Opinion: A legacy-making moment to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands

Peter DeFazio

There is broad agreement across Oregon that the unique Owyhee Canyonlands area needs protection from development, mining and other threats. However, thus far there is no final agreement on the timing and form of the protections. A similar predicament threatened the protection of the Steens Mountains 24 years ago – and provides a blueprint for how to resolve the impasse.

The Owyhee Canyonlands represent the largest intact, unprotected natural expanse in the contiguous United States. Currently, only 5% of the Owyhee is permanently protected, leaving vast stretches and the hundreds of native species that call the land home vulnerable. Mining threatens to scar the landscape indefinitely and spoil the soil and water. More people are moving to the West, and Boise, one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the country, is within an hour's drive of the Owyhee Canyonlands, increasing the need for improved recreation management on public lands. By protecting the Owyhee Canyonlands, we have the chance to manage and preserve an expansive, natural wonder before it suffers irreparable damage and degradation.

The effort to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands has been driven by years of hard work from Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, with the full engagement of those closest to the land including tribes, ranchers, anglers, hunters, conservationists and the recreation and tourism sectors. The senators have introduced a bill to enact permanent protections for the Owyhee Canyonlands – the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act (S.1890) – which protects more than 1.1 million acres from development, provides improved management and addresses Burns Paiute Tribe's priorities. The hard work of consensus building and building public support is done. Now all that's left is for Congress and the Biden Administration to act.

The legislation passed a key milestone when it cleared the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with overwhelming bipartisan support in December 2023. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the ranking member of that committee, praised Wyden for his collaborative approach on the bill. That type of bipartisan cooperation for conservation took me back to 2000 when I worked across the aisle with my Republican colleague Congressman Greg Walden, who represented Eastern Oregon, to protect Steens Mountain in Harney County.

The Steens legislation had stalled in the House because of objections by the Republican chair of the Resources Committee. It was only after President Bill Clinton proposed the creation of a national monument that meaningful negotiations toward a legislative compromise began. Walden, Sen. Gordon Smith, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and I hammered out a thoughtful compromise in my office in a marathon negotiation session. The compromise provided strong wilderness and other protections while also meeting access, grazing and management needs of the ranchers and other users.

The current chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR), has expressed opposition to any wilderness designation legislation that would limit energy and mineral development. Eastern Oregon's Congressman, Cliff Bentz, has recently announced his own bill that would provide some protection for the Owyhee after several meetings with Wyden, but his proposal, as it stands, is a far cry from the finely balanced proposal that community stakeholders crafted with Wyden. As such, it is unlikely to garner the broad and diverse support that is behind the Wyden bill. You also can expect some suspicion about the 11th hour nature of Bentz's involvement given that his previous energies have been focused principally on blocking a monument designation, and he has characterized the Owyhee Canyonlands as nothing special. Oregonians, especially his constituents who worked with Wyden to craft S.1890, disagree. Even if Wyden and Bentz come to a complete agreement along the lines of the carefully negotiated Wyden bill, Chairman Westerman and House Speaker Mike Johnson will be formidable obstacles to House consideration and passage.

A Steens-like strategy is needed. The Biden Administration should immediately take up Gov. Tina Kotek's formal request for monument designation and jumpstart a discussion just as Clinton did years ago. Too much time has been invested in forging consensus to leave the Owyhee unprotected and at risk of starting over with a new Congress and new president. Pursuing a monument can break the current legislative stalemate between the House and the Senate as executive authority is intended. If Bentz prefers a legislatively achieved solution, then he should work aggressively now to pass S. 1890 in the House.

The clock is ticking on this Congress and on Owyhee protections. This is a legacy-making moment when our Oregon leaders, working with the Biden Administration, can achieve the greatest conservation opportunity in the American West and stand up a testament to collaborative, community-led conservation that can shine as an example for the rest of the country. Let's get it done.