Just a three hour drive from Portland, Spring Basin features some of the most expansive and beautiful wild lands that Oregon has to offer. Overlooking the John Day Wild and Scenic River in Western Wheeler County, the Basin is composed of more than 8,500 acres of flowing hills, providing breathtaking views of the water and surrounding lands.
Spring Basin functions as a central point in a broader web of wild and undeveloped land. On three sides, the Basin is bordered by the thirty-four thousand acre Pine Creek Conservation Area. Owned by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Pine Creek area is maintained for wildlife habitat as part of the Bonneville Power Administration's fish and wildlife mitigation program. Not far to the north, the Clarno unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument provides hiking and outdoor opportunities for the public.
With its prime location near the water, Spring Basin serves as a draw for visitors. During the spring, desert wildflowers abound, attracting nature lovers of all ages. Even when the colors are not at their height, the region provides a wide array of recreational opportunities for hunters, hikers, campers, horseback riders, and others seeking to experience the outdoors. In addition, Spring Basin provides critical habitats for mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, and numerous bird species. This biodiversity not only attracts hunters, but helps to stimulate healthy populations throughout the region.
In order to keep this complex ecosystem afloat and to protect its unique qualities, local organizations have come together in recent years to work to permanently preserve Spring Basin in its current unspoiled state as federally designated wilderness. Conservationists have worked with the support and assistance of local landowners, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the County Commission, and the federal Bureau of Land Management.
View of Spring Basin
Marked by a commitment to collaboration and local consensus, the Spring Basin Wilderness proposal stands as a great example of the potential for grassroots conservation legislation. Currently, Spring Basin is contained in a Wilderness Study Area that stretches along the John Day River, south of Pine Creek. The proposal would reshape the Study Area and designate the resulting area as permanently protected wilderness.
To make the wilderness area contiguous, under the proposal the Bureau of Land Management would cede 4,185 acres of land to non-federal owners, primarily the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. In exchange, 3,870 acres would be given to the federal government.
The Spring Basin Wilderness would allow for more efficient management, greater recreational opportunities, and increased public access to the John Day River. At the same time, neighboring private land owners would benefit from consolidated land distribution and more sensible placement of federal lands. The Confederated Tribes, in particular, would be able to spend fewer resources on extensive border management, as the exchange would reduce their border by thirty miles.
The other neighboring land owners have all voiced their approval of the land exchanges. With this broad vote of confidence, the Wheeler County Court considered the Spring Basin proposal and agreed to support not only the land exchanges but also the federal wilderness designation.
The future of the proposal is still uncertain, but local groups remain optimistic and continue to work toward legislation and protection for Spring Basin - a true Oregon landmark.
