Sand Dunes are for Everyone! Capstone Project

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“Between 1972 and 2011, the acreage available for ATV riders has been reduced from 28,000 acres to just below 6,000 acres,” said Discovery Point Resort and RV Park owner Greg Hoover. “Just 20 percent of the Oregon Dunes NRA is available for legal ATV use today.” (2)

Systematically eliminating these trails is wrong for several reasons:

  • First, non-native European Beach grass displaces native plants and alters the landscape. The beach grass grows further inland, smothering the native flora that reside there and creating artificial swampland
  • Second, bacause the federal government planted invasive European Beach grass in the 1990’s, the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area that was traditionally for recreation had been slowly shrinking. Essentially this non-native grass eliminates areas that the sand accumulate, creating smaller dunes and closing off trails permanently;
  • Third, the tourism and businesses that have been created because of recreational ATV use will be negatively impacted
  • Fourth, the shrinking area causes more people to use the open dunes and less people riding the trails, therefore increasing the chance of injury.

For the project I will be creating an edited version of a short motivational video, as well as an infographic. The video will include images of trails, and show how family oriented these events are while presenting some simplified facts about the situation. Either the infographic or the video will include a call to action, like a petition or some other way that they can help. The infographic will delve more deeply into the info, focusing on two or three reasons why these trails should be kept open.

http://www.opb.org/news/article/off-road-enthusiasts-lose-trails-gain-riding-area-in-oregon-dunes/  (1)

http://boiseatvtrailriders.org/whats-new/around-the-us/dunes-atv-trails-threatened/ (2)

http://www.ridetheoregondunes.com/ (3)

https://twitter.com/oldschoolgmc1/status/739641076655349760

https://twitter.com/oldschoolgmc1/status/739641784234450945

https://twitter.com/oldschoolgmc1/status/739641422672855040

https://twitter.com/oldschoolgmc1/status/739641959027859456

https://twitter.com/oldschoolgmc1/status/739642236359442432

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