We’ve joined @savetheridersdunes to bring more legal resources to the fight and help keep this iconic riding area open.
Comment DUNESFIGHT to learn how to support the fight.
#OregonDunes #offroad #publiclandaccess #publiclands #DefendYourGround
14 days agojsmjret
Do not cave to this BS! Oregon is losing more and more recreational riding areas every year because of one lie or another created by “conservationists”. Stop the madness. Even if you’ve never been to the dunes you need to get onboard with this fight. Because one day they will come for your favorite hiking, camping, or mountain biking area and there won’t be anything you can do about it. Stop them NOW!
23 days agorandystravels
We lived on the dunes in Howser for 8 years and never have seen a Martin just another snowey clover puppet
24 days agolvfreordie
It has nothing to do with animals and everything to do with control. The leftist tyrants in Oregon want you totally controlled.
a month agowalker624
Put yet CBD won’t fight or stop thousands of acres of desert from being plowed for a solar farm or data center.
a month agosteeevo85
They look for reasons for us not to recreate, we need to find more deeper science backed reasons to recreate.
a month agowrongjeep
19 recorded marten vehicle deaths since 1980, zero from OHV use. The only reason martens exist there is the non native ecosystem the forest service planted. The reason the areas are closed is a judges ruling that the forest service isn’t doing enough for the martens. Activist judge logic.
a month agolinda_val23
3. Commercial Event Ban The judge blocked the U.S. Forest Service from issuing any new special-use permits for large, for-profit, multi-day riding events (such as DuneFest or the UTV Takeover) until the agency finishes formal environmental consultations regarding the marten. Ongoing events can still use adjacent, non-federal lands, but they must comply with the dune curfews and boundaries. These measures are temporary restrictions designed to protect the roughly 71 martens in the dunes while a longer-term, legally compliant management plan is drafted by the federal government. 👏Open sand riding during daylight hours remains legal across the vast majority of the recreation area.👏🥳
a month agolinda_val23
1. Specific Area Closures: Only specific swaths of vegetated marten habitat have been closed off to Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs) and UTVs: Banshee Hill Located northeast of the Umpqua #2 staging area, this popular riding hill has been entirely roped off and closed to motorized vehicles. A heavily vegetated section south of the Umpqua #3 staging area is strictly off-limits. Any established off-road trails winding directly through these closed sections are completely blocked. 2. The Nighttime Curfew Instead of a total ban, the court targeted the marten’s primary nocturnal hunting hours: • All motorized vehicles are prohibited from riding between 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. • This curfew applies across the entirety of the Middle Riding Area (the Umpqua Dunes region south of Winchester Bay).
a month agolinda_val23
3. Destruction of the Understory While off-roaders ride on the open sand, the noise and traffic tear up the edges of the critical "island" vegetation and shore pine forests where martens nest. If the dense understory brush is degraded or cleared away, the martens lose their protective ground cover, leaving them entirely vulnerable to larger predators like bobcats and coyotes. By roping off specific critical habitat zones and implementing curfews, the courts aim to give this highly fragile population a baseline chance at avoiding total extinction, even if it limits traditional recreational spaces.
a month agolinda_val23
2. Vehicle Strikes and Habitat Fragmentation Because the dune populations are so isolated, martens are forced to cross open sand and recreational corridors to travel between patches of forest cover. • The Risk: High-speed side-by-sides, UTVs, and dirt bikes traveling through these areas present a high risk of fatal vehicle strikes. • The Impact: The physical presence and roaring noise of vehicles act as a "wall," fragmenting their habitat and further inbreeding a population that is already dangerously small.
a month agolinda_val23
1. Nighttime Disruption and Foraging Coastal martens are shy, solitary, and largely nocturnal or crepuscular hunters. Massive, multi-day off-road vehicle (OHV) events bring thousands of loud, bright vehicles out for night rides. This noise and light pollution effectively paralyzes the martens, preventing them from leaving their dens to hunt for food, find mates, or raise their kits. In August 2026, a federal judge ordered an immediate nightly riding curfew to give the animals a quiet window to survive.
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