![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lebanonlocalnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Mountain-Patrol-28.jpg\")
<\/a>Deputy Piper Engler, above, walks across an area torn up by mudders.<\/p>\nThis, she says, is a \u201cprime example\u201d of why she\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n
Engler, who grew up in Lebanon, has been a deputy with the department for four years and started working mountain patrol last fall.<\/p>\n
She polices the private forestlands in north and east Linn County, while other deputies focus on public lands, such as BLM properties, and the Corps of Engineers land around Foster and Green Peter reservoirs. Around Sweet Home, the majority of those private lands are Hill Timber properties managed by Cascade Timber Consulting.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a varied job. In her diesel four-wheel-drive Ford F250 pickup, she cruises the logging roads, patrolling for blocked or damaged timber gates, littering, trespassers, vandalism, theft of forest products and illegal camping, as well as more typical law enforcement issues such as theft, particularly from logging operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really evident on those tire tracks off to the side of the road,\u201d Engler says gesturing at muddy grooves digging into a bank on an ungraveled spur road. \u201cIt\u2019s like, one person does it and then a bunch of these people decide they want to do it. One person decides to drive up this little hump to see if they can make it up here and then a bunch of people do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Engler was a swimmer for Lebanon High School and then for Southwest Oregon Community College in Coos Bay, where she qualified in multiple events for nationals. After graduating \u2013 she earned valedictorian honors in both high school and college, where she earned three associate degrees, she then served on the SWOCC coaching staff. Then, she said, she decided to go into law enforcement \u2013 in Linn County, where she\u2019d grown up.<\/p>\n \u201cI only applied one place,\u201d she said as she drove along Marks Ridge Road: \u201cto Linn County Sheriff\u2019s Office. If I couldn\u2019t work here, I wasn\u2019t going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n After a few years on regular patrol in Millersburg and other areas, she moved to the mountains.<\/p>\n With a reporter riding shotgun, Engler pointed out some of the problems she sees and deals with in her forest patrols.<\/p>\n She said that problems intensify with proximity to the towns, and Old Hufford is a prime example because it\u2019s a county road that\u2019s close to town. The problem, she said, is that what people do often violates company rules and, sometimes, the law.<\/p>\n The program is contracted between the Linn Forest Protective Association and the Sheriff\u2019s Office, he said. LFPA pays 80% of the deputy\u2019s salary, which makes the mountain deputy available to respond to traffic and other crimes when necessary, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, as landowners, felt it was important to do this, with the amount of public access \u2013 so many of our lands are surrounded by neighbors, off of county roads and\u00a0 main lines that bisect our properties.\u201d<\/p>\n Recreation, such as hiking, hunting and fishing is allowed for the public, he said, though camping is prohibited.<\/p>\n Even with those provisions, \u201cpeople are still breaking the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super important that we maintain good communication and good visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Party Sites, Fires, Shooting Ranges<\/p>\n Shooting is a big problem, particularly close to town, she said, gesturing at a CTC gate riddled with holes, sporting a cock-eyed warning sign that had been shot up. Nearby, a 6-inch Douglas fir was missing its top, courtesy of some shooter.<\/p>\n Engler reached into the ragged shaft of the tree\u2019s trunk and pulled out a spent bullet.<\/p>\n She said the Old Hufford area, particularly, is off-limits to shooters.<\/p>\n \u201cCascade Timber has areas where they allow shooting, but there\u2019s areas where they post not to target shoot, and those are usually the areas where there\u2019s houses in the general decision,\u201d she said, noting that there are residences scattered along the length of Old Hufford and Shot Pouch, which runs to the south of the main line.<\/p>\n \u201cOld Hufford, specifically, is a no-target shooting area. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t hunt. It\u2019s just repetitive shooting at targets.\u201d<\/p>\n She said a big problem is shooting up a road or trail without a proper backstop.<\/p>\n \u201cTrees are not a backstop,\u201d she noted. \u201cBullets have a way of traveling long distances.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be respectful of our neighbors,\u201d Moran said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we put up No Hunting, No Shooting signs where people live.\u201d<\/p>\n At another spur road, blue tape marked missing tops of numerous young trees that had been cut off by shooters.<\/p>\n A cattle trail ran up the hill \u2013 this was an open range area \u2013 and fresh cow tracks were evident in the mud, along with shotgun shells and bullet casings. Several stumps or rocks were surrounded by shattered glass and cans full of holes, and a propane tank lay off to one side, also riddled with holes.