Senate committee endorses Badlands Wilderness bill

Eastern Oregon Wilderness bill moves forward in Senate.

A bill to permanently protect 30,000 acres of Oregon's Badlands moved easily through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is now headed to the Senate floor.
The Oregon Badlands Wilderness Act of 2008 was one of 53 lands bill approved by the committee on Thursday by voice vote. Sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the bill would extend the highest level of protection to land east of Bend that is both austere and unique.

"The Senate Energy Committee has shown it can work on a bipartisan basis to pass worthy legislation like this bill protecting the Badlands," Wyden said.

But he also noted that the hardest work lies ahead. Dozens of wilderness bills have moved from the Energy Committee over the last few years only to stall on the Senate floor.

"Now let's hope the full Senate can defeat the partisan filibusters that are endangering progress on this bill, Mount Hood legislation, and scores of other common sense proposals," Wyden said.

That was a veiled reference to another Wyden bill that would expand wilderness around the Mount Hood National Forest that has been bottled up in the Senate by a single lawmaker. The proposal has wide support in Oregon and would pass the Senate easily if it is allowed to come to a vote.

In building the case for protecting the Badlands, Wyden pointed out that the federal Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the property, determined 30 years ago that it is a worthy candidate for extra safeguards.

Wyden said the protection is needed even more today as the areas has become popular. According to Wyden's office, the area to be protected is ``nationally known as a haven for people who enjoy almost any outdoor activity - boating, biking, skiing, riding off-road vehicles, and hiking.''

No word on when the full Senate might vote on the bill.

In the House, meanwhile, a separate committee held a hearing on The Oregon Treasures bill. That legislation would add wild and scenic river protections to 143 miles of tributaries of the lower Rogue River as well as adding approximately 4,000 acres to the Oregon Caves National Monument.

The legislation is endorsed by Oregon Democrats Peter DeFazio, David Wu, Earl Blumenauer, Darlene Hooley and David Wu. The hearing is the first step in a lengthy process that supporters hope will conclude with the protections being signed into law.

Charles Pope, charles.pope@newhouse.com