Name Date Comment
Anonymous 01/13/2023

I enjoy and appreciate the substantial trail network in the Macdonald-Dunn forest. I make use of the trails at least once a week, and the forest provides a place for community building through trail running, as well as individual enjoyment. I would appreciate continued building of trails as part of the forest management plan in order to maintain those features of the forest. In addition, supporting local races, especially the new trail race series, will keep building community through enjoyment of the Mac-Dunn.

Anonymous 01/13/2023

Love the Mac and all the trails so much!Always love the idea of more single track for running. Continued work on connections with other natural areas (i.e. a Cardwell Hill-McDonald connection.) Continued support for off-leash dogs. Thank you!

Brandon C. 01/13/2023

I would like to see more miles of trails connecting the different parts of the forest together, with also some more technical trails, as well as more trail name signage. It wouldn’t hurt to add in some more Trail run races also, like a 50 or 100 mile race. Thank you in advance! :)

Anonymous 01/13/2023

As an insatiable trail-runner it has been a thrill to see the modest rise in new trail development in recent years, and the continuance of managing for recreation not just production and research. Let me add to the public demand for more authorized trails targeted at all user groups, and the expedient restoration of trails that get erased during harvests. I'll continue volunteering wherever I can.

Dave Taylor 01/13/2023

I enjoy hiking and running in these forests, and have volunteered to help do trail maintenance. Please allow people to enjoy these trails in the forest.

Anonymous 01/13/2023

I appreciate the continued mix-use ethos and management of the forest. One of the best ways to engage community members in wise use and resource conservation is to create opportunities for people to learn about, be immersed in, and deeply experience the natural world. Maintaining recreation as a core value in the Mac is essential for this. Creating and maintaining both mixed and single-use trails supports a wide array of recreational opportunities. Since moving to the area in 2003, I have done field work, hiked, biked, run, packed my infant child on trails in the Mac, and then watched him grow to hike, run and bike these same trails. This is an amazing learning laboratory not just for forest and social sciences but for the surrounding communities and global trail recreation communities. While there will always be the potential for friction between competing uses, recreation in the Mac brings incredible value and opportunity. Please continue to prioritize trail use and development.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

I love the McDonald and the Dunn forests and recreate in them regularly. I’ve volunteered with both OSU and Team Dirt in building trails, and would love to see the trail network grow, especially in the Dunn, although I wouldn’t mind more trails in the Mac as well. Thank you for taking our input.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

McDonald Forest has such a wonderful system of trails. This is what makes Corvallis great. So many people use the trails and appreciate them. Thank you for making it accessible even though parking is often too limited, especially at Oak Creek.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

I would absolutely love more trails!!!!More trails that allow mtb bikes would be amazing! Maybe extend no secret or something? More trails!!!

Anonymous 01/12/2023

Please keep a strong emphasis on recreation in the new management plan for the research forests. I moved to Corvallis 20 years ago and have enjoyed every trail and road out there. In the last 7 years I have helped volunteer at some of the running events and trail building days. I would love to see more trails get incorporated as the years go on. I think Matt McPharlin is doing a fantastic job and would love to see him be able to keep at it. I'm so thankful to have this amazing resource in my town. If it were not for the recreational opportunities in the Mac/Dunn, I would have moved away years ago. Thank you.

Anonymous 01/12/2023
We (me first, and all the people I bring secondly) love the forests so very much and appreciate all the OSU volunteers and students as well as the Corvallis Trailrunners group and Team Dirt for all their hard work. I'm grateful, grateful, grateful. From experience, I know the squeaky wheel gets the vault toilet. (Thank you for listening to my whining, Ryan Brown.) With the large amount of people, I think more facilities are a protection to the forest.
As for trails, keep on lining them up and monitoring them as able. We try as citizens to be vigilant (trail work aside due to shoulder, hip, and other hindrances) in the forest.
Thank you!! That's my comment!!
Anonymous 01/12/2023

I am so grateful for the forest use and trails! I'd love to see more technical, single-track trails built in the forest! Thank you!

