Bureau of Land Management January 11, 2008

333 SW 1^st^ Avenue

Portland, OR 97204

Dear BLM,

This testimony only pertains to practices by BLM in regards to how the
Agency is treating decommissioned or other logging roads and the
subsequent impacts to hunters/hikers. I have hunted on BLM lands for
over 25 years and there are many areas where up until just a few years
ago, one used to be able to park at the mouth of an abandoned logging
road and then walk in for quite a distance in order to reach an area
with more potential. In most areas of BLM land, this is no longer
possible because of some new destructive practice by the Agency to
completely hinder all access down these abandoned roads.

Instead, the agency now digs deep trenches at the entrance to these
roads, and it places a thick blanket of brush and debris in the road to
essentially block all foot traffic. This ill thought process does not
make sense and appears to be more of an intentional move by BLM to
reduce public access of public lands! It seems very contrary to the
following Mission as stated by the Agency.

*It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the
health, diversity, and productivity of the [public lands]{.underline}
for [the use and enjoyment]{.underline} of [present and future
generations]{.underline}.*

These trenches can be very dangerous to people who are intent on getting
past them. I have seen some that are 8' deep with steep walls. The only
way past them is often to 'jump' them. Does the agency not recognize the
hazard it has created here? If someone with a disability were to fall in
one, they could have a difficult time getting out of if were rainy and
muddy. Not to mention, someone could easily get hurt with these 'tank
traps'. This practice NEEDS to STOP as it is most intrusive to a very
popular forest use of not just hunters but hikers alike. So the
hunter/hiker is forced to jump this 'crevasse'. This will inevitably
lead to injury. There are in fact a few locations where it would be
impossible for someone to climb out under the correct muddy
circumstances. The BLM may have created death traps in its poor
planning. I suspect this practice will eventually lead to injury and be
considered an allowable basis for suing the Government.

The individual is also faced with not being able to get around these
trenches due to the overgrowth of Himalayan Blackberry, which seems to
do very well in these areas. Many of the existing traps need to be
partially filled in to enable foot traffic because in many of these
areas, it simply is NOT possible to walk around them due to the
proliferation of Blackberry that grows heavily. Of course this may not
be a final solution as the problem remains and the invasive non-native
species will only continue to proliferate under the scenario that is
made worse by closing these roads.

Which brings up the next negative impact to how BLM is treating these
old logging roads. It used to be that these roads would remain passable
along their length. However now in addition to the Tank Traps, the BLM
also now purposefully blocks these roads by 'brushing' the length with
trees, branches, and other debris. Most of the impacts does not appear
to be directed towards vehicles access is already prevented by the Tank
Traps. Instead, this method appears to be directed towards the
hunter/hiker on foot. WHY WOULD THE BLM DO THIS? Ironically, it seems
that many of these areas with the most effort at blocking, appears to be
those roads that eventually lead towards Weyerhaeuser lands. If this is
indeed the case, then why is the government spending money protecting
private timberlands?

Anyway, this 'brushing' has an increased environmental impact because it
enables Blackberry to proliferate well beyond the degree it used to
previously, as the invasive vegetation takes even better hold with the
extra debris placed in the road. The areas are already susceptible to
proliferation due to the opening in the tree canopy created by the
roads. Therefore, the cumulative practice of blocking roads the way BLM
has begun doing in recent years, has the impact of completely blocking
access to hunters/hikers along these public lands, and this needs to be
addressed, as it seems contrary to your stated Mission.

Protection of certain lands for recreation should take place long before
it ever reaches the project stage. If BLM doesn't have individuals there
who recognize areas that are important to the public, then this is a
major deficiency in the agency. What the BLM has done in this practice
of completely blocking public access is to demonstrate a lack of
connection to the public wants and needs.

The BLM should consider reversing some of its actions by 'reopening'
many of these decommissioned roads, filling in these tank traps, and
clearing some of the now choked paths, because its initial action was
ill thought out and highly impacting on public use. In addition, future
decommissioned roads should NOT be treated in the same manner, as the
agency did not pay any regard to public recreation as a result of its
actions. This practice, wherever it is done on the part of the agency,
is highly inconsiderate and a smack against the public from a recreation
point of view.

Sincerely,

David Rodriguez

87984 Heather Drive

Springfield, Oregon, 97478