It’s (Almost) Real - 202,000 New Acres of OR Wilderness

US House passes major Wilderness expansion in Oregon, nationwide.

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Oregon is one of the major beneficiaries in the massive Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which passed the U.S. House on Wednesday. About ten percent of the federal wilderness the legislation creates is located in Oregon. 

The Act (HR 146) extends federal protection to 202,000 new acres, from Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge, to the desert of Central Oregon and the Soda Mountain and Copper Salmon areas of Southwest Oregon.

This legislation definitely took the "scenic route" through Congress - it's made up of just over 160 bills, some of which have been in lawmakers' hands for years. But Wednesday's House vote was 285 to 140 and, as Erik Fernandez, wilderness coordinator for Oregon Wild, points out, the Oregon votes were all 'yes.'

"It's really exciting to see that the entire Oregon delegation has shown their support for protecting Oregon's natural treasures - and protecting wilderness in Oregon is what makes Oregon a great place to live, work and raise a family."

President Obama has said he will sign the bill.

After weeks of wrangling over rules and procedures, and heated debate about some of the individual bills within the Act, it was almost tripped up by a last-minute attempt to include wording about gun rights on public lands. However, Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, says that didn't stall the momentum.

"The National Rifle Association had supported this bill, and felt that additional language incorporated by the Senate acknowledged that nothing in this bill affects people's right to bear firearms, or right to hunt and fish - that it addressed those concerns."

Fenty's group has worked for more than a decade to get protections for the Badlands and Spring Basin areas of Central Oregon; both are included in the Act. He says most communities that border wilderness areas have a lot to gain from tourism as well as overall quality of life.

Even with the new additions, Fernandez says, just four percent of Oregon will be federally protected wilderness. Compare that to Washington's ten percent and California's 15 percent, and conservation groups say there's more to be done.