November 9, 2004
By Lily Raff
The Bulletin

Deschutes County commissioners stopped short of endorsing a proposal Monday that would close 10 miles of roads and designate more than 36,000 acres of the Badlands as protected wilderness area.

"This is something that, in my heart of hearts, I support," said Commissioner Tom DeWolf, before explaining that he would not formally endorse the proposal until a public hearing allowed opponents of the plan to voice their concerns.

Commissioner Mike Daly also offered tentative support for the Badlands Wilderness proposal, while Commissioner Dennis Luke remained neutral.

A public hearing on the issue has not yet been scheduled.
The commissioners' brief discussion came after a 15-minute presentation by the Oregon Natural Desert Association, an environmental organization that aims to protect desert lands.

The association has been working for years to win federal protection for 36,505 acres of private and federal land about 20 miles east ofBend.
The area is now considered a "wilderness study area."

The protection would ban motorized vehicles, with exceptions for grazing permittees, landowners and officials for emergency use.

Hunting, grazing, horseback riding and hiking would still be permitted on the land.

The group presented the commissioners with a recent petition signed by 13 of the 16 private landowners adjacent to the parcel who support the wilderness designation.

"With the growth in Central Oregon and Bend, the opportunity to protect an area like this so close to Bend is dwindling," said Bill Marlett, executive director of the organization, during his presentation Wednesday morning.

Because the designation would come from U.S. Congress, the county commissioners cannot make a decision about the property.
But according to Marlett, a nod from the commissioners could help convinceOregon's senators and representatives to push the proposal through Congress.

Almost 20 years ago, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management began surveying local land to identify a plot for wilderness protection. The federal agency recommended a parcel of about 32,000 acres included in the current proposal.

Marlett told commissioners that the plan is supported by the Bend City Council, local chapters of the Oregon Hunters Association and over 150 local businesses.

More than 20 people attended the meeting and wore orange and black stickers to support the proposal.

But Joani Dufourd, land-use director for the Central Oregon Motorcycle and All-Terrain Vehicle Club, said she and other Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) users strongly oppose the wilderness designation.

Dufourd was not at the meeting, but said she has communicated with all three commissioners on the issue and was surprised DeWolf and Daly voiced support for the proposal."They were far less enthusiastic and had a more central position than what I'm hearing now," she said.

Dufourd said she was confident that if a public hearing is scheduled, OHV users will turn out to oppose the plan.

"This really isn't about protection," she said. "I feel it's more of a political movement to eliminate public use on public land. And specifically (targeting) the OHV crowd...."

Oregon Natural Desert Association representatives at the meeting posted maps of the proposed wilderness area, with OHV trails clearly marked on thousands of acres of adjacent land.

"I think I'm leaning towards your resolution because I see that map and I see hundreds of miles of (OHV) trails outside the (proposed) wilderness area," Daly said.

But none of the commissioners introduced a motion to support the proposal.

"We're an elected body," Luke said. "And you don't make decisions after hearing just one side."

Lily Raff can be reached at 541-617-7836 or lraff@bendbulletin.com.