Badlands bill on the fast track

Bend Bulletin

By Keith Chu

Legislation to create wilderness areas covering nearly 40,000 acres in Central Oregon was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, with a vote on the package expected as soon as Sunday.

The proposed Badlands wilderness, east of Bend, and Spring Basin wilderness, on the John Day River southeast of Clarno, are part of a package of natural-resources bills that includes three other proposed wilderness areas around Mount Hood and in Southern Oregon. All were included in a similar proposal that didn’t pass last year.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said this time, the Senate should have enough votes to overcome objections by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

“I regret that the Mount Hood, Copper Salmon and my other bills were not acted on last year because this new Congress has many new natural resource issues it needs to focus on, including thousands of new jobs and better management for our nation’s forests,” Wyden said in a statement.

“I feel very confident we will overcome my colleague’s objections very shortly and pass this legislation on a bipartisan basis,” Wyden said.

Coburn blocked the bills last year by using a Senate procedure known as a hold, which lets a single senator stall legislation. Coburn objected to new government spending that the bills could require.

There are several ways to defeat the tactic, but they’re time-consuming or require 60 votes. Coburn’s maneuver held up when Democrats couldn’t muster the votes they needed to overcome it.

Senate Energy Committee staff said Democratic leaders would begin procedures to move the bill forward Friday, with a vote possible Sunday.

Earlier this week, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee spokesman Bill Wicker said the package would bypass the committee process and go straight to the Senate floor. Although the bills expired at the close of 2008, the hearing process already served its purpose, Wicker said.

“Once we have been through all of that, we don’t do it over again,” Wicker said.

Oregon’s newest senator, Democrat Jeff Merkley, also urged quick passage of the bill, particularly for the Mount Hood provision.

“It is not only an iconic symbol of our state, it contains critical habitat areas that must be protected for future generations,” Merkley said of Mount Hood. “This bill should have passed long ago, but it is right that Congress is acting on it now.”

On the House side, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, said he would prefer the wilderness areas be voted on separately, rather than in a single package. But it appears that flaws in earlier versions, such as a trailhead that fell within the original borders of the wilderness area, have been addressed, he said.

“I think they’ve worked out most of the arguments,” Walden said

Oregon Natural Desert Association Executive Director Brent Fenty, one of the chief proponents of both Central Oregon wilderness areas, said he’s pleased the bills are moving forward.

“Obviously, we’re thrilled that the Senate has acted so quickly to get the bills reintroduced,” Fenty said. “These areas, Badlands and Spring Basin, will finally get the protection they deserve.

The Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association has lobbied for years to set aside about 30,000 acres of High Desert, and more than 8,000 acres of land in the Spring Basin area. Wyden first proposed legislation last spring.

The Badlands area provides habitat for yellow-bellied marmots, bobcat, mule deer, elk and pronghorn, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

New mining, pipelines, roads and other developments are banned in wilderness areas, but hiking, hunting and existing grazing allotments are allowed under federal law.