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Residents urge Yamhill County to rethink High Haven gate closures that restrict access to public lands
Summary
Two residents told the county board that a gate closure near High Haven has reduced practical access to roughly 4,500 acres of BLM land, arguing the closure schedule is broader than necessary for fire danger and asking the board to review the policy with emergency management and ODF.
At the Yamhill County Board meeting June 11, residents urged commissioners to reexamine a board order that allows closure of a gate near High Haven during fire season, arguing closures have sometimes extended beyond periods of extreme fire danger and restricting access to thousands of acres of public land.
David Burton told the board the gate was closed under board order 23-386 and said that last summer it remained closed for nearly a month after fire danger had fallen. "I would request that the board reexamine that policy because it, it really limits people living in the Northwest segment of town," Burton said, noting the closure forces users to drive long detours and curtails access to foraging and recreation on nearby BLM parcels.
Dan Miller, a McMinnville father who presented maps, said he identified about 4,500 acres that are effectively harder to reach because of the gate. He described travel-time differences—"Google Maps says that's about 10 minutes" to reach parcels via the gate versus "54 minutes" when the gate route is blocked—and urged the board to consider the impact on families with small children.
Board response and next steps: Chair (S1) said staff will set up a meeting with emergency management and possibly the Oregon Department of Forestry to review early wildfire risk protocols and closure timing and that he would send meeting links to residents so they can participate. Residents asked for earlier public notice about gate closures so neighbors could weigh in; county staff agreed to follow up and said they will try to provide more background and meeting records for context.
What was not decided: No formal policy change or vote occurred at the meeting. The board committed to schedule a technical discussion with emergency management and ODF and to share meeting materials with residents.
