Word is that August 17, 2017 Weyerhaeuser will be closing off the Siletz River basin to the public. In the past they did this during high fire danger and during the week, this new closure is said to be keeping everyone without a permit out all the time. These permits are hefty, $300-$600 a month in many cases.
Many of my favorite parts of Oregon are in Weyerhaeuser owned portions of the Coast Range, with these fees I never could have afforded to do the exploring that helped shape who I am while I was in school. And even now that I am in the workforce, those fees are still higher than I will be able to justify splurging for. The whitewater is only a small part of why this hurts, the Siletz drainage has world class fishing, hunting, and hiking. It's one of those places I could spend hours driving around and never get bored. In my mind places like this make Oregon "Oregon". There is also historic value in the razed town of Valsetz and some of the largest trees in the coast range (Valley of the Giants) are there.
Here is a list of some of my favorite runs that will lose access in just the Siletz drainage, there are many more across the state that suffer from Weyerhaeuser restriction.
NF Siletz
Warnicke
South Fork Siletz
Little Luckiamute
Valley of The Giants Fork
Main Stem Siletz
Boulder Creek
Scroll down to help the cause
Weyerhaeuser taking steps to protect their product is reasonable (i.e. closing the areas during high fire danger and during the week when their vehicles are up there), keeping a large portion of the land that makes Oregon "Oregon" out of reach for many Oregonians is not.
-jacob
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