Anonymous 01/12/2023
I have been recreating in McDonald Forest for 20 years and am very thankful for the network of roads and trails that the forest offers. In the future, I would like to see the trail system expand. Currently, most trails need to be linked
together with roads instead of allowing users to follow a continuous trail system.
I would also like to see more challenging trails added to the trail network. Currently there are no "advanced" level trail in McDonald Forest. As an experienced runner and biker, this is frustrating for me as I often need to go elsewhere to find trails that provide an adequate challenge.
Thank you for allowing the public to comment on the new forest management plan.
Anonymous 01/12/2023

I would love to see recreation, especially hiking and running, prioritized in the management plan. More trails, more races and more opportunities for people to enjoy the forest. I live in the Portland area now after many years in Corvallis. When I visit Corvallis, getting to the forest to enjoy the trails is a must-do activity for me and my family.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

I love all the trails in the Mac/Dunn! I think more trail races should be permitted - big races are good for the community as they bring in more revenue. I also think permanent trail signs would be very helpful. I also would approve of ebikes, as for some people, it is the only way they can experience the forest.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

I want more races in the forest!

Anonymous 01/12/2023

I would love to see more non logging road trails. I would also love to see a 50 mile race or even 100 mile race (running) in this beautiful forest.

Anonymous 01/12/2023

More single track trails!

Anonymous 01/09/2023

The Mcdonald Dunn forest is an amazing place for the people of corvallis to get outside to take a walk, go for a run or hike, ride their horse or enjoy a bicycle ride. A huge thank you to everyone who works so hard to make this resource available to us. For me, I love to ride my bike in the forest. It would be great to see more trails built, specifically some that are bike only and appeal to more advanced riders. There are lots of trails that are "off the map" that currently attract the more advanced riders. Many of those riders regularly volunteer their time to help maintain the trails in the Mac forest as well. Having advanced level trails would help reduce congestion on more mellow trails that are better for hiking and running and would help keep trail volunteers excited about continuing to come maintain the forest. It would also assure that the trails being used have the opportunity to go through the impact studies etc I also support an annual parking pass fee to park at any of the trailheads to help raise money to take care of the forest, encourage people to use human powered methods to get to the forest and reduce emissions.

Anonymous 01/09/2023
I wish to see a continued emphasis on a wide diversity of trails developed in the OSU McDonald research forests such as has been the precedent over the last decade. Examples include additions of trails such as No Secret, Log In (Lupine), Bozai, TnT, Dave's Trail and Hole in a Bucket. These efforts have increased the diversity of authorized trails to suite a wider range of skill levels, making the Corvallis area an attractive place to work and live with such a valuable recreation area nearby. As a member of the trail running and mountain biking community for the past 9 years, I believe that this recreation access to the McDonald-Dunn forests is number one reason that I live in Corvallis. I have been able to make new friends and connections through participating and volunteering for the legacy running events as well as trail building work days in the forest, and feel a greater sense of ownership for the trails I have helped maintain.
I also think that a realistic path forward for managing recreation access and use involves acknowledgement of the wide array of unauthorized trails in the forest - many exists and though they are not formally recognized, they still receive heavy use and are part of the dynamic human-nature interface. I would prefer to see these come into recognition by OSU and improved in ways that maintain their existing character but mitigate further erosion to most efficiently use volunteer labor efforts. I would also hope to see OSU embrace solutions to access issues currently facing these forests. Limited parking acts to regulate the user numbers, but with the Valley population expected to double by 2050, there should be adequate planning around managing recreation user numbers. Potential plans for additional parking, expansion of new trail head area (MLK Park for example) and working with local/regional stakeholders (Greenbelt Land Trust, Starker Forest) will be needed to appropriately manage the increasing user numbers. Additional provisions for transportation alternatives should be explored, such as a bus to trail head services or distributed parking passes to ensure equitable access. I value what the research forests offer the local community and recognize that the entities discussing management plan components have a tough task ahead of them with little options that will please all user groups and stakeholders. Thank you for considering these opinions in the future iteration of the management plan.
Anonymous 01/09/2023

An increase in the diversity and quantity of mountain bike legal trails in the forest is needed. Specifically, I think more advanced trails are needed in the McDonald forest. Also, I'd like to see less clear cutting in forest.

