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more photosGeorge Johnson, of Seattle, kick-sledding with his wife, Louise Goodman, grabs the lead of his three samoyeds Wednesday afternoon to guide them out of the way of a group of snowmobilers near Dutchman Flat.
Pete Erickson / The Bulletin
New sno-park plans proceed
Forest Service seeks to reduce conflicts among recreationists
By Yoko Minoura / The Bulletin
Published: March 02. 2006 4:00AM PSTWith federal funds in the pipeline, forest officials are moving ahead with plans to build a new sno-park, specifically for snowmobilers, near Kapka Butte.
According to Marv Lang, a recreation planner with the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, the proposed sno-park should ease congestion at the Dutchman Flat Sno-park and reduce conflicts between winter recreation groups.
Tensions simmering between snowmobilers and skiers prompted the Forest Service to convene a workshop two years ago to look for solutions.
"Pretty much everybody came up with the same idea: We need a new sno-park, with more parking, for snowmobilers at a higher elevation than Wanoga (Sno-park)," Lang said. "And by doing that, we can make Dutchman (Flat Sno-park) nonmotorized."
The proposed sno-park would be located near the northwest flank of Kapka Butte, just east of the intersection of Cascade Lakes Highway and Forest Service Road 46 to Sunriver.
Lang said $450,000 in federal highway enhancement money has been earmarked for the project.
The sno-park would provide roughly 70 slots for full-size recreational vehicles or vehicles towing trailers, Lang said, and include toilets and a shelter. Overnight camping would be allowed. The site would include a connector to nearby snowmobile trails.
With the completion of the Kapka Butte Sno-park, the Dutchman Flat Sno-park would become off-limits to snowmobilers.
Although the Kapka Butte Sno-park won't become a reality until 2009 or 2010, forest officials are collecting input from the public to refine their vision for the sno-park.
Residents have until March 6 to submit written comments on the project.
"Our biggest question, in my mind, will be, what is the right size, what is the right amount (of use)?" Lang said.
"We're just starting the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process with Kapka Butte," he said. "That's what we want people to take a stab at with comments."
The act requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of major projects.
The size of the proposed sno-park has already raised some eyebrows, Lang said.
Dale Neubauer, co-founder of Bend-based nonprofit Wild Wilderness, said he's concerned about size. Wild Wilderness opposes the motorization, privatization and commercialization of public lands.
Although snowmobilers will lose roughly 20 vehicle spaces, Neubauer said the additional 50 spaces at Kapka are too much, saying sno-parks often hold more than their stated capacity.
"I'm not sure if the Forest Service has taken into consideration the actual volume of vehicles that will operate out of that area," Neubauer said.
He added he was leery of the proposition to allow the sno-park to host off-road vehicles in the summer.
"I think the Kapka Butte Sno-park is a valid idea," he said. "I would personally size it to a more appropriate standard here."
For their part, snowmobilers are unhappy about the prospect of getting shut out of the Dutchman Flat Sno-park, according to Lang, who said he has received a number of e-mails to that effect.
The Forest Service raised the ire of many snowmobilers when they banned snowmobiles from the northeast and southwest faces of Tumalo Mountain in 2004.
Lang said the segregation of uses has worked fairly well, however, and the same idea is the impetus behind the new project. He said many people support the concept of separate lots for motorized and nonmotorized users.
"From most people, the first thing out of their mouth is, 'Good idea,'" he said. "However, they have concerns about whatever."
Along with the sno-park, the Forest Service is also evaluating a new trail connector from Elk Lake to snowmobile trail No. 4 near Kwohl Butte, south of Mount Bachelor.
The connector, open only in winter, would allow snowmobilers heading to Elk Lake to bypass the Dutchman Flat area and avoid skiers or snowshoers.
Lang said the Forest Service will compile all public comments and use them to create several alternative plans for the Kapka Butte project. They will then study the environmental impacts of each of the alternatives and recommend one version.
The recommendation will be followed by another, 30-day comment period, where there may be further revisions.
"I wouldn't guarantee, at this point, that it's going to be exactly like we propose," Lang said. "There'll be some tweaks."
Yoko Minoura can be reached at 541-383-0387 or at yminoura@bendbulletin.com.
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