been ticketed. Barilotti, formerly based in California, has recently moved to Hood River.
She said fees charged in Northwest forests could also be struck down in court.
National forests that have released their plans for recreation sites are now seeking public comments on the proposals. The Willamette is trying to focus its limited money on its most popular areas, such as often crowded facilities around Detroit Lake, Tai said.
Since recreational use of the forest is generally increasing, she said, even sites that are closed may not be closed permanently so they can be reopened later if demand warrants.The Oregonian
