BAKER CITY and PENDLETON, Ore. (Aug. 25, 2021) – Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forest officials will reduce Public Use restrictions to Phase B at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. Phase B allows the use of campfires only in designated sites and areas. Restrictions pertaining to the use of chainsaws, internal combustion engines, generators and smoking remain in effect.
Beginning Saturday, campfires will ONLY be allowed in designated campfire rings within developed campgrounds and recreation sites, or within the boundaries of the Eagle Cap Wilderness subject to the guidelines on the back of the Wilderness permit. (A list of designated recreation sites is available at www.fs.usda.gov/umatilla and www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman.) Liquefied or bottled gas stoves and heaters are allowed for cooking and heating, as are wood-burning stoves that meet the following specifications: equipped with a chimney at least 5-feet in length and a spark arresting screen consisting of ¼-inch mesh hardware cloth, and all flammable vegetation within a 3-foot radius is cleared, including overhanging material.
Generators will only be allowed in the center of an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable material, or; when fully contained within a pickup truck bed that is devoid of all flammable material, or; when factory installed in a recreational vehicle and the generator exhaust discharge is located in the center of an area at least 10 feet in diameter that is cleared of all flammable material.
Smoking is only allowed within enclosed vehicles, buildings, and developed recreation sites, or when stopped in an area cleared of all flammable material.
As a reminder, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest prohibits the possession or use of any motor vehicle off National Forest System roads, except when parking in an area devoid of vegetation within 10 feet of the roadway. On the Umatilla National Forest, travel restrictions prohibit motor vehicles traveling off designated Forest roads and trails, except for the purposes of going to or from campsites located within 300 feet of an open road. Motorized travel on segments of road where access is blocked by gate, barricade, log, boulder, or earthen berm is also prohibited. Vehicles must still abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the area of travel.
With the exception of motor vehicles, operating an internal combustion engine, such as a chainsaw, is prohibited without a valid permit. Commercial and personal use firewood permits are regulated by the conditions of the permit and separate from restrictions under this public use restriction.
Regulated closures may be in effect on State and private lands protected by Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) in northeast and central Oregon. Please check with your local Oregon Department of Forestry office for PURs on lands protected by ODF. For more complete information, contact a local Oregon Department of Forestry office or visit one of the interagency dispatch center’s webpages:
- Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch webpage: www.bmidc.org
- John Day Interagency Dispatch webpage:http://bicc-jdidc.org/index.shtml
Similar restrictions may also be in effect on State and private lands protected by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA-DNR). More information can be found on the WA-DNR website at: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/
Please remember that it is everyone’s responsibility to know what restrictions are in place when visiting public lands. For more information regarding restrictions on the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, please contact:
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