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Wyden, DeFazio propose Oregon natural area additions
Legislation would protect Wilderness, Wild & Scenic Rivers.
By Associated Press
The Oregonian
June 17, 2009
Oregon congressional members have proposed new protections for three areas in southwest Oregon.
A series of bills introduced by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Peter DeFazio seek wilderness designation for nearly 30,000 acres in the Siuslaw National Forest known as the Devil's Staircase.
The area is a Coast Range forest so steep and rugged that it has escaped logging for much of the past century.
The bills introduced on Tuesday would expand Oregon Caves National Monument by more than 4,000 acres. They would also add nearly 143 miles of tributaries in the lower Rogue River basin to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Similar legislation was proposed last year but failed to win passage.