US House passes Spring Basin and Badlands Wilderness bills

The US House of Representatives voted 285-140 today to pass H.R. 146, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.  The package contains 164 bills, including measures to designate the Oregon Badlands and Spring Basin as Wilderness. The omnibus bill is now on its way to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law. 

Local supporters were ecstatic to hear the news, calling this a victory for present and future Central Oregonians. “Preserving these public lands is an issue around which both Democrats and Republicans have rallied,” said Gena Goodman-Campbell, Wilderness Coordinator for the Oregon Natural Desert Association.   “After so many years of hard work by local volunteers, including students, business owners, local elected officials, ranchers and sportsmen, it is so gratifying to see the Badlands and Spring Basin bills finally about to be signed into law.”

The Badlands and Spring Basin Wilderness Acts were originally introduced into the US Senate on June 5, 2008 by Senator Ron Wyden.  “We are all so grateful for the hard work of Senator Wyden and his staff on behalf of all of the Central Oregonians who care about these special areas,” said Brent Fenty, ONDA’s executive director.  “We also owe our thanks to all of Oregon’s Congressional delegation for voting ‘yes’ on H.R. 146, especially our local congressman, Greg Walden.”

Once signed, this measure will add over 200,000 acres of new Wilderness in Oregon[SW2], protecting over 128,000 acres on Mt. Hood and creating the Soda Mountain Wilderness in the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument and the Copper Salmon Wilderness, which will protect salmon and steelhead habitat on the Elk River.  The passage of this bill brings our state’s total land protected up to four percent compared to almost ten percent for other neighboring states.  These figures indicate that there is still a lot of work to be done, according to Fenty, “While we celebrate this historic day for Oregon’s High Desert, it is imperative that we also look towards the future.  There are still eight million acres of potential wilderness in Oregon’s desert alone, and today we have taken one more step towards protecting our state’s priceless natural heritage.”

The Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is a Bend based non-profit organization that has worked for over 20 years to protect, defend and restore Oregon’s native desert lands.  Photos, descriptions and maps of Spring Basin and the Badlands can be found at www.onda.org.