[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63924-63926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22170]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-116-5882-PA; HAG-07-0130]


Emergency Closures and Restrictions on Public Land in Oregon

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Emergency Closures and Restrictions.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Title 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Sec.  
8364.1 and 43 CFR 8341.2(a), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
Medford District Office is publishing these closures and restrictions 
for motorized vehicles on certain public lands in Jackson County 
Oregon. These lands are located within the Timber Mountain Off-Highway 
Vehicle (OHV) Area, under the jurisdiction of the BLM Medford District 
Office. The closures and restrictions are needed in order to protect 
the area's natural resources and provide for public health and safety 
and address ongoing resource damage, vehicles and off-road vehicles, 
and conduct.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These closures and restrictions are effective at the 
time of this publication, November 13, 2007, and will remain in effect 
until the adverse effects are eliminated and measures are implemented 
to prevent their reoccurrence. Comments may still be submitted and are 
welcome.
    Comments, including names, street addresses, and other contact 
information of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
office of the Bureau of Land Management, Medford, Oregon, during 
regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. Before including your address, telephone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, be advised that your entire comment--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public 
review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that 
we will be able to do so.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments concerning these closures and 
restrictions to: John Gerritsma, Bureau of Land Management, Medford 
District Office, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, Oregon 97504. Comments may 
also be submitted electronically to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Gerritsma, Medford District 
Office, Medford, Oregon, telephone (541) 618-2438. Persons who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM's Medford District Office has closed 
Bunny Meadows (a gravel stockpile site) and the surrounding public 
lands to camping and off-road vehicle use. Off-road (or off-highway) 
vehicle off-loading in a designated area, and motorized vehicle use on 
BLM road 38S-3W-14.0 will continue to be allowed to facilitate OHV 
access to trails and roads located to the west of Bunny Meadows on BLM-
administered lands. The purpose of the closure is to protect soils, 
water, and fisheries resources that

[[Page 63925]]

are suffering adverse impacts due to OHV use. In addition, this closure 
is needed to protect public health and safety. The legal description of 
the Bunny Meadows closure area is BLM-administered land in the W\1/2\ 
of Section 14, the NE\1/4\ NE\1/4\ of Section 15, and the SE\1/4\ NE\1/
4\ of Section 15, T. 38 S., R. 3 W., Willamette Meridian (WM). This 
closure involves about 200 acres of BLM-administered lands.
    OHV use, and associated dispersed camping, has increased 
tremendously in the past year in the Bunny Meadows area resulting in a 
user-created OHV track (used to ride laps) within streamside Riparian 
Reserves of Forest Creek and immediately adjacent to homes on private 
land. Forest Creek is designated Coho Critical Habitat, and unmanaged 
OHV use and dispersed camping in streamside Riparian Reserves in the 
Bunny Meadows area is contributing to increased sediment in Forest 
Creek. Coho salmon are listed as a Threatened species under the 
Endangered Species Act. OHVs are also crossing Forest Creek County Road 
along a curve with poor visibility in order to access BLM-administered 
lands to the north of Bunny Meadows.
    The BLM Medford District Office has closed about 1,524-acres of 
BLM-administered lands to OHVs in the northeastern corner of the Timber 
Mountain OHV Area. Closed lands include portions of Sections 1, 2, 11, 
12, and 13, T. 37 S., R. 3 W., and portions of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 
17, T. 37 S., R. 2 W., W.M. The purpose of the closure is to protect 
soils, water, and fisheries resources that are being adversely impacted 
by OHV use.
    Stream surveys were conducted on a reach of Kane Creek in September 
2005. Habitat conditions have changed substantially since the last 
survey in 2001 and are declining. Kane Creek is identified as Critical 
Habitat for coho salmon. Decomposed granitic sand accounts for 80-100% 
of all substrates in pool habitats, with deposits as much as 10 inches 
in depth observed. Many of the pools have accumulated so much sand that 
they no longer function as pools. Decomposed granitic sand now accounts 
for 70% of all substrates, followed by cobble (13%) and boulder (10%). 
Suitable aquatic habitat capable of supporting populations of salmonids 
has been reduced in this section of Kane Creek due to the large 
accumulation of sand. The deposition of sediment (granitic sand) 
throughout this reach is so extensive that the reach is no longer 
capable of storing any additional inputs. Any additional sediment 
inputs will be transported downstream to other aquatic habitats and 
stored where conditions permit, potentially impacting the entire fish 
bearing reach of Kane Creek. In 2001, substrate composition was 
described for this same reach as 10% silt, 30% sand, 25% gravel, 25% 
cobble, and 10% boulder. The major sources of this sediment are old 
skid trails and roads now used as an OHV trail system located upstream 
on BLM-managed lands and adjacent private lands. These roads and trails 
are located in highly erodible granitic soils. OHV riders are accessing 
these trails from both private and BLM-managed lands. One of the main 
access points is located on BLM-managed lands located off of Kane Creek 
road.
    The closures, located within the Timber Mountain OHV Area, have 
been posted on the ground with signs. Maps of the closures are 
available upon request in the office of the Bureau of Land Management, 
3040 Biddle Road, Medford, Oregon. Maps of the closures are also posted 
on BLM's Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/recreation/timberedmountain.php.
    The BLM designated the 16,250-acre Timber Mountain OHV Area to 
provide for ``limited'' OHV use in the 1995 Medford District Resource 
Management Plan (RMP). The Medford District BLM is in the process of 
developing the Timber Mountain Off-highway Vehicle Management Plan and 
Environmental Impact Statement to guide OHV use in the area.
    These closures and restrictions are necessary to protect the area's 
natural resources, provide for the public's health and safety, and 
provide needed guidance in the areas of camping, occupancy, and 
recreation. The authorities for these closures and restrictions are 43 
CFR 8341.2(a), 43 CFR 8360.0-7, and 43 CFR 8364.1. Closures and 
restrictions for the above-described public lands managed by the BLM 
are as follows:

