Walden bill seeks boundary move to aid CRR fire safety

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., announced Tuesday he’s introduced a bill in the House to protect Crooked River Ranch from wildfire by adjusting the boundary of the adjacent wilderness study area.

For a copy (PDF) of the bill, the “Crooked River Ranch Fire Protection Act” (H.R. 5132) please click here.

“In the area surrounding Crooked River Ranch, the juniper stands and brush are dense, and basic fire prevention management isn’t being done because of misguided federal land policies,” Walden said. “As we enter another fire season, people’s lives, safety and property are at risk. This has to change.”

“That’s why I’ve introduced a plan to allow more management on public lands in the area to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. I’m glad the plan is already moving forward in the House. It’s just common sense.”

Crooked River Ranch is an unincorporated community of about 5,500 residents in Jefferson and Deschutes counties, with one entrance and exit.

The lands adjacent to the community are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and are classified as a Wilderness Study Area.

These lands are in the highest risk category for exposure to devastating wildfire due to overstocked juniper stand under the federally mandated and locally promulgated Jefferson County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, Walden said.

And the current WSA classification prevents mechanical fire prevention activities within these overstocked juniper stands.

Walden’s bill would adjust the boundaries of the WSA in order to better facilitate fire prevention activities on public lands and the adjacent private property.

Local leaders praised the bill.

“With approximately 5,500 residents and the driest climate in Oregon, Crooked River Ranch is constantly facing the issue of wildfire,” said George (Mitch) Mitchener, president of the Board of Directors of Crooked River Ranch Board of Directors.

“The current Deschutes Wilderness Study Area boundary borders approximately 250 properties on the west boundary of the ranch,” Mitchener said. “With only one exit on and off the ranch our concerns in the face of a catastrophic fire event are real.

“This bill would move that WSA boundary back to the natural canyon rim and allow our firefighters an opportunity to plan for mitigation in advance and realistically fight the fire before it’s in our backyards and spreading to the rest of the ranch.” he added.

Crooked River Ranch Fire Chief Rich Hoffman said, “I want to thank Greg Walden for his efforts to save lives and property in Central Oregon. This legislation will move the boundary away from private properties and allow us to work with the Bureau of Land Management to begin the process of fuels mitigation to further improve defensible space for our community of over 2,600 properties.

“The lack of fuel mitigation has created a dangerous environment for tactical firefighting and remains one of our highest threats to Crooked River Ranch,” Hoffman said. ” Until proper mitigation is performed, it is unlikely we would place firefighters in such a volatile atmosphere. Our first line of defense today is the property boundaries of our homeowners.”

In January, Walden met with community leaders at Crooked River Ranch to learn more about the need for changes to federal land management policy to better facilitate wildfire mitigation.