Hopes for Another Recreation Mecca in Bend ? Bike Around Bend

Newspaper Box Trail in the Skyline Forest | Photo by DLT staff

Many mountain bike enthusiasts in Central Oregon would agree: when it comes to accessible, enjoyable cycling, the Phils Trail Complex west of Bend is the location of choice. Many riders would also agree that, while popular, the network has its downfalls ? it?s often crowded, has little elevation variation, and most of the terrain is suited for beginning or intermediate riders.

Frustrated riders may soon have reason to celebrate, as a new network is beginning develop in Central Oregon. The project, known as Skyline Forest, exists on land currently owned by Fidelity National Financial. The company is currently working with Deschutes Land Trust (DLT) to preserve the land for public recreation. For local mountain bikers, that?s great news.

Woody Starr, Chairman of the Board of the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA), is enthusiastic about the parcel?s potential.

?[Skyline] is well suited for mountain biking, and the area will broaden the diversity of cycling terrain in Central Oregon,? said Starr. ?There?s potential for some really challenging rides out there, and the elevation variation on Skyline could make downhill specific trails a possibility. That?s something we haven?t seen in Central Oregon yet.?

The Backstory

According to Brad Chalfant, Executive Director of DLT, the 33,000-acre parcel was original owed by the Crown Pacific partnership. Crown Pacific worked with the Forest Service to manage the land until the partnership?s bankruptcy in 2003, when the land became the property of its secured creditors. The creditors formed a holding company called Cascade Timberlands, and Olympic Resource Management (ORM) began to manage the land.

ORM intended to auction the land, and DLT began to plan a bid. According to Chalfant, the Land Trust has long been interested in Skyline Forest. ?There?s great potential for recreation, be it horseback riding or hiking or mountain biking,? he said. Fidelity took control of Cascade Timberlands before a deal was reached, but the company indefinitely postponed any development projects and promised to work with DLT on a conservation-oriented transaction.

Since 2006, DLT has worked with Fidelity to conserve the land. The Gilchrist Tree Farm, another parcel previously owned by Fidelity, became Oregon?s newest State Forest in 2010. The hope is to conserve Skyline Forest in a similar fashion, and to manage most of the parcel as its sole owner. ?In 2009, legislation created a structure of acquisition for the parcel,? said Chalfant. ?Fidelity would sell 30,000 of the 33,000 acres to the Deschutes Land Trust at timber value, and would keep the remaining 3,000 acres for private use. Of that land, 1,200 acres could be developed, probably for housing.?

The Land Trust obtained a $4 million grant from a Federal fund to purchase the land, but the money comes with an expiration date in the Spring of 2012. Chalfant hopes to have a deal with Fidelity secured prior to that deadline. ?We?re currently working with Fidelity, but we?re also trying to get the community involved,? Chalfant said. ?We need to wake people up, so they understand what?s at risk and what could be lost.?

Chalfant discussed the role Central Oregon residents could play in the project saying,

?Right now Fidelity and Cascade Timberlands are making adjustments to the legislation passed in 2009. Once we know the extent of those adjustments we?ll need community support more than ever. Community members can communicate the importance of Skyline?s conservation to legislators in ways that the Land Trust cannot.?

This Way for the Tour

Along with COTA, DLT has been working to raise awareness. Both groups have sponsored bike rides on Skyline?s existing trails, and the Land Trust has also organized group hikes and horseback rides. Karyn Verzwyvelt, outreach coordinator for DLT, organized many of the tours. ?We tried to highlight what?s unique about Skyline, and why it?s important to Central Oregon,? Karyn said. ?We took riders by old mill sights, over logging roads, and on the course for the Cascade Chain Breaker race. Along the way, we would stop and discuss forest restoration and the potential for the land.?

Tours have been put on hold until spring, but volunteers are still working on the project. According to Starr, COTA is planning to help in whatever capacity needed. ?We?re a group of mountain bikers, but our focus is promoting trails and stewardship,? Starr said. ?We have significant expertise in designing and constructing a trail system, and a large group of volunteers. We?ve already held work parties on the sight.?

The Steeps

?The forest was logged extensively, and that can make for interesting terrain,? said Starr. ?We have trails that run down old logging roads, but we?re planning some really interesting new additions. Central Oregon doesn?t have any downhill specific trails, and there?s definitely potential on the Skyline parcel.? The DLT will likely divide the forest between the different activities, to avoid overlap and overuse.

?On Phils Trails, you could be biking along and have to maneuver around horses or runners,? Starr said. ?With a parcel as large as Skyline, mountain bikers could have hundreds or even thousands of acres all to themselves.?

The Land Trust has the final say in how many acres will be devoted to biking, but COTA will be in charge of developing the trails. ?We?ve never worked with the Deschutes Land Trust before, but we?re looking forward to the partnership,? said Starr. ?We?re planning to be involved in the whole project, not just the cycling aspect. We?ll help build hiking or even equestrian trails too. We want lend expertise anywhere it?s needed.?

Skyline?s 50 square miles of forest are still privately owned, but Brad Chalfant is optimistic about the project. ?If [the Deschutes Land Trust] secures the land, Skyline would be the largest community forest in the Northwestern United States,? he said. ?We will manage the land in cooperation with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, but for the most part the project will stay in the Central Oregon community.?

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