A federal judge has restricted off-road vehicle use in parts of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to protect the threatened coastal marten.
The temporary restrictions include closures in some areas, a nighttime curfew for off-road vehicles and a ban on new permits for off-road vehicle events. They stem from a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Forest Service of failing to adequately consider how motorized recreation affects the rare, weasel-like carnivore.
The coastal marten was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2020. Fewer than 400 are estimated to remain, and around 70 live in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2024, arguing the Forest Service had failed to complete a required environmental analysis quickly enough.
Tala DiBenedetto, an attorney for the center, said martens face several threats from off-road vehicles.
“They can be upwards of 122 decibels. They also can rip up vegetation, serving as marten habitat," she said. "Also because OHVs [Off-Highway Vehicles] are allowed to ride around at night, they risk vehicle strike. And in the summer, martens are very active. They still have their babies in tow.”
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken said the Forest Service had delayed its environmental review for too long.
“The record contains abundant evidence that the agency’s actions not only increased the risk of jeopardy to a threatened species, but also that those actions facilitated the unnecessary destruction of habitat and public resources,” Aiken wrote in her ruling.
Aiken ordered some areas of the dunes closed, established a nighttime curfew for off-highway vehicles and temporarily prohibited new permits for off-highway vehicle events.
In a news release, the Forest Service acknowledged the court orders and provided maps of the closure areas.
“Per the Court’s order, these restrictions will remain in place until the court determines longer-term interim measures related to a complaint filed by the Center for Biological Diversity,” the Forest Service said.
The Forest Service is expected to conduct further environmental analysis of how off-highway vehicle use affects coastal martens and their habitat.
