The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act designates new recreation areas, expands a wilderness area, and withdraws certain federal lands from uses like mining, while preserving existing recreational and authorized activities.
Ron Wyden
Senator
OR
The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act designates the Rogue Canyon and Molalla Recreation Areas to protect their natural resources, mandates wildfire risk assessments and mitigation plans for these areas, and expands the Wild Rogue Wilderness Area. The Act also withdraws certain federal lands in Curry and Josephine Counties from uses like mining and mineral leasing, while preserving existing recreational and forest management activities.
Oregon Bill Designates Rogue Canyon, Molalla as Rec Areas, Expands Wilderness, Blocks New Mining Claims
This legislation, the Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act, sets out to designate significant chunks of federal land in Oregon for conservation and public enjoyment. Specifically, it establishes the Rogue Canyon Recreation Area (around 98,150 acres) and the Molalla Recreation Area (about 29,884 acres), both managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The core idea is to protect the natural, scenic, and recreational value of these spots while still allowing public access consistent with those goals.
New Rec Zones and Fire Prep
So, what does "Recreation Area" status mean here? The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior (who oversees the BLM) to manage these lands to conserve their resources – think wildlife, water quality, and scenic views – while supporting recreation. It operates under the guidelines of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Importantly, new permanent roads are generally off-limits within these areas, though temporary ones might be built for wildfire mitigation efforts (outside designated Wilderness). Speaking of fire, the bill mandates a wildfire risk assessment within 280 days for these new areas and the nearby Wild Rogue Wilderness. Following that, a mitigation plan must be developed within a year, focusing on things like vegetation management and coordinating evacuation routes with local fire departments to protect nearby communities.
Wilderness Expansion and Mining Limits
The Act doesn't stop there. It also expands the existing Wild Rogue Wilderness Area by roughly 59,512 acres, adding land managed by both the BLM and the Forest Service. This newly added land gets the full protection of the Wilderness Act, meaning stricter conservation rules apply. Management responsibilities are split between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture based on jurisdiction. Furthermore, the bill enacts a significant withdrawal for specific federal lands in Curry and Josephine Counties (detailed on maps referenced in the bill), plus the land within the new Recreation Areas and the Wilderness expansion. "Withdrawal" here means these lands are closed off to new claims or leases under public land laws, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing laws, subject to any valid existing rights. This is a big deal for preventing future mining operations in these sensitive areas.
What Stays the Same?
While the bill brings changes, it also clarifies what isn't changing. Existing wilderness areas within the new Recreation Areas will continue to be managed under the Wilderness Act. The withdrawal of lands from mining and disposal doesn't shut down other activities; recreational uses like hiking and camping, plus hunting, fishing, and existing authorized forest management, can continue as they were before the Act passed, provided they align with the area's overall management goals. The bill also explicitly states it doesn't create buffer zones around the new areas and doesn't affect tribal treaty rights related to the wilderness expansion.