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--> --> Popular road in Watershed will close to vehicle traffic By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings The Ashland Loop Road, closed this summer because of wildfire risk, will remain closed to motorized vehicles year-round as part of an Ashland Ranger District plan to minimize environmental risk and balance recreation needs. Also known as Forest Service Road 2060 - the road popular with hikers, mountain bikers, joggers, horseback riders and motorists - is closed at the gate just above the White Rabbit Trailhead. Forest Service Road 2080200, which leads to Bull Gap, is closed permanently to motorized vehicles as well. "This closure is nearly identical to the fire closure implemented this summer during extreme fire conditions," Ashland District Ranger Linda Duffy said. "We are continuing the closure to minimize impacts on soil and water resources from continued trash dumping and vandalism, and (to) reduce fire risk from abandoned campfires on a year-around basis." The Ashland Loop Road and the network of trails it serves will continue to be maintained for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and administrative access, she said. Most of the Ashland Loop Road, which circles through the Ashland Watershed, already was closed to vehicles beginning in the early 1990s. An additional three miles of the road now is permanently closed to vehicles, according to Mike Ricketts, trail specialist for the Applegate and Ashland Ranger Districts. The closure is part of an overall plan to close some road sections in the Watershed to motorized vehicles, while improving and constructing trailheads and trails for other users. The decision to make the changes was made last year after the district completed the Ashland Watershed Trails Management Project Environmental Assessment. Working with the Ashland Parks and Recreation Department, the ranger district won $60,000 in state funds to help finance the changes. Crews began work this summer to improve the White Rabbit trailhead. When work on the three- to four-year project is complete, hikers, bikers, joggers and others will be able to travel from the Bear Creek Greenway on the Rogue Valley floor, through the city of Ashland and uphill along new trails, reconstructed trails and sections of road closed to vehicles all the way to the summit of Mount Ashland - with new signs guiding recreationalists along the way. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, which crosses Mount Ashland, then provides access to some of the most breathtaking scenery in the West as it meanders 2,650 miles along mountain ranges from Canada to Mexico. The project includes constructing 3.9 miles of new trail and reconstructing 7.3 miles of existing trails; improving trailheads; closing 6.9 miles of road year-round, and another 7.3 miles in the winter; converting 2.6 miles of roads into trails and closing a 0.7-mile unauthorized trail leading to Reeder Reservoir. Ricketts said people who enjoy driving in the Ashland Watershed still can use Forest Service Road 2080, which leads from Tolman Creek Road to Mount Ashland. Hunters who need to retrieve game in the Watershed, teachers leading educational trips and others who need one-time motorized vehicle access on closed roads should call the ranger district at 482-3333. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing