The Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge in Oregon. From Wikimedia Commons. Photographer unidentified.

The company behind Oregon’s newest natural gas pipeline will donate at least $22 million for conservation projects in our state and across the West.

It’s the result of a three-way deal between the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Western Watersheds Project and El Paso Corp. The money will be used to undo some of the environmental damage that results from building the Ruby pipeline, and to preserve sagebrush habitat.

Brent Fenty, ONDA Executive Director, tells me his group is expecting somewhere between $7 and $12 million for conservation projects in the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon and the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Nevada.

The ultimate goal is to restore sagebrush areas and help the species that live there. Some of the projects include:

• Expand the refuges by buying up private land from willing sellers. Could be as much as 10,000 acres.
• Reduce grazing and stress on the land by paying ranchers to retire their grazing permits.
• Remove fences to make it easier for wildlife to migrate through the region.
• Restore habitat around springs.

The money doesn’t actually go to ONDA. The group and the Ruby pipeline company are forming a new non-profit to oversee the work. The donation will be paid out over 10-years.

Western Watersheds has a similar arrangement for about $15 million.

Fenty says between Oregon and Nevada, about 5 million acres of land will benefit. “I can’t think of another agreement in this region,” he says, “with the potential to do as much restoration work as this one.”

About The Pipeline

The Ruby Pipeline runs 675-miles from southwest Wyoming to Malin, Oregon. But only a small portion of the line runs through our state. The pipeline just received right-of-way permission from BLM and is awaiting the final green light from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Construction will probably start very soon. Most of the natural gas will be sold to utilities in California.

But here’s what else makes the pipeline really interesting, from an environmental point of view.

The pipeline competes for the same markets as the proposed Jordan Cove LNG project near Coos Bay. But instead of bringing in imported LNG, Ruby will supply cleaner and cheaper natural gas from domestic sources in the Rocky Mountains. The bankruptcy of Bradwood Landing is a sign that the LNG industry is on shaky ground. The Ruby pipeline just might kill off Jordan Cove.

A scene along Wassen Creek in the Devil's Staircase area. Photo by Kristian Skybak. For more see http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiansven

Update: Adding Press Release by Cascadia Wildlands

A bill to protect the Devil’s Staircase, and another that expands the Oregon Caves National Monument, have been approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The vote is a “milestone” according to Senators Wyden and Merkley. The bills now go before the full Senate for consideration.

What The Bills Do

One creates a 30,000 acre Wilderness Area to protect the Devil’s Staircase near Reedsport. This contains one of the largest concentrations of virgin rainforest left standing along the Oregon Coast. It’s also one of our state wildest places. There are no trails leading to the Staircase, a series of small waterfalls along Wassen Creek. GPS devices don’t work in this area either. First time visitors are strongly urged to have an experienced guide leading them.

Cascadia Wildlands describes Devil’s Staircase as, “An historic gem and one of the last and best remnant reminders of how the Coast Range used to be.”

Congressman Peter DeFazio has similar legislation before the House.

The Grand Column inside the Oregon Caves National Monument. Photograph by Shawn Thomas.

The other bill adds another 4,000 acres to the Oregon Caves National Monument. It transfers the property from the Forest Service to the National Park Service. Wyden and Merkley hope this will encourage more tourists to visit the caves, and help restore surrounding forests. The bill also adds a scenic designation to the caves’ River Styx, the first for an underground river in the U.S.

For More Information:

Cascadia Wildlands Press Release: Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Passes Out of Senate Committee

Cascadia Wildlands: Devil’s Staircase Web Page

Oregon Wild: Devil’s Staircase

If you’re in the Portland area you may want to attend a meeting this evening on a new management plan for BLM land in Southeast Oregon.

The Oregon Natural Desert Association sent out an alert about this meeting early this afternoon.

It says BLM is writing a new plan for the Lakeview and Southeast Oregon districts after an earlier version was tossed away by a federal judge two years ago. ONDA says the agency and environmental groups are close to agreeing on an update. This meeting is an early step towards making the changes official.

