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September 30. 2014 2:00AM Since You Asked: Some commercial lands still closed to hunters ... for now I am a deer hunter who likes to hunt an area that includes Bureau of Land Management lands as well as some private forest lands, particularly Lone Rock Timberlands. The deer season starts Saturday and I'm trying to figure out if last week's rains ended the fire danger so we can hunt on those private lands, or are they still closed? I know in the past someone in state government made a list of whose lands are open and whose are closed, but I can't find it. Can you help me? — Steve, email submission. Well, Steve, we at Since You Asked Central are used to people coming to us for answers after they've frustrated themselves trying to find something on the Internet. We keep this little bit of info in our back pocket because it always seems to come up at this time of year. The Oregon Department of Forestry keeps a list of corporate timberlands and whether they are open or closed to the public. The list is updated weekly by the Oregon Forest Industries Council for just such a conundrum. Find the list at www.oregon.gov/odf/FIRE/Closures/CorporateClosures.pdf. As of Monday, for instance, Lone Rock lands in Jackson, Josephine, Douglas and Lane counties are all closed to public use because of wildfire danger. But check again later this week, Steve. There could be new updates. The closures are important because around much of Southern Oregon private industrial timberlands and BLM lands form a checkerboard type of ownership pattern. While BLM lands are generally open, the private lands can be closed because of fire danger, and it's important to know where you're hunting. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20140930/NEWS/140939995 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->