Last week the Oregon Department of Transportation announced in a press release that Oregon’s Sno-Park permits take effect on November 1, beginning this year.

The announcement, however, has been lacking transparency to the general public.

I first learned about the change on Monday when I noticed several signs posted had the November 1 date posted, instead of the November 15 date.

The Oregon Department of Transportation press released was buried deep in their website. In fact, you had to hunt it down in the press release for ODOT’s Highway Region 1. Aside from the press release on ODOT website, Tripcheck.com (part of ODOT) has the updated effective dates, also buried deep within the Tripcheck.com website.

The media apparently is quiet on this subject, especially since recreationalists may head for the Sno-Park areas this coming weekend and the announcement came with such short notice.

Sno-Park does not mean there needs to be snow at a ski resort, but Sno-Park also includes some all-season hiking trails.

At other government agency websites and other third-party websites, the new effective dates are not updated. Several ski resorts still show the permit effective date as November 15.

Several U. S. National Forests locations in Oregon, such as Mt. Hood, Deschutes, Ochoco, Umatilla, and Willamette national forests also indicate the permit effective date as November 15 on their websites.

Surprisingly, the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles, which is part of ODOT, did not update their website with the new effective date, but continue to show the old permit effective date as November 15.

Two question: how many unsuspecting outdoor enthusiasts will receive a $30 fine for not having a Sno-Park permit displayed on their windshield, and how many people are aware of the new permit season date (before reading this post or the one I posted yesterday)?

The fine for not having a permit is $30. I bought my permit today.

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