ANTELOPE, Ore. - On Thursday, a bill to create two new federal wilderness areas in Central Oregon was introduced by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Jeff Merkley. Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven are not what people might normally think of as pristine wilderness. For years, this federal land has been nestled between parcels of private ranch land and a Christian youth camp, so it's been hard to get to without trespassing.
A land swap negotiated by all the parties and the Bureau of Land Management has paved the way for better public access, but also for greater protection of wildlife. John Crafton, spokesman for the Oregon Hunters Association, says there are plenty of reasons for both.
"The Cathedral Rock area actually creates a major wintering range for mule deer; also great habitat for bighorn sheep, and elk and chukars, valley quail and mountain quail, along with a huge win for both steelhead and salmon fisheries."
In federal wilderness, Crafton says strict rules regulate what can be done to improve it. His group has already asked to help these areas along, with limited use of hand tools to clear out overgrowth that is clogging streams. He thinks the legislation will give this land the attention it needs to become valuable habitat.
"In people's ecological mind of the 'untouched wilderness,' neither one of them are that. There are roads within both; there's been heavy human use, heavy livestock use. Eventually, they'll come back into a real nice wilderness setting, but they're not there right now."
The area was best known as the home of the controversial Rajneeshee commune in the early 1980s. The proposed new wilderness areas would cover just over 16,000 acres. The negotiations have been underway for more than a year. It could take at least that long for the bill to make its way through Congress.
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