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ENLARGE
Douglas County surveyor Curt Ackley peers through a level during leveling work last summer at the Winchester Bay ATV staging area.
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ENLARGE
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Douglas County is in line to receive $178,000 to pay for paving the all-terrain vehicle staging area created last year on the sand at Winchester Bay.
A state advisory committee on Friday approved an application from the county Park Department for a grant funded through ATV registration fees and a percentage of gas taxes related to off-road use. Meeting in Tillamook, the All-Terrain Vehicle Account Allocation Committee voted to forward its recommendation to state Park Director Tim Wood, who is expected to approve the application.
There was little discussion on the proposal, said Douglas County Park Director Jeff Powers, who attended the meeting. It was approved without opposition.
"They asked a few questions and that was it," Powers said.
When the staging area was constructed last summer, county officials hoped the project might qualify for paving paid for through the grant program. The money must be used to enhance ATV recreation.
"That's excellent news," Commissioner Dan Van Slyke said, after receiving a call from Powers after the vote by the eight-member committee. "The timing is perfect."
The county hopes to be able to do the work over the winter and have the paved lot ready for use by spring, Van Slyke said.
Once the staging area is paved, Winchester Bay Search & Rescue will move its equipment storage building from Ziolkowski Park at Half Moon Bay to the north side of the staging area. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office will place a small dune patrol building there as well.
Later, vault toilets will be added to the center of the staging area, paid for by the county. That should make it much more comfortable for riders, who otherwise have to go a much farther distance to use restrooms in the Dunes National Recreation Area or at a parking lot near the Pacific Ocean, Van Slyke said.
Over the past two years, the county has worked to build up the recreational opportunities at Winchester Bay and to make it so that people with divergent interests can co-exist.
Officials concentrated ATV riding south of the lighthouse to limit noise heard by area residents and to improve safety on Salmon Harbor Drive, where cars, trucks and ATVs previously fought for space. They also obtained tracts of land from both the federal Bureau of Land Management and the state Parks and Recreation Department to provide active management on the buffer zone next to the Dunes NRA.
A state advisory committee on Friday approved an application from the county Park Department for a grant funded through ATV registration fees and a percentage of gas taxes related to off-road use. Meeting in Tillamook, the All-Terrain Vehicle Account Allocation Committee voted to forward its recommendation to state Park Director Tim Wood, who is expected to approve the application.
There was little discussion on the proposal, said Douglas County Park Director Jeff Powers, who attended the meeting. It was approved without opposition.
"They asked a few questions and that was it," Powers said.
When the staging area was constructed last summer, county officials hoped the project might qualify for paving paid for through the grant program. The money must be used to enhance ATV recreation.
"That's excellent news," Commissioner Dan Van Slyke said, after receiving a call from Powers after the vote by the eight-member committee. "The timing is perfect."
The county hopes to be able to do the work over the winter and have the paved lot ready for use by spring, Van Slyke said.
Once the staging area is paved, Winchester Bay Search & Rescue will move its equipment storage building from Ziolkowski Park at Half Moon Bay to the north side of the staging area. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office will place a small dune patrol building there as well.
Later, vault toilets will be added to the center of the staging area, paid for by the county. That should make it much more comfortable for riders, who otherwise have to go a much farther distance to use restrooms in the Dunes National Recreation Area or at a parking lot near the Pacific Ocean, Van Slyke said.
Over the past two years, the county has worked to build up the recreational opportunities at Winchester Bay and to make it so that people with divergent interests can co-exist.
Officials concentrated ATV riding south of the lighthouse to limit noise heard by area residents and to improve safety on Salmon Harbor Drive, where cars, trucks and ATVs previously fought for space. They also obtained tracts of land from both the federal Bureau of Land Management and the state Parks and Recreation Department to provide active management on the buffer zone next to the Dunes NRA.
Later this year, Douglas County plans to develop an overnight camping area on a portion of property located northwest of the staging area. It will be constructed on land obtained by the federal Bureau of Land Management located on the west side of Salmon Harbor Drive.
In turn, the county will ban open camping on the sand beneath the Umpqua Lighthouse and on other county-owned property between Salmon Harbor and the Dunes NRA. Complaints about trash and other problems caused by campers led county officials to develop a plan that would still allow camping but restrict it to a particular area, Van Slyke said.
The county will also adopt, Van Slyke said, alcohol rules already in place by the U.S. Forest Service in the Dunes NRA. Alcoholic beverages will be banned from riding areas, with drinking restricted to camping areas and the staging area. The ban will not apply to nonriders walking along the beach or people fishing along the jetty.
"It will still let a guy drink a beer while he's standing there fishing," Van Slyke said.
The Oregon Equestrian Trails group is working to develop a horse staging area south of the ATV staging area and on the beach side of Salmon Harbor Drive. It will allow horse owners to park their trailers and ride their animals on the beach.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
In turn, the county will ban open camping on the sand beneath the Umpqua Lighthouse and on other county-owned property between Salmon Harbor and the Dunes NRA. Complaints about trash and other problems caused by campers led county officials to develop a plan that would still allow camping but restrict it to a particular area, Van Slyke said.
The county will also adopt, Van Slyke said, alcohol rules already in place by the U.S. Forest Service in the Dunes NRA. Alcoholic beverages will be banned from riding areas, with drinking restricted to camping areas and the staging area. The ban will not apply to nonriders walking along the beach or people fishing along the jetty.
"It will still let a guy drink a beer while he's standing there fishing," Van Slyke said.
The Oregon Equestrian Trails group is working to develop a horse staging area south of the ATV staging area and on the beach side of Salmon Harbor Drive. It will allow horse owners to park their trailers and ride their animals on the beach.
* You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
