Hood wilderness bill clears Senate panel, moves to floor

Protection - The measure would expand wilderness status in the national forest

Old-growth trees in Big Bottom, part of the new Mount Hood Wildereness legislation

A long-awaited and oft-troubled attempt to expand wilderness protection to nearly 125,000 acres in the Mount Hood National Forest gained new life Wednesday when a bill moved to the floor of the U.S. Senate.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the "Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007" unanimously on a voice vote. A troubled land exchange between a ski area and the federal government had held the bill up for a year, among other difficulties.

Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith co-sponsored the bill.

"It's a new day for wilderness, and we are now poised to pass the protection that Mount Hood deserves," said Wyden.

The bill would add to existing wilderness protections on the forest and grant Wild and Scenic River status to an additional 80 miles of rivers.

Further, the bill would create more than 34,000 acres of a Mount Hood National Recreation Area with access for mountain biking and other recreation. Wilderness areas do not allow mountain biking and severely restrict most activities to retain the wild features of the land.

The first attempt in the House of Representatives at creating new wilderness died last year after Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., ran into intense criticism over the land exchange.

The Bush administration questioned the swap, which would benefit the owners of the Mt. Hood Meadows ski area.

Franklin Drake, the principal owner, wants the U.S. Forest Service to trade 120 acres of potential resort property next to the mountain community of Government Camp. In exchange, Drake would hand over approximately 770 acres on the northeast shoulder of the mountain, much of it in connection with the low-elevation ski area at Cooper Spur.

Matthew Drake, chairman of Mt. Hood Meadows Oregon Ltd., said Wednesday that the latest version of the bill was the best he could expect.

"It's not a matter of can we live with it. We don't have a choice," he said. "We're not in control of this process."

The U.S. Forest Service opposes the trade but is required to go through with it if Congress so orders.

Of particular irritation to the agency was a set of appraisals commissioned by Mt. Hood Meadows and included in the original House bill last year that would have set the values on the two parcels. Those appraisals were criticized by the Government Accountability Office as not meeting accepted appraisal standards that are meant to ensure a fair trade.

The GAO is the investigative arm of Congress. An investigation by The Oregonian, prior to the GAO's finding, also found the appraisals insufficient.

The federal government routinely exchanges federal land for private but outside of the legislative process and between willing property owners.

The new version of the bill requires new appraisals that meet federal and industry standards. They must be completed within 16 months.

If the Senate passes the wilderness bill, it would then go to the House. A spokeswoman for Blumenauer said Wednesday that he had not seen the new language. With the House in Democrats' control, Blumenauer would be a likely sponsor of the Senate's bill.

A spokeswoman for Blumenauer, Erin Allweiss, said, "He's waiting to see what it looks like."

Peter Sleeth: 503-294-4119; petersleeth@news.oregonian.com