Six Rivers Forest Schedule of Closures for Port Orford Cedar Protection

Map of the Six Rivers National Forest

This is a press release from the Six Rivers Forest Service:

Although heavy rains have yet to arrive on the North Coast, the Six Rivers National Forest has begun to close some roads and campgrounds in the central and northern parts of the forest to motor-vehicle use to reduce the risk of spreading Phytophthora lateralis (PL), the non-native pathogen that causes Port-Orford-cedar (POC) root disease.

These seasonal road and campground closures are in effect until road surfaces dry out in late spring or early summer, minimizing the potential spread of the disease. Under wet conditions, pathogen-laden soil is easily spread from infested to non-infested areas by vehicle tires and hiking boots, as well as horse hooves and dog paws. Simply cleaning off muddy boots before walking behind a closed gate can help prevent the spread of the disease from one watershed to another.

Once the root disease is introduced into an area, POC trees will die—young trees within a few months of infection and mature trees within two to four years.

There are many infested POC areas on the Gasquet Ranger District/Smith River National Recreation Area (NRA) and in the Bluff Creek drainage on the Orleans Ranger District, few on the Lower Trinity Ranger District, and none on the Mad River Ranger District.

The following roads and campgrounds are closed:

• Orleans and Ukonom Ranger Districts: Forest Service Roads 13N01, 10N12, 10N42, 10N27, 10N14, 10N42, 11N28, 12N11, 14N02, 14N03, 13N17, 14N21, 11N47, 12N17, 11N04, 11N16, 11N49, 11N14, 10N06, 10N04, 12N10, 12N13, and all side roads off of these main roads, as well as Fish Lake Campground.
• Lower Trinity Ranger District: Forest Service Roads 05N10, 06N18, 06N21, 06N22, 06N36, 06N38 and 07N71B, as well as East Fork Campground.

The following roads and campgrounds will be closed once wet conditions set in:

• Gasquet Ranger District/Smith River NRA: Forest Service Roads 18N17 and spurs; 18N16 and spurs; 18N02; portions of 18N07; the upper section of 18N08; 16N02, about 9 miles up and spurs beyond that point; the upper section of 16N03 and spurs; the upper section of 15N01, about 11 miles up and spurs beyond that point; and 14N01, about 4 miles up and spurs beyond that point; plus additional road closures on smaller routes not specified in this notice.

According to Mike McCain, fisheries biologist on the Smith River NRA, “We’ve had a mild dry fall so far, but it looks like the rains may start next week. So we’ll be closing gates very soon—starting with those at higher elevations, such as the G-O Road, Ship Mountain/Fox Ridge, and Knopki Creek/Sanger.”

Information about Port-Orford-cedar is available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/srnf/PortOrfordCedar or by contacting Jeff Jones, vegetation program manager, at (707) 441-3553.