BEND, Ore. - September 3rd marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of Wilderness Act, the federal law that created the National Wilderness Preservation System. Today, Oregon has about 2.5 million acres of protected wilderness, and while that may seem like a substantial number, it represents far less protected acreage than in neighboring states.

Only Congress can designate wilderness areas, and as the law turns 50, at least three Oregon wilderness bills are stalled in Capitol Hill gridlock. Dan Morse, conservation director at the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), says he isn't discouraged with the current congressional inaction on wilderness.

"Eventually, Congress needs to take action on a whole host of different natural resources-related legislation," he says. "And that time will come. It simply can't go on forever that they don't act on these things, so it's an exercise of being ready for when that time comes."

The pending legislation would expand the boundaries of Oregon Caves National Monument and the Wild Rogue Wilderness, create new wilderness areas for the Devil's Staircase, Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven, and designate lengths of the Chetco, Molalla and Rogue rivers as Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Oregon's wilderness acreage makes up just four percent of the state, divided into more than 40 units from the coast to the interior deserts. One grassroots group keeping an eye on the progress of state's wilderness areas is Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and according to Bend chapter co-leader Joanne Richter, Oregon needs more designated wilderness areas.

"Wilderness areas are unique, they're gems," says Richter. "And there are still more gems out there, in public ownership for the most part, that aren't protected. Our view is they should be protected for a variety of reasons, and it would still be a drop in the bucket in terms of the overall acreage of the state."

Richter explains the Great Old Broads for Wilderness name demonstrates the organization's ability to take stands on serious issues with a combination of humor and common sense. There are three Great Old Broads chapters in Oregon, all of which sponsor hikes and service projects on public land throughout the state. They welcome men into their ranks too - they call them "bro's."

Oregon's wilderness areas typically skew toward what environmentalists call "rock and ice," dramatic mountain peaks and high-elevation forestland. But wilderness advocates argue he state's high desert is just as spectacular in its own way, though only one percent of it is protected. Morse says ONDA is advocating for a new wilderness area: the Owyhee Canyonlands on the Oregon-Idaho border.

"The Owyhee is somewhere north of two million acres of sagebrush steppe, and it's an amazing ecosystem," he says. "It's also a fragile ecosystem, especially in times of drought, and it's something we can't afford to lose."

According to Morse, a wilderness designations doesn't limit grazing on public land, but it does limit resource extraction and off-road vehicle use. As a result, he says, developing any wilderness legislation in Oregon is best done with input from all groups - and that can take a long time.



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Conservation groups are rejoicing over the decision Friday by the Biden administration to reject a proposed mining road in Alaska.

The 211-mile Ambler Road would have sliced through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, severing the migration route for a Western Arctic Caribou herd.

Alex Johnson, interior Alaska director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said it was important for the feds to take a stand in Alaska so mining interests do not start eyeing other national parks.

"This is a very expensive, destructive and just highly speculative project that does not in any way support our clean energy goals as a country," Johnson contended. "And ultimately would permanently threaten the health and well-being of local communities and the tribes."

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski slammed the decision, warning it could limit jobs and tax revenues for Alaska by preventing exploration for minerals she said are important to national security, like copper, cobalt, gallium and germanium.

Jayme Dittmar, a photographer and filmmaker from Fairbanks, said the road would have been very disruptive to the 66 Native American villages along the proposed route.

"That'd be 168 trucks passing through close vicinity to the villages," Dittmar pointed out. "There would be hundreds of bridges built. It would dismantle a subsistence livelihood that's been in place for thousands and thousands of years."

The road was seen as a negative for tourism to the Brooks Range area. According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association, Californians make up 9% of visitors to Alaska.

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part of public lands management.

The agency's new rule puts protecting the environment on par with other land-use priorities.

Scott Garlid, executive director of the Arizona Wildlife Federation, said historically the BLM has done what he termed a "pretty good job," not only managing about 12 million acres of public lands in Arizona, but also protecting natural resources.

"They've got a tough job," Garlid acknowledged. "I think this rule helps make their job a little bit easier because it gives them some tools to balance those different demands on the 12 million acres that they manage."

Garlid predicted the rule will raise what he terms "harder-to-quantify conservation values" to the same level of importance as more extractive land uses like oil and gas exploration and mining. He thinks most Arizonans will recognize the new rule as a positive. A solid majority of Arizona voters across party lines say they are conservationists and use public lands for recreation.

To Garlid, the rule makes it clear the BLM is recognizing certain parts of federal lands, in Arizona and around the West, have been degraded. He contended restoration leases will be a good tool, allowing the BLM to lease acres to groups specifically to improve the conditions on a given landscape. He noted opponents of the new rule might see the leases as a way to "lock up" land but he argued it is not true.

"One example could be a nonprofit, like the Arizona Wildlife Federation," Garlid pointed out. "We could get a conservation lease from the Bureau of Land Management to do riparian restoration work, or work to remove invasive species along a creek bank."

According to the BLM, while a restoration or mitigation lease is in place, casual uses of the leased lands like recreation, hunting, fishing and research activities would generally continue.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

State and federal agencies are collaborating to increase the use of prescribed fires in the Northwest.

Prescribed fire is the controlled use of burns to minimize the larger risks of wildfires and smoke. It is seen as an increasingly important strategy as wildfire seasons pose greater threats to the Northwest.

Casey Sixkiller, Northwest regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said authorities want to work together to maintain forest habitats.

"Prescribed burn is one of the best tools we have for making our forests more resilient against catastrophic wildfires and they help to manage and target hazardous fuels and make for healthier forests," Sixkiller explained.

Sixkiller pointed out the EPA is involved because wildfire smoke poses risks to people's health. The collaboration is between federal agencies, departments in Oregon and Washington, and tribal governments.

Sixkiller noted the collaboration needed a formal agreement to move forward.

"That is what we've been able to do here with this agreement," Sixkiller emphasized. "To get federal land managers and states and us all in the same room, making sure that we're all on the same page about what success looks like."

Sixkiller added the collaboration has another advantage: It helps drive engagement with communities potentially in the path of prescribed burns.

"They have the confidence that the effort that's gone into planning that activity has been thought out from soup to nuts," Sixkiller acknowledged. "And that they have a seat at the table and are being engaged and their concerns are being addressed as we go forward with that activity."


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