Sno-park misuse riles locals
By Peter Madsen • The Bulletin Published Feb 3, 2017 at 12:41PM / Updated Feb 3, 2017 at 09:22PM During full moons, holidays and other festive events, Central Oregon sno­parks experience a tidal
surge in users, some of whom strap on their snowshoes and take to groomed paths with their dogs in
tow.
The problem?
At the very best, they’re exercising poor etiquette by snowshoeing on trails groomed exclusively for
nordic skiing. At the worst, they’re afoul of a U.S. Forest Service regulation that bars dogs from all sno­
parks north of Century Drive between Nov. 1 and May 1, which carries an approximate $200 fine. Dogs
are prohibited for reasons of sanitation and user conflict, according to the Forest Service. That’s the
only rule that’s enforceable, however. The rest is up to users.
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“Full moons do tend to get people out,” said Steve Roti, vice president of Meissner Nordic — a
nonprofit organization in charge of maintaining the 25 miles of groomed nordic trails at the Virginia
Meissner Sno­park. Users of varying familiarity with sno­park rules sometimes come into conflict. He
said the club doesn’t tally numbers of full­moon crowds, which will congregate during the next one on
Feb. 10. Tonight’s Luminaria event is expected to pack the Meissner parking lot — which can
accommodate 180 cars — twice over. It’s the sole event where snowshoers are allowed to plod along
the sno­parks groomed nordic trails, the nonprofit said. It’s a special treat, because walking on
groomed trails damages the corduroy that costs Meissner about $75 per hour to groom into its 40
kilometers of trails with its Pisten Bully snowcat and a special snowmobile.
“People walking (or snowshoeing) on the trails, for us, it’s a bit of a pain in the butt,” said Larry Katz, the
Meissner Nordic operations manager and treasurer. “When boot marks or snowshoes dig in three or
four inches into soft snow, it doesn’t groom out for a couple passes. But there is nothing we can do
about that. People are free to go there anytime they want to walk around or ski.”
Education vs. enforcement
While Meissner Nordic has a special­use permit to groom U.S. Forest Service land, they lack the
authority to tell people how to use it — that’s up to the U.S. Forest Service. When it comes to the 15 to
20 percent annual up­tick in sno­park use, the agency places an emphasis on education over
enforcement, said Jean Nelson­Dean, the Deschutes National Forest public affairs officer. She didn’t
immediately have information about how many people the Forest Service cited in 2016 for violations
such as having dogs north of the highway, and she hadn’t heard of any recent user clashes that were
particularly heated. User conflict is inversely related to the amount of snow to be shared, Nelson­Dean
added.
“This is our philosophy at the Forest Service: We start with education first. We want people to be
educated about what the rules are, why they exist and what the reasons for them are. I think most
people, once they understand why we’re asking to do something, they follow those rules,” she said.
Citations are reserved for extreme examples of people ignoring rules — especially if officials are
consistently seeing the same offenders. Chris Sabo, trail specialist for the Deschutes National Forest,
said in the past year he’s written “several” tickets to dog­owners in the Meissner, Swampy and
Dutchman Flats Sno­parks. The ordinance was established in the mid­1980’s, Sabo said. Still, when he
encounters dog­owners, he prefers to explain that dogs are welcome at sno­parks south of Century
Drive, and may be unleashed once they enter the trail networks dedicated for nordic skiing,
snowmobiling, fat­biking and snowshoeing.
Nelson­Dean said it’s not the Forest Service’s goal to be cops out there.
“It’s our goal to protect the resources and make sure people have continued access and enjoyment of
their national forests,” she said.
Maybe people, if they’re not skiers, don’t know that snowshoeing on nordic trails causes a significant
problem and a reduction in enjoyment for others, Nelson­Dean said. However, she leaves less wiggle
room for people who leave garbage in their wake.
“When people don’t recreate with respect, and they don’t follow the rules of Leave No Trace — I don’t
know what they’re expecting. Dog poop, human feces, garbage — those are things we’re having
significant issues everywhere,” she said.
While Sabo doesn’t condone sno­park misuse, he urges rebellious dog owners to remove “brown and
yellow klister” — or waste resembling ski wax — from the trails.
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“If you’re going to break the law, at least practice canine courtesy,” he added.
