Wilderness bill passes Senate

Omnibus Act heads to House, should be voted on next week

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to decide the fate of an omnibus bill containing two proposed wilderness areas in southwestern Oregon before the end of the month.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, approved 73 to 21 in the Senate Thursday morning, likely will be voted on in the House during the week beginning Jan. 26, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.

DeFazio will support the package, she said. The proposed 13,700-acre Copper Salmon Wilderness in the upper reaches of the Elk River near Port Orford is in his 4th Congressional District.

But a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he didn't know how the congressman will vote on the omnibus legislation, which includes more than 150 public lands, water and resources bills.

"Greg would rather see the bills addressed one by one — he believes that would be the best course of action," said Andrew Whelan in Washington, D.C.

The proposed 23,000-acre Soda Mountain Wilderness in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument east of Ashland is in Walden's 2nd Congressional District.

Meanwhile, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told The Associated Press he was working to secure an "expeditious" House vote and get the bill quickly to President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office Tuesday.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who led the fight against the legislation, called it a land grab that would lock up acreage that could be used for future development such as oil and gas drilling, the AP reported. He also objected to the bill's estimated $4 billion cost.

The omnibus legislation would designate nearly 2 million acres of public lands as wilderness nationwide, including some 211,000 acres in Oregon. In addition to the two wilderness areas in southwestern Oregon, it calls for expanding the Mount Hood Wilderness by some 128,000 acres and establishing wilderness in the Spring Basin and Badlands areas of Central Oregon.

Supporters of the legislation believe it cleared the highest congressional hurdle when it was approved by the Senate.

"We're very grateful to Senators (Ron) Wyden and (Jeff) Merkley for voting to pass the public lands bill," said Greensprings resident Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council and an advocate for the wilderness for a quarter of a century. "We're also grateful to former Senator (Gordon) Smith for his work in the last two congresses to get this legislation to the place where it is now."

Democrats Wyden and Merkley voted for the omnibus package on Thursday. Smith, a former Oregon Republican senator who lost his re-election bid last year, was also a supporter of the legislation.

The bill contains language that would retire grazing leases in and around the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument through a buyout of willing ranchers. The buyout would be paid by private sources.

"We're ecstatic — we hope the House will be able to take it from here," said Eagle Point resident Mike Beagle, 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 upper Elk River.

"We're really tickled for grass-roots guys like Jim Rogers and Jerry Becker," he said of two longtime Port Orford residents who have been leading the south coast effort to create the wilderness. "They have spent more than a decade working on this."

The two, both sportsfishermen, represent the local support for the wilderness, he noted.

Located about 14 miles east of Port Orford, the proposed Copper Salmon Wilderness in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is supported by the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce, the mayor of Port Orford, the Curry County Board of Commissioners, more than 10 fishing and hunting groups, local businesses and Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

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