House panel backs Oregon coastal wilderness

Copper Salmon Wilderness bill gets a boost in committee. Now headed to House floor.

A bill to create federal wilderness protection for 13,000 acres of national forest along Oregon's southern coast is on its way to the House floor.

The House Natural Resources Committee approved a new Copper Salmon Wilderness.

It would protect nearly 13,000 acres of forest and streams at the headwaters of the Elk River near Port Orford.

The proposed wilderness is in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. It is considered one of the best habitats on the West Coast for chinook salmon, winter steelhead, coho salmon, cutthroat trout and rainbow trout.

Representative Peter DeFazio calls Copper Salmon a "coastal Oregon gem" that deserves protection for future generations.

A similar bill is pending in the Senate.