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.

I was at both of the community listening sessions, and was surprised to read the "No e-bikes due to speed and safety concerns" bullet point in the summary of the second listening session (under recreation). That does not at all reflect the sentiment in favor of vs opposed to e-bike access in the forest, which was, to my surprise, extensive and all positive save for the comment raised by the one person whose comment is recorded. Of course there was nothing cited to suggest that "speed and safety concerns" were valid, and another audience member gently suggested that the commenter consider not wearing their earbuds in the forest.

I appreciate that the college research forest is available and maintained for public hiking and recreation. I hike there almost weekly. Such a beautiful and accessible asset in our community. I donate annually to the recreation trails. I trust the college to make reasonable decisions about how to use what parts of the forest for their priorities while balancing their needs with the enjoyment and benefits the forest brings the public. Perhaps the college could include more information on what they are doing in the forest to be more transparent without threatening those operations.

I think you should allow ebikes onto the roads but not the trails. The roads are wide enough.

Last Friday (June 14, 2024) I saw a closure sign for the Woodpecker Phase 1 logging project. The sign was posted at the 500 Road gate. I hike there weekly and this was the first inkling that logging would commence in a little over a week. More advance notice sure would have been nice. I am writing to ask you to relocate the approximately 600-foot-long strip of Woodpecker 1 boundary that is immediately adjacent to the Section 36 trail starting at Cronemiller Lake and proceeding uphill. Please shift that section of the Woodpecker 1 boundary far enough away from the trail that the resulting logging operations do not become apparent from the trail. The entire Section 36 trail section along Calloway Creek uphill from Cronemiller Lake is an exceedingly important stretch of trail for me. For two reasons. Reason 1. To regain cardiac fitness, I have climbed Peavy Peak at least 400 times over the last four years. Each time, I return via this section of the Section 36 trail to wind down and appreciate the beauty of this older forest. Logging boundaries that are immediately adjacent to the trail will likely result in degrading the beauty and calming experience of a mature forest. The forest trail uphill along Calloway Creek is one of the very few good options that enthusiasts have for hiking in an old forest stand near Corvallis. <> You have already adjusted the logging boundary (away from the trail) a little further uphill after the first 600 feet. Presumably this is because the trail enters a portion of a mature forest reserve here. I would prefer you cut more trees elsewhere in the Woodpecker 1 project, rather than diminish the beauty of any portion of this trail. Reason 2. In the early 1990s I was a founding member and 1-year president of the Native Yew Conservation Council (NYCC). We advocated among all interest groups to seek new sources of the cancer drug Taxol, as the original source of the compound entailed stripping the bark from ancient yew trees. Our efforts hastened the efforts of Bristol Myers Squibb and Weyerhaeuser to source Taxol from the foliage of cultivated seedlings. During my advocacy with NYCC, I witnessed large-scale harvesting of yew trees, especially old ones. This pertains to my input because Calloway Creek should really be named “Yew Creek.” In my decades as a forester and outdoors enthusiast, I have seen very few populations of yew trees as dense and varied as that along this stretch of creek and trail. I have counted over 100 yew trees and some specimens are likely hundreds of years old. <> Indeed, even elsewhere in your Woodpecker logging operations, I implore you to avoid cutting any yew trees in your logging operations. Oh yes, and possibly one more pertinent request, if needed. Although the Woodpecker 1 map technically shows a particular tree to be outside of your proposed logging boundaries, please don’t fell the huge Douglas-fir wolf tree located just uphill from Cronemiller Lake.

I support allowing pedal-assist e-bikes on the forest. I frequently ride an electric bike, and I enjoy frequenting the forest, but have been sad that I cannot combine the two pastimes.

To the McDonald Dunn Research Forest -- I was able to briefly review the presentation and video. To think that this is the same OSU that played a leading role in developing the Northwest Forest Plan. You would never have guessed after reviewing this management plan. It is in most evey way upside down. This is not ecological forestry. This is not research into practices we don't already know about. This plan reads as a justification for harvest using a matirix bias towards a forestry of the past. It is the old growth and late successional trees that should make up 40% with rotations designed to support important ecological services -- climate change, clean water, biodiversity. The public deserves ecological integrity. The public deserves ecological forestry, a forestry that has multiple benefits to society -- not a forestry primarily in service to the market. The public deserves forests not plantations.

Matt McPharlin and the forest trail crew have done a great job making new trails in the Mac! I would love to see 1) more trails; 2) more singletrack connectivity; and 3) better access closer to town. Please consider a new conditional use permit for more trail building. Whether the College likes it or not, the Mac forest is a big reason people love Corvallis. I am excited about the new Greenbelt purchase that might open up a new access point for the forest from Bald Hill and/or MLK park. This is a much more sustainable alternative than people driving to Oak Creek Station. I also would love to see more events in the forest (could these be a potential (modest) revenue stream?). I was disappointed the USATF 50k national championship got turned down...it could have been a great opportunity for the forest, Corvallis, etc. There are not so many events in the forest. I also would very much like to see more trails in the Dunn, as well as legal connectivity between Mac and Dunn. It is a whole new frontier and would space users out more. Finally, there are some obvious connections that would greatly improve the experience for trail users. For instance, Old Growth to Daves, so a complete singletrack loop from the Saddle could be done. Another would be some trail from of Dimple/Beautiful down to Extendo or Oak Creek would be great. Also, continue Playtime further down (there has been talk of revamping Endo/Innuendo.

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.