News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

F.S. mulls proposal for guided biking

The Forest Service is proposing to approve special use permits for two local businesses, Stagecoach Adventures and Cog Wild, to provide shuttle services to and from several trailheads within the Sisters Ranger District. Both companies have provided proposals for their operations and the District is currently completing the environmental effects (NEPA) and special-use permitting reviews.

According to District Ranger Ian Reid, the two companies have proposed to operate shuttles that would serve hikers, bikers (mountain and/or gravel), and winter recreationists. They would use 15-passenger vans with a roof rack for bikes and other equipment. Both companies propose to run shuttles through the spring, summer, and fall seasons and Stagecoach would continue shuttles through the winter.

In addition, the Forest Service is reviewing a proposal from Cog Wild for outfitter guide use on the Sisters Ranger District. This includes guided mountain bike rides or skills sessions, up to 50 trips per year. Their overall permitted use across the Deschutes National Forest would remain the same, however this permit would allow for additional locations for their guided trips.

The public can submit comments by email to: [email protected]. Put the name of the project in the subject line of the email. Comments must be submitted as part of an actual email message, or as an attachment in Microsoft Word, rich text format (rtf), or portable document format (pdf) only. Comments submitted to any email address other than the one listed above, in any other format, or that contain viruses may be rejected. All comments should be received by July 19.

Comments may be submitted by post mail to: Ian Reid, District Ranger, Sisters Ranger District, PO Box 249, Sisters, Oregon 97759. Hand-delivered missives may be delivered to the same address during normal business hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

For more information about this proposal please contact Erik Taylor, special uses permit administrator, by email at [email protected].

 
 

Reader Comments(1)

Monica writes:

This article doesn't include the actual proposal. The general public needs to be able to read the proposal in order to understand what the proposal is, in order to comment. It's July 16 and comments are due July 19. Maybe ask USFS: what is the remedy at this point?

 
 
 
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