Take Action on travel and off-highway vehicle issues in the John Day

Form to make public comments on the John Day Resource Management Plan

Thank you for taking the time to comment on the John Day RMP!  Your message to the BLM will help them make the right decision for wildlife, clean water and public recreation.

Please edit the message below and add any personal comments you'd like to make on the John Day RMP.  When you are done, press submit, and your message will be sent to the BLM. 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the John Day Resource Management Plan.  Although the current draft of the plan is comprehensive in its scope, I do have some major concerns with the way that the BLM’s preferred alternative will impact wildlife habitat, primitive recreation and the ecological health of the John Day Basin. 

Off-highway vehicle use in the John Day Basin is a major concern of mine, as it contributes to riparian vegetation damage, bank erosion, soil compaction, water pollution, and other negative ecological impacts.  Alternative 3 of the draft RMP designates two "no-limits" OHV zones, which border potential wilderness areas. I am concerned that the proposed "no-limit OHV" zone adjacent to Sutton Mountain WSA and Rudio Mt will encourage OHV trespass that will degrade the wilderness character of nearby lands. The primitive recreation value for hiking, fishing and hunting in these areas would be greatly impacted by OHV traffic. I urge the BLM to not implement the OHV "no-limit" designations in alternative 3 of the draft RMP. Instead the BLM should present OHV use areas that are not adjacent to potential wilderness areas.  Additionally, I encourage you to continue to keep off-highway vehicle use off of North Fork lands to protect the extremely high values for fish and wildlife habitat.

The BLM should allow voluntary permit retirement for all allotments within Wild and Scenic corridors and state scenic waterways, in existing or potential habitat for listed steelhead, and in areas with wilderness characteristics.  Please consider an alternative in the grazing matrix that reflects protection of steelhead habitat and wilderness characteristics from the degradation caused by domestic livestock.

The Resource Management Plan should clearly protect from OHV use:

• Any lands that have been identified as having wilderness characteristics and adjacent lands.
  
• All lands identified by ONDA's citizen inventory as having potential wilderness characteristics.
  
• The Wild and Scenic River corridor and all critical steelhead habitat.
  

Thank you again for the opportunity to comment on the John Day Resource Management Plan.  Please take my comments into consideration when making your decision about the final management plan for the area.