Oregon Travel Management Areas

[Ozarkansas]

Anyone here familiar with hunting Oregon's travel management areas? They sound like temporary walk-in areas that are established during the season to limit pressure, traffic, and erosion in non-wilderness areas. It seems like a great concept but I could see them not being well enforced. The last thing I want to do is plan a hunt, hike 5 miles in on a "closed" road, and then have a bunch of dudes blow past me on 4x4s. I'm not looking for spots so no need to give specifics, I'm just trying to figure out if TMAs exist in a meaningful way in reality or if they're just lines on a map that everyone ignores.

 

[wapitibob]

Probably depends on the TMA. I hunt one, with gates open, and nobody violates the policies; ie no e-bikes and no vehicles.

 

[Smokeslider]

I've seen the most abused of these areas on public where they are poorly marked and enforced. The better option lie in the areas of private timber land access that grants public hunting but controls it using the TMA process. Most of these are gated. My only complaints in these areas is the e-bike conundrum.

 

[Extrapale]

E bikes are illegal in ODFW TMAs.

I hunt one in NE Oregon that is effective. There are no gates for the most part, and I have not seen any violations of the TMAs.

In the same area, before the TMAs are in effect, I see many violations of permanently closed roads.

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[GoBig]

Most areas are patrolled pretty hard by the folks that are obeying the rules. Green dot road closures are pretty effective during hunting season.

 

[92xj]

I hunted one last season. From the border road you could clearly see a truck and camper set up 800yards in. He'd drive in and out everyday and did this for 8 days. Don't think I saw a single patrol person of any kind.

 

[roosiebull]

Anyone here familiar with hunting Oregon's travel management areas? They sound like temporary walk-in areas that are established during the season to limit pressure, traffic, and erosion in non-wilderness areas. It seems like a great concept but I could see them not being well enforced. The last thing I want to do is plan a hunt, hike 5 miles in on a "closed" road, and then have a bunch of dudes blow past me on 4x4s. I'm not looking for spots so no need to give specifics, I'm just trying to figure out if TMAs exist in a meaningful way in reality or if they're just lines on a map that everyone ignores.

very limited enforcement, but most follow the rules, but some break the rules too. i do lots of hunting in tma's, and there is always a couple guys who are lazy and will drive in.... that chaps me about as bad as anything. take a picture of their plate and call OSP.... they'll quit doing it if it costs them money.

it's not a real problem, most tma's are blocked anyways, by gates or otherwise. on the coast, when they're logging, there will be open gates, and they tempt the lazy folks. as bad as people driving in tma's are loggers whacking stuff illegally, that's more impactful in real life, and happens a lot.

 

[Ozarkansas]

It's good to know that TMAs are generally respected and the rules enforced, I'll keep that in mind for when I'm planning my next hunt. It sounds like with regards to enforcement its pretty similar to the walk-in areas I'm used to in Arkansas- generally effective but with the occasional bad apple that thinks the rules don't apply to them.

 

[hibernation]

as bad as people driving in tma's are loggers whacking stuff illegally, that's more impactful in real life, and happens a lot

This one right here. I've come across a lot of illegal firewood cutting, especially up on the Olympic peninsula. Some of it is really brazen, dropping whole mature trees and bucking them up to roll or haul out. I report the locations to the USFS but it's tough to do much after the fact.

Aside from being illegal and impacting the forest, it's nuts to see someone take a beautiful straight 30" DBH doug fir and just buck it up for firewood to sell to campers. Waste of good timber.