[ODF_Private_Forests] Butte Creek Falls Trailhead and Campground closed

[WEEKS Kevin]

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY - News Release

Butte Creek Falls Trailhead and Campground closed during forestry operations that begin the first week in March


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                  Distribution:  Major Media
February 27, 2012                                                                          Contact:  Shannon Loffelmacher, 503-859-4336
12-09                                                                                                                                                Russ Lane, 503-859-4325


The Butte Creek Falls Trailhead and Butte Creek Campground area will close the first week of March to provide for public safety during an upcoming timber harvest in the area. Gates will be installed on Crooked Finger 400 Road on either side of the trailhead and campground. The popular local visitor area, 12 miles southeast of Silverton, lies within the Santiam State Forest. The closure is expected to extend until the Memorial Day week-end.

"The safety of visitors to our forest is always our highest priority," said Shannon Loffelmacher, Oregon Department of Forestry Unit Forester. "With forest management activities occurring in proximity to the Butte Creek area, this short-term, temporary closure is needed to best ensure that safety."

Butte Creek Campground is already closed for the season, and planned to re-open for the Memorial Day week-end, so the closure should have no impact on normal campground access or operations. "The Santiam State Forest and other surrounding public lands offer a variety of hiking trails that may be seasonally-accessible alternatives to the Butte Creek Falls Trail," said Loffelmacher, "including nearly six miles of non-motorized trails in the state forest's Shellburg Falls Recreation Area."

The Santiam State Forest is actively managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry's North Cascade District to provide a variety of economic, environmental, and social benefits.  The Crooked Finger 400 Timber Sale, a planned thinning of 2 million board feet, will provide approximately $376,000 in revenues to schools and local taxing districts in Marion County where the sale is located.

More information on the Santiam State Forest can be found on the district's website at: www.oregon.gov/odf/northcascade<http://www.oregon.gov/odf/northcascade> .

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