A rare, ferret-like creature has gained extra protections in part of the Oregon Dunes after a judge ordered limitations on off-highway vehicles just two days before a major OHV event.
This week, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken found the U.S. Forest Service violated multiple environmental policies when it allowed off-highway vehicles to drive through parts of the dunes that are critical to coastal martens. Aiken also issued a preliminary injunction that requires the agency to immediately issue nightly curfews and rope off certain areas ahead of an event called the UTV Takeover.
UTV stands for “utility terrain vehicle,” an off-road vehicle that’s also called a side-by-side. Twice every summer, the UTV Takeover draws thousands of riders to the Oregon Dunes for nearly a week of racing, night rides, treasure hunts and block parties. The UTV Takeover held its Coos Bay event in June and opened its Winchester Bay event on Tuesday.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the coastal marten a threatened species in 2020. The agency estimates that about 400 coastal martens remain living in the world.
Mark Stevens / Courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity
In court documents, Coos and Douglas county leaders said the UTV Takeover is a major economic driver for their rural economies, bringing customers to local hotels, gas stations and restaurants. But environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, say it also brings hundreds of loud, off-highway vehicles that tear through native vegetation where martens seek shelter and food.
“Martens have been living here for decades,” said the nonprofits’ staff attorney Tala DiBenedetto. “The agency really has to step up and look at what it’s authorizing and make sure that it’s in compliance with these laws that are meant to protect species.”
About 71 coastal martens roam the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, among just 400 in existence between Northern California and Oregon. A member of the weasel family, coastal martens have brown fur, triangle-shaped ears and bushy tails, and they thrive among Oregon’s shore pines and their understories.
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In federal reports, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service officials say the population of Oregon Dunes coastal martens is extremely fragile. Their biggest risks include habitat loss and degradation, human disturbance and vehicle strikes. The agency listed coastal martens as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2020 and designated part of the dunes as critical habitat in 2024.
Despite those findings, the Forest Service didn’t revisit its existing policies that allowed off-highway vehicles to drive through sensitive marten habitat.
In 2015, that agency expanded off-highway vehicle access in the dunes, allowing these vehicles to drive through an additional 518 acres. It also added another 2 miles of OHV trails to the dunes, and designated a steep, two-acre area called Banshee Hill as an open-riding area.
In the following years, the Forest Service allowed multiple large-scale events like the UTV Takeover to forgo environmental reviews, because the agency determined these events wouldn’t harm the environment.
Related: Conservationists strive to protect Oregon’s coastal martens
Judge Aiken ruled that the martens’ vulnerability required the Forest Service to do more to protect them. She said the agency should have revisited its 2015 policy changes shortly after martens were listed as threatened, and it should have consulted with wildlife officials before allowing large-scale events like the UTV Takeover. She determined the Forest Service violated multiple environmental laws and ordered the agency to consult with wildlife officials before it issues any more event permits.
Aiken also issued a preliminary injunction that took effect on Monday. It imposed a nightly curfew, forbidding off-highway vehicles from driving through parts of the dunes between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. to protect martens during their peak foraging and hunting hours.
She also required the Forest Service to rope off Banshee Hill and post a camera.
Related: Threatened coastal martens gain federal protections in parts of Oregon and California
Aiken was clear in her order: “Banshee Hill shall be closed.”
Still, there appeared to be some confusion. On Tuesday, the UTV Takeover posted an update to its followers, saying, “This morning, we were told by the Forest Service that the main fingers of Banshee Hill would remain open…”
The UTV Takeover organizers declined a request for comment, as did Douglas and Coos county commissioners. The Forest Service didn’t respond to requests for comment.
