Bend group fights bill to study transfer of federal lands

Representatives of the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association traveled to Salem Thursday to testify against what the group called a “short-sighted bill aimed at divesting Americans and Oregonians of our public lands.”

House Bill 2365, put forth by Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, and Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, would establish a task force “on the transfer of federal land ownership in Oregon.”

The text of the measure says the task force would study “the legal, economic, social and practical benefits and costs of a transfer of federal land ownership to the state, including an analysis of the potential timber revenue and mineral leasing revenue from the transferred lands.”

ONDA officials said the measure would take the first step toward removing Oregon’s public lands from public ownership. They said the task force would study “seizing America’s public lands and giving them to the state – a move that big-money special interests have pushed in state legislatures across the West.”

The bill was scheduled for a public hearing before the House Committee On Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“The outcome of this bill would not be state land management. The outcome would ultimately be the sale of our public lands when the state can’t afford to manage them,” ONDA Executive Director Brent Fenty said. “The huge costs of fighting wildfires and managing our lands and waterways can only be shouldered by the federal government – which is fair, given these lands are owned by all Americans.”

Similar legislation in other Western states, such as Wyoming and Montana, has been met with vocal opposition from hunters, fishermen, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and businesses who vehemently oppose efforts to seize American public lands, ONDA said in a news release.

“It might seem like just a study, but really this is a slippery slope,” Fenty said. “We would all be much better served if our state legislators would press Congress to support the chronically underfunded agencies that manage our high desert public lands and national forests. Then they would have the money they need to care for these places for the benefit of all.”

The group said America’s public lands are economic drivers for local economies. The high quality of life in Oregon draws industry and jobs to the state, and outdoor recreation-related businesses in Oregon account annually for 141,000 direct jobs, $4 billion in wages and $955 million in state and local tax revenues, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

“Public lands are a core part of our way of life in Oregon,” Fenty said. “Calls to seize or sell America’s public lands put many Oregonians’ livelihoods at risk. They also jeopardize everyone’s access, whether it’s for hiking, hunting, and fishing or for clean drinking water.”

In addition to Whisnant and Wilson – the bill’s chief sponsors – the bill’s other sponsors are Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, and Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer.

Now in its 30th year, the Oregon Natural Desert Association is a Bend-based nonprofit organization with a mission to protect, defend, and restore Oregon’s high desert. We’re working to protect stunning, ecologically significant areas in the Central Oregon Backcountry, Greater Hart-Sheldon Region, John Day River Basin and Owyhee Canyonlands, and we have long been involved in conservation efforts at Steens Mountain and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Learn more at ONDA.org.