Decision recalled on Santiam road

The Pacific Northwest Regional Forester has recalled a decision allowing a mix of hiking and off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on the Santiam Wagon Road in light of the chance that the historical trail may be placed on the National Register of Historical Places.

Most people in the Sisters Country are unfamiliar with Oregon's unique history of the 1850s when families hauled all they had in wagons over the Santiam Wagon Road and drove livestock from the Willamette to Eastern and Central Oregon to take advantage of free land and range.

On the other hand, hikers who enjoy the solitude of the eastern front of the Cascades often recall the days when the old Santiam Wagon Road was once one of their favorite hiking places, and has great historic value, recalling the hardships of early Oregonian pioneers.

With the increase of motorized recreation - especially within the OHV community - places to go and ride are always in demand. When riders discovered the Santiam Wagon Road, it fit what they were looking for. Before the USFS could establish a management plan, OHV riders moved in and a recreational conflict got started that is still going on.

In an attempt to smooth out some of the conflict, the McKenzie Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest - the agency that is responsible for the welfare of the old wagon road - came up with a plan that protected several portions of the historic wagon road and gave hikers a place to enjoy peace and quiet.

According to the official map, contained in the USFS recreation plan, OHVers have the run of that part of the forest, all the way from Nash Crater to Potato Hill, Hoodoo Butte and over to Hayrick Butte, an area twice the size of Sisters.

Richard Spray, who has been hiking in the old wagon road area for years, stated, "In December, 2007 the McKenzie River Ranger District released an Environmental Analysis (EA) in which all alternatives included the use of ATVs and dirt bikes on the wagon road through the Santiam Pass. The backbone of the EA was the inclusion of two letters from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) stating that none of the alternatives would have an adverse effect on the historic wagon road.

"When queried by the Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council (OHTAC) about veracity of those letters it was revealed that the State Historical Preservation Officer (SHPO) had determined that the wagon road through the Pass was 'destroyed' and had no historic values remaining and therefore could not be adversely effected."

What the SHPO didn't say was that the destruction of the road was caused by ATVs and dirt bikes. Long before the USFS established managed trails for off-road vehicles, they were allowed to go where they wanted and do what they liked. Damage to the historic Santiam Wagon Road is the result of such "user-created" trails.

The first proposal for the project began in March, 2003 when the District Rangers of the McKenzie River Ranger District and the Sisters Ranger District cosigned a Project Initiation Letter on the "Santiam Pass Dispersed Recreation Project."

The official decision handed down from the USFS states: "Approximately 3.8 miles of the SWR will be designated as motorized mixed-use. This will be from the Deschutes National Forest Boundary going west... Although speed will be limited, this will allow for users to still access many of the roads, trails and dispersed campsites."

There was no statement on how this speed limit was to be enforced.

OHTAC member Richard Spray said, "Since OHTAC believes that ATV and dirt bike use on historic trails is incompatible with the purposes of historic trails (the State has 16 such historic trails designated by law), OHTAC has filed an Appeal of the DN/FONSI with the Regional Forester. The appeal is pending."

Spray recently received word that Deschutes National Forest Archaeologist Paul Claeyssens received funding from the Regional Office and has formed an Enterprise Team to prepare nomination papers to place the entire Santiam Wagon Road on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).