FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Primeval Coastal Forest Protections Move Forward With Senate Hearing

Committee mark-up sets stage for full Senate vote

Conservationists hope legislation will be included in a large Omnibus bill this summer.

They say the devil is in the details, and today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee took a look at the details of the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act (S.1272) and liked what they saw. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley, had been on the backburner after an initial push following its introduction on this date one year ago. Congress has been stymied by health care and energy debates in the last year, and conservationists view this summer as the best window to pass public lands legislation. Oregon Wild applauds Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley for moving this legislation successfully through committee.

“Given the current deficit of public lands protection in Oregon, we can’t afford to wait and risk losing natural treasures like Devil’s Staircase,” said Erik Fernandez with the conservation group Oregon Wild. Fernandez also noted that only 4% of Oregon is protected as Wilderness, while neighbors Idaho (8%), Washington (10%), and California (15%) have protected far more.

The Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act would provide the highest possible federal protection for a pristine oasis of forest located west of Eugene in the Wasson Creek area of the Coast Range. The 29,600-acre proposal features rugged mountains blanketed with some of the last old-growth remaining in the Coast Range, providing prime habitat for dozens of unique species. Locals have been fighting to protect this magical place for decades, often venturing to the remote cascading waterfall that gives the area its name.

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, who share management responsibilities for areas covered by the proposed Wilderness, have both endorsed the legislation.

“The Devil’s Staircase is such a special place,” said Chandra LeGue, an Oregon Wild staffer who has led several hikes to the proposed Wilderness. “You get a few hundred yards into these forests and you can see the awe on people’s faces. There just isn’t a lot of forest like this left in the Coast Range. That’s why protecting it is so important.”

The House Committee on Natural Resources has also approved the bill and final House and Senate votes are expected to come in similar fashion to the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009. That bill included long-sought protections for Mount Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Soda Mountain, Copper Salmon, and the Badlands Wilderness. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) had held up the bipartisan legislation for nearly a year before it was finally passed. Senator Coburn, a physician by training, earned the moniker Dr. No last year for his opposition to the Omnibus bill. Ultimately, Wilderness proponents were able to overcome Coburn by wrapping many popular bills together. A similar process is expected for this most recent round of conservation legislation.

“Congress has blazed the path forward and knows how to out maneuver Senator Coburn’s obstructionism,” added Fernandez. “We expect ‘Dr. No Part II’ to be in theaters for a much shorter time this go-round. And frankly in the face of climate change, we don’t have time to waste when it comes to protecting these forest climate reserves.”

Other Oregon-specific legislation is also on track to get wrapped into a large omnibus bill. Molalla Wild & Scenic River protections have passed the full House and moved through Senate committee. An expansion of the Oregon Caves National Monument has passed through House committee and was also presented at today’s Senate hearing. While not yet introduced, conservationists also hope the Rogue River Wilderness protections will be included in this summer’s batch of bills. Last month, conservationists and timber industry officials agreed on a Wilderness proposal for lands surrounding the Rogue River. Oregon’s congressional delegation will need to move fast to ensure this popular proposal is included in any larger public lands legislation.

###