The Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District announced a ”tweak” Tuesday night to the ban on motorized winter recreation at Dutchman Flat, creating a play area for snowmobilers on the south end of the flat and banning skiers from motorized trails.

The 23-acre play area, tucked between Highway 46 and a snowmobile trail running north from Dutchman Sno-Park, is the result of an effort by the Oregon State Snowmobilers Association (OSSA), according to Marv Lang of the district’s wilderness and trails program.

Originally, the ranger district banned snowmobiles on 1,375 acres on the western face of Tumalo Mountain and a nearby area laced with Nordic trails in April after several public meetings and a two-day summit where skiers and snowmobilers clashed.

Three major snowmobile trails, including Trail 7, which runs north from Dutchman Sno-Park and bisects the nonmotorized area, remained open to motorized use under the April decision announced by District Ranger Walt Schloer.

A 100-foot corridor around Trail 7 will be marked with orange poles and signs, according to Chris Sabo of the district wilderness and trails program. Signs facing inward will tell snowmobilers to stay inside the corridor while signs facing outward will warn skiers away, except at designated crossings.

Lang said the creation of the play area, along with specific plans to segregate user groups, was approved by a group including four or five representatives from both snowmobilers’ associations and skiers’ groups.

”We’re hoping we met a middle ground, given the premise we’re working under. It’s not arbitrary and capricious,” Lang said. ”Safety is the theme.”

One strategy the ranger district will employ, announced Tuesday night, creates separate, groomed lanes on Cascade Lakes Highway for motorized and non-motorized users.

All non-motorized users, except for dog sledders and skijorers, will be prohibited in the motorized lane. The two-lane corridor will begin at Dutchman Sno-Park and run north, with designated areas where users can cross both lanes.

Prohibiting skiers from motorized areas is a new step, Lang said.

Sabo said that new signage – about 350 in all – should alert users to the regulations, and new maps will be available at major access points.

”I think it’s a plus to have the segregation,” OSSA member Peggy Spieger said.

Robert Speik of Traditional Mountaineering also gave the plan a tentative thumbs-up.

”I think segregation is good for safety,” he said, ”(but) I think it’s up to the motorized people to be responsible in terms of speed.”

Dale Neubauer, a representative of Wild Wilderness, said he had mixed feelings about the plan.

He said he favored placing a speed limit on Trail 7.

”The Forest Service is essentially saying, Drag racing (snowmobiles) is OK here,’” he said. ”We have a high-speed corridor going right through the heart of things.”

Spieger, however, said snowmobilers had given up a great deal under the terms of the closure. The OSSA had originally asked for a 300-foot corridor, she said.

Although discussion remained amicable, Neubauer said he felt the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District sidestepped public input when it decided to adjust the closure plan to include the play area and adopted specific plans for Trail 7.

”I’d like to wait and see and hope for the best, (that) it’ll all work out well,” Speik said. ”If it doesn’t, this process will continue.”

Yoko Minoura can be reached at 541-383-0387 or at yminoura@bendbulletin.com.