Southern Oregon wilderness push hits snag

Public lands bill with proposed Soda Mountain and Copper Salmon areas fails

A bill that would have created two new wilderness areas in southwestern Oregon stalled in Congress Wednesday morning after the House failed to approve it by a two-thirds majority.

The vote was two shy of approval — 282-144 — needed to place the bill under special rules that would have blocked most amendments. The parliamentary procedure, the outcome of which is based on a percentage of those voting, usually is used for noncontroversial bills.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 was placed under the special rules because the majority Democrats were afraid that Republicans would introduce an amendment allowing concealed, loaded guns in national parks, according to The Associated Press. Such an amendment has supporters in both parties.

The omnibus bill, approved by the Senate in January, is expected to be voted on again later this year, although under what form is unknown.

The legislation would designate nearly 2 million acres of public lands as wilderness nationwide, including some 200,000 acres in Oregon.

Local wilderness additions would include the proposed 23,000-acre Soda Mountain Wilderness in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument east of Ashland on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Medford District and the proposed 13,700-acre Copper Salmon Wilderness in the upper reaches of the Elk River near Port Orford on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

The bill also called for expanding the Mount Hood Wilderness by some 128,000 acres and establishing nearly 31,000 acres of wilderness in the Badlands area just east of Bend and 8,600 acres overlooking the John Day Wild and Scenic River.

The bill contains language that would retire grazing leases in and around the monument through a buyout of willing ranchers. The buyout would be paid for by private sources.

All five members of the Oregon House delegation voted for the bill, including U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, whose 2nd Congressional District includes all of Eastern Oregon and the lion's share of Jackson County as well as a portion of Josephine County.

During the debate over the bill, some Republicans complained it would cost up to $10 billion and block oil and gas development on millions of acres of federal property. Supporters countered the measure was needed to protect pristine watersheds and roadless areas for both human and wildlife well-being.

"There are a lot of good bills, sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans, contained in (the lands bill) that deserve passage," Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said after the vote. "We will continue to determine the best course of action to advance these measures."

While the bill did receive support from across the aisle, the parliamentary process caused some Republicans to balk, said Andrew Whelan, spokesman for Walden.

"There were concerns on the Republican side about the process," he said. "Congressman Walden would have preferred to see the bill go through the regular order with the opportunity for amendments to be made. There was not much of an opportunity for the minority to have a say. He (Walden) had some concerns here and there.

"But, having said that, he is supportive of projects in the bill and heard a lot of support on the ground," he added of constituents. "We frankly didn't hear a lot of opposition."

Republican Mike Beagle of Eagle Point supports the bill. He is field coordinator for Trout Unlimited in Oregon and Washington. The group has been pushing for creation of the Copper Salmon Wilderness to protect salmon and steelhead habitat in the Elk River.

"It's American democracy — we've got to deal with it and move forward," he said of Wednesday's vote. The nonprofit group will focus on obtaining more votes in the House for the bill's passage, he said.

Greensprings resident Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council and an advocate for the wilderness for a quarter of a century, also remained optimistic about the bill's ultimate fate.

"Although we are discouraged by today's House vote, we are encouraged by the clear majorities in favor of public lands protection in both bodies of Congress," he wrote in an e-mail. "And we are closer than we have ever been in our 25-year effort to achieve designated wilderness protection for the more than 23,000-acre Oregon portion of the Soda Mountain Wilderness proposal, which — when this bill finally passes — will be a mostly cow-free wilderness in a finally mostly cow-free monument."

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com.