Flood-damaged Metolius Basin roads closed
By Jo Zucker
The Sisters Ranger District has received federal emergency funding to
repair or close roughly 41 miles of flood-damaged roads north of Highway
20 in the Metolius River Basin.
The goal of the closure is to reduce the harmful effects of roads on watersheds.
The agency has allocated roughly $120,000 to replace a culvert with a bridge over Candle Creek. It will spend roughly $160,000 to implement the remainder of the road repairs and closures.
The Candle Creek Bridge will serve multiple purposes. It will provide a stable crossing, allow bull trout and kokanee to migrate without obstruction, and will benefit the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs which will it for timber hauling and fire suppression in conjunction with the Forest Service.
The roads slated for repair or closure are an erosion problem, harming
bull and rainbow trout with sediment washed into fish spawning and rearing
h
abitat. Many of
these roads also channelize run-off, increasing peak flow in small streams,
which causes bank instability.
The ranger district also proposes to close roads when automobile traffic threatens to destroy repairs or where it is not economically feasible to repair them.
Although the agency originally proposed closing about 41 miles of road (76 roads), concern over access for fire protection led them to close only 24 miles of road (49 roads). The remaining 17 miles (27 roads) will be repaired but not closed.
Other roads remain open to provide the Forest Service with access to projects at the end of the roads, and to provide recreationists with greater access to sites.
Mike Riehle, Sisters District Fish Biologist, said the agency attempted
to "balance public access against the money we would have to spend
to reduce the effects of the road network on streams."
The district received comments from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in support of reducing road density to benefit bull trout habitat and wildlife, but hunters and recreationists were concerned that parts of the forest would be less accessible.
"Road closures are designed to maintain what improvements we make, they are not meant to deny people access," Riehle said. "The roads we are closing are in areas that have other roads already. We are targeting roads that have gully erosion problems."
Although the latest Forest Service proposal gates the Two Springs Road (1237), it will open the gate by November 1 during the deer hunting season and part of the elk hunting season. The First Creek Road will be closed to vehicles but open to use by mountain bikers.
The Forest Service will attempt to return 40 roads to their natural condition, and will inactivate nine roads.
Riehle emphasized that the road repairs and closures are the first in a two-part project. The ranger district is presently pursuing funding for the portion relating to closures for wildlife protection.