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Controversial Lemon Gulch Trails Project Halted Indefinitely

PRINEVILLE, OR -- The Lemon Gulch Trails Project, proposed for 20 miles east of Prineville, is now off the table. The Ochoco National Forest issued a final Environmental Assessment (EA) and identified a Preferred Alternative for the trail project. However, the Deciding Official, District Ranger Slater Turner, chose to withdraw from consideration the Lemon Gulch Trails Project, effective immediately.

This action indefinitely suspends the planning process for the proposed mountain bike trail system. The Forest has no plans to issue a Draft Decision, which would typically be the next step in the planning process.

“We are proud of the environmental analysis that has been completed to this point for the Lemon Gulch Trails project and commend our partners at Ochoco Trails for working to increase non-motorized trail access on the Forest” said Slater Turner, District Ranger for the Lookout Mountain Ranger District.

“Although the project is broadly supported in Central Oregon, there are also individuals who have felt left out of the planning process, which has led to social divisions in our communities and that is not an acceptable outcome for us,” said Turner. “We believe the National Forest is a place to unify our communities around shared values. Therefore, I will not be issuing a Decision on this project and will instead look for opportunities in the future to have a broader community conversation about non-motorized trails on the Forest. For now, we will be turning our focus to other priority work.”

The priority work includes wildfire mitigation in the Wildfire Crisis Strategy landscape on the Crooked River National Grassland and the designation of the Corral Flats Equestrian Trail System on the Forest.

Previous coverage: Crook County Concerned About Trail Plans

A draft EA for the Lemon Gulch was released on November 21, 2022 that analyzed and compared five action alternatives ranging from 19-52 miles of trail and included a “no action” alternative. The final EA, including the Preferred Alternative, can be viewed here.

The project was originally released to the public in a scoping document in March 2021 after being submitted as part of a larger Forest-wide proposal by Ochoco Trails, a grassroots group of non-motorized trail users interested in expanding trail access on the forest.

Click here to learn more about project planning on the Forest.

 

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