Anonymous 01/08/2023
Afternoon,
I welcome this opportunity to provide input in an on-line, virtual avenues. Attending some of the listening and in-person sessions has been difficult to schedule around a young family. I wanted to raise a couple suggestions or pointers:
1) The Mac-Dunn forest is an incredible resource for OSU and Corvallis. While it is an OSU 'laboratory', the forests close to town are different and valued by the whole community. It is often overlooked that the Mac-Dunn plays a significant factor for attracting new faculty & students, maintain happy and healthy faculty & students, and retaining existing high performing faculty across the university. As a result, the utilization of the forest, while within the College of Forestry's individual purvey, has trickle on impacts across the university.
2) While mountain bikers are a significant user of the OSU forests around Corvallis, many of us have remained silent due to ever-changing authorizations and associated complexities of our activities and use in the forest. This is to the detriment of CoF, OSU and the Corvallis. Mountain biking has been a significant economic boon for communities across the PNW and a driving force for the economic diversification of many towns like those surrounding OSU in Corvallis.
3) While the Mac-Dunn has a good selection of 'green circle' and basic 'blue square' trails, it lacks purpose built 'black diamond' trails. The development of multiple new advanced' black diamond trails will lessen conflict, and potential injury, with other trail users (hikers, walkers, horse riders) since the riders will be on separate purpose built trails. I would like to advocate strenuously for the development of multiple new advanced/black diamond trails.
4) A note about dual-use/dual direction trails. While at first glance, these trails appear to provide the most 'usability' for every single mile of trail, they have been shown to increase the risk of collision and, unfortunately, conflict between forest and trail users. The development of dedicated 'up only' trails will limit these incidents and minimize conflict. Thank you once again for the opportunity to provide input.
Cheers.
Anonymous 01/08/2023

more diverse trails for a wider range of skill levels, more trail connectivity (would help ease parking issues at overcrowded trailheads too!). possibly some user specific trails and/or directional trails to ease conflicts. there is a small army of volunteers waiting in the wings if properly inspired. thanks!

Anonymous 01/06/2023

Communication of plans, maps, trails, and conditions of trails would be a huge help.

Kyler 01/05/2023
I am a frequent recreational user of the Mac forest (i.e. 4-5x/week) and am extremely thankful to have it as a community resource. Thank you! I am also very involved with Team Dirt as a lead trail builder. I applaud the management plan committee for including "diverse recreational experiences" within the charter. The mountain biking, hiking, and trail running communities are extremely thankful for the trail creation projects we've been able to do the past ~5yrs (No Secret, Playtime, and now Login). These compliment well the other authorized trails in the trail network (which also includes some trails in the adjoining Starker forest, such as Word to Your Mother, As You Wish, and Narnia). All of these authorized trails are classified as either Green (Easy) or Blue (Intermediate). To improve upon the forest experience, and also be consistent with the charter for diverse experiences, it would be great to have more advanced trails. This could include adoption of legacy "unauthorized" trails, as well as new trail development.
I would suggest that the creation and/or adoption of advanced trails be trusted to Team Dirt to lead, with OSU oversight. OSU and Team Dirt have an excellent working relationship. Team Dirt has also established good relations with local running and hiking clubs, such as Heart of the Valley Runners, and we recruit from the same community for organized volunteer trail work days. We can establish goals, criteria, and timelines for creation and/or adoption of advanced trails, and add it to the fold of Team Dirt's current charter and mission.
As far as trail proximity to trailheads... for my community of Forest Users, Oak Creek Trailhead is by far the most popular due to amount and proximity to the lengthy downhill trails that we enjoy riding. Trail development around the Soap Creek trailhead would also be a great way to spread users out across more trailheads. It is clear that OSU does not desire the MacDunn to become a recreational "hot spot" attracting massive amounts of visitors. I think this is okay - it is nice to not have crowded trails and/or trailheads - but we can improve user experience by intentional trail development at multiple trailhead sites. This too would support well the diverse recreational experience charter.
Your consideration and continued support of recreation in the McDonald Dunn Forest are greatly appreciated. Thank you to the committee members for your leadership and service.