<\/p>\n Nearby was a large whipped cream spray container, used by partiers for \u201chuffing.\u201d Engler said she often finds such trash around the remains of fires.<\/p>\n Engler, who said she likes horseback riding, noted that she doesn\u2019t ride in this area.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot tell me what is behind those trees,\u201d she said, pointing at the trail running up the hill. \u201cYou know, someone, maybe they\u2019re walking a cow trail back from a hike. I have horses, and sometimes we like to get off the beaten path and we\u2019ll just take a little, you know, deer trail or cow trail or whatnot. You don\u2019t know who or what is going to be walking around the corner while you\u2019re just shooting into an open area.\u201d<\/p>\n CTC has private security, who work with deputies, and neighbors often will report violators, she said.<\/p>\n Moran said illegal shooting doesn\u2019t just damage trees, it can create hazards for millworkers \u2013 especially when target shooters are using metal-jacketed bullets.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people are shooting metal-jacketed bullets these days. If we see that in the tree, if it doesn\u2019t get caught by the cutters, the loggers, somebody in a mill could get badly hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n Fires are another problem; there were charred remains of what likely were party fires, judging by the number of cans and other trash around most of them, in multiple intersections where Shot Pouch intersects with spur lines or cat roads.<\/p>\n \u201cI think across the board, no one wants people to have buyers recreated from or not on their property. It\u2019s just too much of a risk for them and so pretty much no timber company allows fires.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Off-Road Trespassing<\/p>\n Mudding and off-road vehicles are another big problem, Engler said, adding that off-road motorists damage the landscape, which creates problems for timber owners.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a prime example of, you see, just the tire tracks going through,\u201d Engler said, pointing to a slope with ruts cut into it. A muffler lay nearby on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cYep, they leave pieces behind. A lot of times when they go through different stuff, they\u2019ll leave fluids and stuff just naturally from, you know the things that they damage unintentionally and whatnot, and then you destroy like the soil, and you can uncover roots from different trees and and one of the big things that I had no idea about, is that the timber companies are responsible for how much sediment or debris flows through their different streams,\u201d she said; the state can fine timber owners for exceeding sedimentation limits.<\/p>\n Moran said that people tear up roads and, with streams close by, \u201cwe have to do a bunch of repair work to keep the water clean\u201d after vandalism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like to have people use our property for recreation, but if it gets to the point that there\u2019s\u00a0 too much damage done, we may have to close it off.\u201d<\/p>\n She said one of the most common intrusions she sees is \u201c16-year-old kids in their first vehicle, yeah, that \u201890 Toyota pickup,\u201d who enjoy off-roading in places they shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a nuisance for the timber companies. They try to say that they thought they were able to go through there, and one person does it, and more people follow. And then pretty soon you get like this here where it\u2019s like, they didn\u2019t make that part of their road initially,\u201d she said, gesturing at a spot where muddy tire ruts ran around a closed gate.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gate Issues<\/p>\n Timber gates are a big issue that deputies have to deal with.<\/p>\n Nearly daily, the LCSO Sheriff\u2019s log reports incidents of deputies dealing with timber gates blocked by vehicles, trespassing vehicles locked behind gates, locks stolen or damaged, and more.<\/p>\n Engler noted that timber companies operate according to plans created in conjunction with landowners and sometimes those require gates to be open \u2013 but not to the public.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like they just show up for work one day and are like, \u2018What do we want to do today?\u2019\u00a0 They have a plan and a schedule that they want to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n Gates are often left open during logging operations to allow trucks to pass through and, in the event of an emergency, allow rescue workers to respond without unnecessary delays. But that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s open season for everyone.<\/p>\n During the most recent hunting season, logging operations were being conducted in the McDowell Creek area and gates were open for that reason, but vehicle access was clearly prohibited by \u201ca large orange sign,\u201d she said. But a number of hunters were cited there and elsewhere in the area for trespassing because they ignored the signs and driving right on in.