Brandon - Grants Pass, Or

To Whom it may concern: 6/4/2010

When making recommendations about how to proceed managing the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, it will be important to remember the second word in the title: Dunes. It’s a neither forest, nor wetland and as such it should not be managed like either. It should be managed like Dunes.

The inconvenient truth is that the dunes are disappearing rapidly, and will continue to do so lest we take the necessary measures to help save them. The trails that are being considered are not trails that were cut and plowed for OHV use. Rather, they are merely remnants of what was once open sand. They are the place where stuff hasn’t grown…yet. Limiting OHV access in these critical areas will only cause further, and more rapid, infestation of the non native plants that are taking over our natural resource. Trees can be cut and re-grown but once a dune disappears, it disappears for good. Think long and hard about your decisions because the actions of today can mean the preservation, or disappearance, of an incredibly rare natural resource called the Oregon Dunes.

Sincerely,

Brandon Bretl
Grants Pass, OR