FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Senate Hearing Adds Momentum to Mt. Hood Wilderness

Senate Energy Committee holds hearing on Wilderness; witnesses praise Oregon plan to protect 128,400 acres of Wilderness, 81 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers

Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) and other witnesses at today’s Senate Energy Committee hearing praised Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Gordon Smith’s (R-OR) legislation to protect 128,400 acres of Wilderness and 81 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers around Mount Hood and in the Columbia Gorge.

Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) and other witnesses at today’s Senate Energy Committee hearing praised Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Gordon Smith’s (R-OR) legislation to protect 128,400 acres of Wilderness and 81 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers around Mount Hood and in the Columbia Gorge.

The hearing for Senator Smith and Wyden’s legislation, S. 3854, the Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2006, builds momentum for passage of legislation this year to protect Oregon’s scenic icons, Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge. Oregon’s Representatives and Senators are actively involved in negotiating a final agreement on Wilderness protections for Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge.

Earlier this year, Representatives Greg Walden (R-OR) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) crafted and passed a bipartisan bill, The Mount Hood Stewardship Legacy Act (HR 5025), through the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate legislation heard today is a compromise brokered by Senator Gordon Smith. It bridges the gap between the 77,500 acre House legislation and the more ambitious 177,000 acre plan introduced by Senator Wyden in 2004. Both bills are the result of extensive public input at numerous forums held in Portland, Hood River, and Timberline Lodge.

“We applaud Representatives Walden and Blumenauer for their diligence, hard work, and creativity in crafting H.R. 5025, which would protect spectacular places like the 1000 year old cedars of Big Bottom and rugged backcountry of the Roaring River watershed. However, it probably comes as no surprise that we support the expanded acreage included in Senate Bill 3854,” commented Jay Ward, Conservation Director of ONRC. “While S. 3854 doesn’t protect every acre ONRC believes should be protected, we are pleased Senators Smith and Wyden were able to reach a compromise,” Ward continued.

“The Senate legislation adds protection for many spectacular areas such as Upper Big Bottom on the Clackamas River, one of the most amazing ancient forests left in Oregon,” stated Erik Fernandez, Wilderness Coordinator for ONRC. “It would also protect the Clackamas Canyon, Bonney Butte, and the forests of Larch Mountain which tower over the headwaters of Multnomah Falls.”

Senator Smith and Wyden’s Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2006 would also designate a 17,000 acre National Recreation Area (NRA) that would prohibit commercial logging, development, road building, and motorized vehicle travel, but would allow mechanized vehicle use.

“National Recreation Areas (NRAs) are a creative solution to protect some areas that are less fragile, or have already suffered from intensive use, like the Twin Lakes corridor, Shellrock Mountain and Hellroaring Creek,” noted Ward. “However, more sensitive areas like Fifteenmile Creek and Boulder Lake deserve the stronger protection that Wilderness designation provides.”

“Now we need the entire Oregon delegation to continue their excellent bipartisan efforts and come together to protect 128,000 acres of Wilderness and 81 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers this year,” Ward concluded.

Additional information and pictures of the proposed Wilderness areas mentioned above are available from Oregon Natural Resources Council.

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