Citing public safety as the reason for gating off several roads in the Elliott State Forest on this long holiday weekend, Bev Quackenbush of ODF claims that some people were digging up culverts and stringing barbed wire in the Elliott. Cascadia Forest Defenders spokesman, Jason Gonzales, claims these actions were necessary and limited to specific timber sales involving damaging clear cuts in native forest. The move comes days after a ruling that ODF could no longer order activists to desist their activities.

Whether the argument can really be made that locking vehicular traffic out of the forest will improve public safety or not, holiday campers hoping to setup near the Millicoma River will have to hike in five miles or more with their gear. Hunters may not be pleased with the lockouts either and emergency medical responders may find it problematic to help medical or accident victims.

Quackenbush says only 18% of the forest is locked, however, Francis Eatherington of Cascadia Wildlands says when including the marked timber sales and buffer zones that closer to 80% of the Elliott is now restricted from public use. Cascadia Forest Defenders indicates that lawyers are looking into the constitutionality of the closures and may launch a legal challenge.

Vehicle access (including Off-Highway Vehicle use) is closed on the
following forest roads:
• Roads 7100, 7300, 7400, 7420, and 7600 are closed at their
intersections with Road 7000
• Road 8000 is closed between roads 2000 and 7600
• Roads 2320 and 2360 are closed at their intersections with Road 2000
• Road 8100 is closed at the intersection with Road 2300
• Road 9000 is closed at the intersection with Road 1000
• Roads 1800 and 9200 are closed
• Road 1100 is closed at the intersection with Road 1000
The Oregon Department of Forestry will be implementing temporary road gating
restrictions within the Elliott State Forest starting September 2, 2011 to improve public
safety for all forest users within the Elliott State Forest, and to ensure the State’s ability
to meet contractual obligations for timber sale harvests. A top priority for the Oregon
Department of Forestry is safety for all forest users within the Elliott State Forest
including reducing potential conflicts from vehicles encountering heavy equipment, log
trucks and other traffic associated with timber sale activities on narrow forest roads.