Definitions

    Off Road Vehicle (ORV) or Off-highway Vehicle (OHV): These terms 
are used interchangeably in this document. ORV as defined by 43 CFR 
section 8340.0-5(a): ``any motorized vehicle capable of, or designed 
for, travel on or immediately over land, water, or other natural 
terrain, excluding:
    (1) Any nonamphibious registered motorboat;
    (2) Any military, fire, emergency, or law enforcement vehicle while 
being used for emergency purposes;
    (3) Any vehicle whose use is expressly authorized by the authorized 
officer, or otherwise officially approved;
    (4) Vehicles in official use; and
    (5) Any combat or combat support vehicle when used in times of 
national defense emergencies.''

Closures and Restrictions for Bunny Meadows and Timber Mountain

    You must not enter areas that are posted or otherwise delineated as 
closed areas with any motorized vehicle.
    You must not camp in the Bunny Meadows closure area.

Exceptions

    Exceptions to these closures and restrictions include emergency 
personnel (law enforcement, fire, medical), authorized BLM personnel 
and persons authorized to access private lands and rights-of-way within 
the closure boundary, any person traveling along Forest Creek County 
road in accord with State and County rules (non-street legal motorized 
vehicles are not allowed on county roadways), anyone who is off-loading 
OHVs in the designated parking area at Bunny Meadows gravel stockpile 
area or traveling in a motorized vehicle along BLM road 38S-3W-14.0 to 
trails and roads located to the west of Bunny Meadows on BLM-
administered lands, and any person who is off-loading OHVs or traveling 
in a motorized vehicle along BLM road 37S-3W-11.0 to trails and roads 
located on BLM-administered lands southwest of the closure area.

Penalties

    On public lands subject to the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., any person who violates this 
closure order may be tried before a United States Magistrate and fined 
no more than $1,000 or imprisoned for no more than 12 months, or both. 
43 U.S.C. 1733(a); 43 CFR 8360.0-7. Such violations may also be subject 
to the enhanced fines provided for by 18 U.S.C. 3571.
    On public lands in grazing districts (see 43 U.S.C. 315a) and on 
public lands leased for grazing under 43 U.S.C. 315m, any person who 
violates this closure order may be tried before a United States 
Magistrate and fined no more than $500.00. Such violations may also be 
subject to the enhanced fines provided for by 18 U.S.C. 3571.
    On public lands subject to a conservation and rehabilitation 
program implemented by the Secretary under 16 U.S.C. 670g et seq. 
(Sikes Act), any person who violates this closure order may be tried 
before a United States Magistrate and fined no more than $500.00 or 
imprisoned for no more than six months, or both. 16 U.S.C. 670j(a)(2). 
Such violations may also be subject to

[[Page 63926]]

the enhanced fines provided for by 18 U.S.C. 3571.

John Gerritsma,
Field Manager, Ashland Resource Area, Medford District Bureau of Land 
Management.
 [FR Doc. E7-22170 Filed 11-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P