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a large, orange sign that says \u2018Active Operation, No Public Use,\u2019\u201d Engler said. \u201cAs long as you\u2019re not walking into the actual site, CTC will still let you walk back there. They don\u2019t want people getting hurt. There\u2019s a lot of risk for them and they want to respect their workers up there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome people will see an open gate and drive through it. It\u2019s not a free-for-all, when they open gates.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will go up and I\u2019ll talk to them. \u2018No, there\u2019s no sign down there.\u2019 I\u2019ll just show them the picture. \u2018I took this on the way up here. I have a hard time believing that someone had the sign down and you drove through, and then they immediately just threw it up really quick.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBelieve it or not, not everyone is truthful with us.\u201d<\/p>\n Another big problem is blocked gates.<\/p>\n But, she said, she sees \u201cmany\u201d instances where people have ignored those signs and parked directly in front of a timber gate.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one can get through. And they\u2019re parked right in front of a sign that says, \u2018Do Not Block Gate.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Theft of Forest Products<\/p>\n Last fall a Campbell Global employee was marking timber boundaries in the Quartzville corridor\u00a0 when she spotted two men carrying five-gallon buckets filled with chanterelle mushrooms in some \u201cdifficult terrain,\u201d Engler said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe doesn\u2019t say anything; she just keeps walking on.\u201d<\/p>\n Engler said she located the suspects\u2019 car, which had been moved by the time she arrived, and found some evidence of the men\u2019s presence \u2013 mushrooms along the side of the road, footprints, and more. She found two men, from Salem, \u201csoaking wet,\u201d huddling in the brush nearby. With help from a translator, she questioned them about their activities.<\/p>\n They agreed to open their trunk, which held multiple five-gallon buckets full of chanterelles, and since they didn\u2019t have a permit, they were cited.<\/p>\n Engler said she turned the chanterelles over to a company staffer, weighed them \u2013 96 pounds, which, at $10 per pound were worth nearly $1,000.<\/p>\n The chanterelles were then distributed them to company employees \u201cfor their Thanksgiving reward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Fir boughs, popular during the holiday season, burls, bear grass, salal bark, ferns and minerals are other forest products that need to be permitted before they are harvested, she said.<\/p>\n You\u2019re taking out five-gallon buckets, and you\u2019re selling this, then that\u2019s different.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, you picking it up, you moving it from its natural position. Is that harvesting it?<\/p>\n If it\u2019s in your hand, it\u2019s being moved, pretty much.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, in the Cedar Creek area, a witness reported a man with a trailer stealing gravel from a county site.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a lot of timber companies, they\u2019ll have their different roads, and they\u2019ll have maybe just a big old pile of, you know, three-quarter minus crushed gravel rock, and people just are like,<\/p>\n helping themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Permits, she added, are required for harvesting from public property such as U.S. Forest Service lands, as well as private timber companies, though some of them allow small collection for personal use. She said information is available on those organizations\u2019 websites or by calling them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Illegal Camping \u00a0<\/p>\n Sgt. Colin Pyle, Engler\u2019s supervisor, said the problem of illegal camping, especially dumped trailers and RVs, is \u201cconstant for us now.\u201d<\/p>\n People just leave the vehicles out on a mountain road, he said, noting that a particularly egregious example is located near Milepost 21 on Quartzville Road, a trailer that was left on the side of the road and which has since been vandalized.<\/p>\n Engler took a reporter to the spot. The fifth-wheel trailer is on blocks \u2013 someone has stolen the wheels and tires off it. A mattress lies underneath it. All the windows are broken out. Often, she said, people shoot at the abandoned campers, occasionally igniting fires.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re never of any value,\u201d she said of the relics. \u201cPeople will just load them up with their own trash that they don\u2019t want to take to the dump. The RV\u2019s are really hard to dispose of because no one wants them. So unless you take them apart, piece by piece, and take that to the dump, or whatever. You know, they cost everyone a lot of money to get rid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n En route to the dumped RV, Engler stopped to check a camp that was located downhill from the 17.2 milepost, which is the point on Quartzville where camping is allowed in BLM territory. The campsite was neat and clean, perched above Quartzville Creek, but it was in the wrong place. The occupants were not around, so Engler wrote out a warning ticket.