Before he leaves office, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek made a final appeal to President Joe Biden to save the breathtaking Grand Canyon region of the state.
In an effort to restrict ranching usage and development, Kotek wrote to Biden on November 22 requesting that he utilize the Antiquities Act of 1906 to declare more than 1 million acres of the 2.5 million-acre region in southeast Oregon—including 15 miles of the Owyhee River—national monuments. The letter is a follow-up to an August request to protect the region in the event that Congress does not take action.
The Antiquities Act permits the president to declare regions national monuments if they are significant in terms of culture, nature, or history, even when Congress has the authority to protect them under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Both houses of Congress have not voted to permanently preserve the Owyhee Canyonlands, despite years of suggestions from Democratic U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley as well as a recent proposal by Republican U.S. Representative Cliff Bentz of Oregon’s 2nd District. Before Congress adjourns at the end of the year, Bentz’s proposal, which was proposed in early November, has little chance of passing. The proposal by Wyden and Merkley, which has been years in the making and has the potential to pass, has only passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee thus far; neither the whole Senate nor the US House of Representatives have had a chance to vote on it.
According to Kotek’s letter to the president, the region’s terrain is a national treasure, with breathtaking geological characteristics and culturally significant sites that showcase the region’s rich history and legacy. There are just too many dire repercussions for this famous landscape’s future to wait. Kindly designate this as a national monument.
Owyhee Canyonlands protection benefits animals and culture.
The Northern Paiute, Bannock, and Shoshone tribes place a high emphasis on the canyonlands’ health, economy, and culture. They also generate tourism revenue for Malheur County and are home to endangered sage grouse, bighorn sheep, elk, and deer. The Owyhee River fish are threatened by cattle grazing and poorly maintained riparian areas, while the animals and their habitats are increasingly under risk from wildfire brought on by invasive grasses and juniper.
In the past five years, Wyden and Merkley have made three proposals to safeguard the area, the first of which was in 2019 after much discussion among ranchers, conservationists, tribes, hunting and fishing organizations, and government representatives about how to conserve portions of the canyonlands.
A representative for Wyden, Hank Stern, stated that Wyden is still making every effort to pass his and Merkley’s most recent proposal. A trust supervised by the Burns Paiute Tribe would also be established to hold 30,000 acres of federal and private land in the canyonlands.
There is bipartisan support for the legislative path in both the House and the Senate. Additionally, Stern stated in an email that a bill is still the best way to preserve wildness, provide ranchers greater grazing options, and give the Burns Paiute Tribe back their ancestral lands, as opposed to a monument that the next administration would probably try to remove at any time.
Since its introduction in November, Bentz’s plan has only been heard by the House Natural Resources Committee; it has not yet been put to a vote. In the next three to four weeks, it’s probably going to be up to the president or the state’s U.S. senators, according to Ryan Houston, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
In an email, Houston stated that as 2024 draws to a close, all eyes are on President Biden and Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley because Oregonians are counting on them to take the required action to save the Owyhee Canyonlands before the year is up.
GET THE HEADLINES FOR THE MORNING.
Like the Idaho Capital Sun, the Oregon Capital Chronicle is a 501c(3) public charity and a member of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network backed by grants and a coalition of supporters. The editorial freedom of the Oregon Capital Chronicle is maintained. For inquiries, send an email to [email protected] to reach Editor Lynne Terry. Keep up with Oregon Capital Chronicle on X and Facebook.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!