Marred with good intentions
One recent morning, Greg White and Kathleen Branch, both 50 and from Bend, were setting up in the
Meissner parking lot for a classic ski jaunt. He said he often notices nordic trails that have been marked
up by snowshoers.
“If I see someone snowshoeing on the ski trails, I’ll say something,” White said. “I usually assume
they’re tourists.”
Nearby at Swampy Lakes Sno­park, Chris Steele and Mirra Steele, both 67 and visiting from Eugene,
had strapped snowshoes on their feet as they headed out along a snowshoe trail. They’re both classic
skiers who appreciate a well­maintained groomed path. When they have encountered snowshoers
marring the corduroy, they often direct them to the nearest snowshoe trail. Typically, they said, the
snowshoers had intended to play by the rules, but they missed the trailhead, whose signs or markings
may have been covered in snow.
Across the highway at Wanoga Sno­park, Amber Greiner, the owner of Central Oregon Adventures,
stood before a rental snowmobile, showing a backcountry skier the finer points of operating the
machine. The company said it gives its clients the low­down on usage do’s and don’ts, including the
reminder that nonmotorized users and their dogs have the right of way.
Several ski shops that rent snowshoes said they also give renters tips on where they should and
shouldn’t stick their crampons. Morgan Brooney, the soft goods manager at Powder House, said she
directs snowshoers toward her favorite spots: Tumalo Falls and Dutchman Sno­park, from where they
can trek up nearby Tumalo Mountain. Nick Birdseye, a clerk at Mountain Supply, said the store
recommends snowshoe­renting dog­owners to visit Wanoga Sno­park. If it’s a mixed crowd of cross­
country skiers and snowshoers, he said staff reminds the snowshoers to stay off nordic trails.
Once in a full moon
“Pain in the butt” as it may be, Katz, Meissner’s operations manager, has some perspective. If the sno­
park’s busiest days are full moons, maybe only one or two of them each season will be clear enough to
attract path­stomping moonlight revelers, he said.
“It’s not a big problem for us,” he said, adding that the cost of snowshoers and walkers’ damage is
“pretty negligible.” More of an issue are the joyriders who carve deep ruts in trails after the gates are
closed Dec. 1.
“There are only a few people who spoil it for everyone else,” Katz said.
Firewood filchers
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More vexing to Meissner Nordic is the firewood that disappears from the lodge and shelter for use in
nearby bonfires, which are prohibited. While Saturday’s volunteer­organized Luminaria event involves
hundreds of paper lanterns that lead to a sanctioned bonfire near the shelter (which is located 1.5 miles
from the parking lot), the club’s wood supplies are intended for daytime use in stove, Roti said. The
firewood supply is the result of a 40­person volunteer effort to split and organize wood donated by the
Forest Service. Last year, pilferers eliminated the club’s timber supply by January, Katz said, which
means the warming shelter, which is located more than a mile into the sno­park, remained cold. When
the wood is gone, it’s gone. Meissner officials put a locking door on the wood shed, but then “vandals
came along in June sometime and tore the door off its hinges and stole all the remaining firewood,”
Katz said. “We put a much stouter door in the shed this year. It would be a bit of a challenge to break
in.”
Canine conundrum
Kreg Linden, the former president of DogPAC, thinks Central Oregon is behind the curve that’s been
set by other towns — such as Sun Valley and McCall in Idaho — that offer snowshoers, skiers and
others more options to enjoy their activities with or without dogs.
“Options for people in Bend who ski with their dogs currently are quite poor, though I hope that
changes,” he said.
Currently, Wanoga, Ray Benson and Upper Three Creek Lake Sno­parks are popular with people who
both like to ski and snowshoe with dogs. Linden, 53 and from Bend, said he has been talking to the
Forest Service about creating a western addition to Kapka Butte Sno­park that allows dogs on both
nordic ski and snowshoe trails. That designation had been a part of the original proposal for the sno­
park, yet its trails are currently devoted to snowmobile use.
“We’ve got a pie here — The (Deschutes) National Forest belongs to all of us — and we just need to
find a way to make it work for everybody,” Linden said. “And I think that’s still a work in progress.”
In the meantime, it’s up to the individual, Nelson­Dean said, to make sure they’re being responsible.
That way, “the better experience it is for everybody, the better it is for our local economy, the better it is
for people who come here just to have a great experience — and our locals. The Forest Service can’t
solve that problem. It comes down to personal responsibility.”
— Reporter: 541­617­7816, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
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