On Monday, July 10th a group of overland enthusiasts gathered for the second of four Tread Lightly! and Overland Expo Foundation joint clean-up projects. In conjunction with each of the Overland Expo events TL! and OXF clean up a local area and give back to the community.
This project was centered around Overland Expo Pacific Northwest and serviced the Cline Buttes OHV area just outside of Redmond, Oregon. The area, jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service, has a wealth of trails for nearly every skill level and type of OHV recreation, from experts in rear-steer buggies to little tykes just learning to ride. Funding for the project was provided by the Overland Expo Foundation and went towards cleaning up the area, as illegal dumping has increased in the past few years.
Positive Impacts
Working with the land managers and Public Land Stewards, Bend, we were able to engage 20 volunteers who removed over 4,000 lbs of trash from the area and rehabbed 8 fire pits in the OHV campground/staging area.
Those served by this project include the residents and recreationists of Redmond and the greater Oregon area. Those that enjoy the Cline Buttes OHV area range from hikers to mountain bikers, singletrack riders to full-size offroaders, overlanders, and everyone in between.
Lasting impressions
The Cline Buttes project left the area better than we found it and, more importantly, demonstrated to the local land managers that we, the overland community, care about the areas we recreate in. It left a lasting impression on both the BLM and USFS representatives and made them more eager to work with us on future projects in the area.
As overlanding and outdoor motorized recreation grows, it is important to protect public lands for the enjoyment of these lands, for now and for future generations. Both education and remediation of sensitive or abused/overused areas are key to keeping these lands open and accessible for generations to come. In addition, the visibility and impact of this project changed attitudes of those that may not be favorable to this type of recreation.
This type of grassroots impact spreads positivity about the overland community and will work favorably to help keep other similar areas open for use.
*All photos curtesy of John Allen. Find him on social @whosjohnallen.