Senate panel hears support for Wyden, Merkley wildlands bill

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said Thursday the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining heard from a broad array of conservation, sportsmen and fish and wildlife groups in support of their bill to protect some of the state’s most pristine and environmentally significant areas.

The Wyden-Merkley Oregon Wildlands Act would designate more than 200,000 acres of land as wilderness or national recreation areas and add more than 250 miles to the Wild and Scenic River System.

“People from every corner of Oregon have expressed their support for this bill, representing conservation, fish and wildlife, and sportsmen’s interests,” Wyden said. “I want to make sure Oregon’s unique natural treasures are protected so they can continue to bolster our state’s growing outdoor recreation economy, and so that my children and their children can enjoy these lands for years to come.”

“Oregon is home to some of the most beautiful places in the world,” Merkley said. “By taking action to preserve our natural treasures, we enhance our recreation and tourism economy and make sure that our Oregon heritage will be passed on for generations to come. It’s terrific that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is hearing today about this bill and its many benefits, and I look forward to working with Senator Wyden to move it forward.”

The subcommittee received letters of support for the Oregon Wildlands Act from more than 20 groups in Oregon, including the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, KS Wild, Oregon Wild and the Wild Rogue Outfitters Association.

The Oregon Wildlands Act would:

Create the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness by designating 30,500 acres of remote lands in the Oregon Coast Range and also designate 14.6 miles of Franklin Creek and Wasson Creek as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness by more than 56,000 acres and add about 125 miles to the incomparable Rogue Wild and Scenic River.
Protect almost 95,000 acres to create the Rogue Canyon National Recreation Areaand another 24,000 acres to create the Molalla National Recreation Area to protect and enhance the unique fish and wildlife and recreational values of both areas.

Wyden and Merkley introduced the Oregon Wildlands Act in June.

They also introduced similar versions of the bill in the Oregon and California Land Grant Act of 2015 and in the previous Congress.