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople will take little spurs and then they\u2019re on private timberland, and they\u2019re like, \u2018I didn\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Abuse of Privileges<\/p>\n Engler observed that people who abuse their privileges run the risk of getting banned from private timber lands.<\/p>\n Hunters, she said, are \u201cgenerally law-abiding\u201d and help timber companies by reporting things that don\u2019t look right. Nonetheless, there\u2019s potential costs in allowing the public access to timberlands.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less loss, less risk to have less people on your property,\u201d she said. \u201cI guess, in some sense, it makes it easier for enforcement purposes, because if no one and nothing\u2019s allowed, then when someone or something, you know, when someone\u2019s doing something on their land, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Prohibited activities such as shooting or dumping trash simply threaten access for everyone, she said, a fact that is not lost on those who simply want to hike or enjoy the outdoors on CTC and other properties.<\/p>\n \u201cSo often, you\u2019ll contact people that are just up here, out and about, just enjoying the property, and a lot of those people just can\u2019t stand\u00a0 the people that come up here and shoot at things and leave trash and four-wheel off the road. You hear so much, people will say, \u2018They\u2019re gonna ruin it for the rest of us.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/a>Timber landholders have rules and people violate them. Engler\u2019s job is to, if not prevent violations of those rules, to catch violators. She does both.<\/p>\n<\/a>Milt Moran, president of Cascade Timber Consulting, which manages 145,000 acres of timberland in east Linn County, said the mountain deputy program has been in place for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cOne of the really common things specific to \u2018No Shooting,\u2019 signs,\u201d she said, \u201cis people will shoot them down. Yeah, it doesn\u2019t matter how many times that timber companies will put signs up, people pull them down so they can, you know, try to get away with things or claim that they don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Another problem, Engler said, is people who decide to bring their TV or some other household item out to the woods to use for target practice.<\/p>\n<\/a>Referring to situations such as the tree that had been cut in half by bullets \u2013 and he said there are more of those on CTC property, \u201cthere\u2019s a lot more bullets in trees out there beyond that. Those bullets, depending on what kind they are, can be very dangerous in a sawmill.<\/p>\n<\/a>She said it is common to see evidence of trespassing by vehicle operators who skirt boulders and gates to access areas they\u2019re not supposed to be in.<\/p>\n<\/a>That\u2019s why, for CTC and other local timber companies, if the public is allowed access, it is usually limited to \u201cmaintained, rocked roads,\u201d Engler said. \u201cAnything off of that is usually a trespass, even if you are allowed to be on that private timber company\u2019s property. If you\u2019re not obeying their rules, they don\u2019t want you there; it\u2019s a trespass.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>A Cascade Timber Consulting forest gate clearly has been the target of shooters, as a warning sign dangles after being tampered with. Vandalism to gates is a problem for CTC and other local landowners.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cIf it\u2019s gated, they can\u2019t take their dirt bikes or four-wheelers behind the gate and go up there. People see an open gate and they assume it\u2019s open for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>She said in responding to reports of trespassing, she will often take a photo of the \u201cNo Public Access\u201d sign as she drives through the gate.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cThey\u2019ll have signs that say, \u2018Do Not Block Gate,\u2019 right? You never know who\u2019s gonna have to go in that gate, and you never know who\u2019s coming out of that gate.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>But the employee checked with her company and discovered that no mushroom permits had been issued for that area, so the Sheriff\u2019s Office was notified.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cSomeone picks up a rock because it\u2019s pretty and they want to take it home for their rock collection, that is one thing,\u201d Engler said. \u201cBut when people then go and they\u2019ll, like, dig in the ground looking for rocks, and you\u2019re disturbing all the soil and creating damage, or<\/p>\n<\/a>This RV, being inspected by Engler after being dumped next to Quartzville
Creek, poses an expensive problem for public agencies.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s expensive for the tow companies,\u201d Pyle said. \u201cIt\u2019s expensive for the private timber companies. They\u2019re garbage on wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>She said an ongoing problem is people who might be camping in a legal location for the 14-day limit, but then just move to another site. BLM rules, she said, require campers to move at least 50 miles, as the crow flies, before settling down for another 14 days.<\/p>\n