27 APRIL 2023 | MERLIN, OR. — The Medford Bureau of Land Management has issued a public land closure for a section of the Rogue River Trail just about a mile upstream of the Rogue River Ranch.
“Traversing this active slide would expose a hiker to the possibility of injury or death,” a release from the BLM of Oregon & Washington reads on their Facebook page. Questions should be directed to the Medford Office, according to the post.
SMC reported the slide in an April 5 story. Each spring, the Club happily maintains the Rogue River Trail from Marial to Foster Bar with support from the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Curry County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’d love to just include the whole trail into our annual work plan,” says executive director Gabriel Howe. “The trail should be open by April 15 every year.”
Howe does say he’s concerned about the sustainability of the section of the trail the BLM manages from Graves Creek to Mule Creek. “There are a lot of failing structures. You’re just going to see more of this if there isn’t a significant investment.”
Read more about the Club’s 2023 work on the Rogue River Trail here.
“This will have a big impact on backpackers from across the West who are looking for snow-free trips this spring,” Howe adds. “Not an ideal year to close one of Oregon’s great backpacking trails.”
We understand from BLM field managers that this is a top priority and they are working to manage the slide as quickly as possible.
