Safety concerns have eased
By Marcy Stamper
Just three and a half weeks after the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest closed areas near Washington Pass to snowmobiles and snow bikes to protect skiers and motorized users from avalanche risk, the Forest supervisor rescinded the closure, saying safety concerns had decreased because the areas in question weren’t as busy as expected.
Although use appears to be substantially higher than normal, the patterns of use — who’s doing what activity and where — appear relatively consistent with typical years, said Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Public Affairs Officer Victoria Wilkins.
The supervisor rescinded the temporary closure on Jan. 28. It went into effect on Jan. 1 and would have continued through June 30. Highway 20 was never closed to snow machine use, and many areas off the highway were also still open to motorized use.
The initial closure — to protect winter recreationists from avalanches — was implemented in response to unusually high levels of use in summer and fall during the pandemic, a trend recreation managers expected would continue in the winter, Wilkins said. “Our responsibility is to the public as a whole and we would not have rescinded if the safety issues we anticipated were occurring,” she said.
As president of Methow Valley Snowmobile Association, Craig Stahl acts as an advocate for local snowmobile access. His recent focus has been on voicing concerns over the closure of the Highway 20 recreation area to their user group, Stahl said.
“I am happy to announce that the Forest Service has rescinded the closure after opening up communication to Washington State Snowmobile Association, other Washington state snowmobile clubs and associations, local individuals, and motorized organizations nationwide,” Stahl said.
Feedback in social media comments and calls to the Methow Valley Ranger District indicated a substantial amount of confusion, with many individuals and groups under the impression that the entire Highway 20 corridor had been closed to motorized use, Wilkins said. Most comments came from people outside of the local area, including some from outside the Pacific Northwest, she said.
Sharing terrain
Local skiers and snowmobilers say there has long been an understanding about sharing terrain safely, although many skiers welcomed the restrictions as an added safety measure.
Many people don’t want to see motorized use and human-powered recreational use in the same terrain because of safety concerns, local backcountry skier Chris Hopkins said.
The areas that had been excluded from motorized use were rarely used by snowmobilers, so it seemed like a good decision to promote safety, local backcountry skier Steve Devin said. Local skiers and snowmobilers understand and respect the different areas and get along really well, he said.
After an early-season frenzy of activity, use by both skiers and sledders dropped off in mid-January, in part because conditions deteriorated, local backcountry skier CB Thomas said.
In recent years, as snowmobile and snow-bike technology improved, there was discussion in online forums (not necessarily from the Methow) about the potential for inexperienced riders to access mountain terrain that had previously been off limits, Hopkins said. Some skiers wanted to see snowmobiles banned from these areas.
Hopkins would like to see the situation resolved at the local level. “Here we are different. Many of us skiers who use snowmobiles to access mountain trailheads to start our ski climbs work with and/or are friends with many of the off-road snowmobilers,” he said.
Future dialog
The snowmobile association hopes the U.S. Forest Service will facilitate discussions between user groups to help everyone reach their goals. MVSA has historically worked well with the Forest Service on trail maintenance, warming shelters, shared trails, grooming, education and safety, and the association looks forward to continuing this relationship, Stahl said.
There appeared to be some confusion about a temporary closure versus long-term travel management planning, Wilkins said. The organizations that reached out to the Forest Service have committed to working with the agency and other user groups on long-term planning. The feedback underscored the importance of engaging user groups before starting that process, she said. The Forest Service hopes that user groups can come together to identify creative solutions that avoid restrictive management actions, she said.
“My hope is to have open dialog between human-powered and motorized recreationists so we can all recreate safely in the same places,” Thomas said.
The snowmobile association is committed to future conversations with all forest users and the Forest Service. MVSA would like to understand all user groups’ goals to reach a common understanding of how all users can cohabitate in the Forest, Stahl said.
“Ideally, it will be the user groups that come together to resolve differences and identify solutions so that the agency isn’t in the middle trying to balance competing interests,” Wilkins said.