Details:

• When: 5:30pm to 8:30pm
• Where: Portland Audubon, 5151 NW Cornell Road, Portland.

Key Issues:

ONDA says they want BLM to protect some of the wild areas by closing them to off-roading and other motorized vehicles. The group says it’s identified three million acres in the SE Oregon and Lakeview districts that could potentially be new wilderness areas.

It wants BLM to take another look at protecting habitat for the Greater Sage Grouse. The Interior Department has put the sage grouse on a waiting list of species that deserve to be added to the Endangered Species List. Oregon has about 20% of the nation’s remaining sage grouse habitat.

ONDA also says BLM should consider ways to convince ranchers to voluntarily give up grazing permits. The group says these lands have been overgrazed and wants to find ways to reduce it.

For More Information:

ONDA Alert: Ask BLM for better protection for SE Oregon

The Chetco River in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Photo by Lee Webb, U.S. Forest Service.

Plans for a huge gold mining operation has put the Chetco River in Southern Oregon on this year’s “Most Endangered Rivers” list.

What’s at stake is a river praised for it’s wild salmon and steelhead, and needed for supplying clean drinking water for the town of Brookings.

The threat comes from a Washington state real estate developer who’s filed for a permit to operate suction dredges on 24-miles of the Chetco. All of those miles fall within the area of the Chetco that’s been designated a Wild and Scenic River. Six of those miles are in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.

The environmental group, American Rivers, put the Chetco as number seven on its 2010 “Most Endangered Rivers” list. It highlights rivers that face serious problems – and a major decision that could change the outcome.

In the case of the Chetco, American Rivers and several Southern Oregon groups want the Interior and Agriculture departments to withdraw the river from entry under the 1872 Mining Act. They hope that will give Congress time to pass a law to permanently protect the Chetco.

“It’s hard to believe a law passed in 1872 can still be used to hold a priceless wild river and its abundant salmon hostage. We need to use 21st century knowledge to protect our natural resources. The Chetco River should be protected for its fish, rather than degraded for the short-term profit of a Seattle-based developer.”

-Lesley Adams, Rogue Riverkeeper

Meanwhile, DEQ is writing new regulations for gold mining in Oregon’s rivers. It would force gold miners to use smaller dredging machines than they can now use. It also tightens standards for water turbidity in several wilderness areas. That would include the portion of the Chetco River in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area. DEQ is taking comments until June 8 and hopes to finish work on the rules by the end of the month.

The Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has renewed rules that protect what are known as “roadless areas” from most types of logging, mining, road building and other development. The rules apply to roadless areas in National Forests and Grasslands.

In Oregon, this includes about 2-million acres.

Getting permanent protection for roadless areas is an important goal for environmental groups. President Clinton agreed, and in the final days of his administration released what’s known as the 2001 Roadless Rule.

When the Bush team took over, the Roadless Rule came under attack – leading to court fights – decisions by judges – and a huge legal mess. One federal judge sided with the Bush administration and its business allies, another upheld the Clinton rules.

So when the Obama Administration announced a year ago it would follow the Clinton rules on a temporary basis, environmental groups let out a sigh of relief.

Today’s decision by Vilsack keeps those rules in place for another year, while the legal mess makes its way through the appeals process.

The D-Bug Debacle

Last summer, the Umpqua National Forest proposed a plan for logging in a roadless area near Crater Lake National Park. Called the D-Bug Timber Sale, it allows various levels of logging on some 10,000 acres.The Forest Service says the logging is needed to prevent the spread of bark beetles and fires.

What has groups like Oregon Wild up in arms are plans to build 14-miles of new roads to support the logging, and logging on almost 1000 acres of official roadless areas.

In the past few months, a coalition of environmental and recreation groups have proposed an alternative logging plan.

Cathedral Rock along the John Day River. Photo from the National Park Service.

It looks like the Wyden-Merkley bill creating a new Wilderness Area in Eastern Oregon finally gets a hearing this morning.

The Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests will take testimony starting at 11:30am Pacfic time.  The hearing will be streamed live.

The bill sets up a complicated land swap between the federal government and private landowners. The result is two chunks of land, totaling 16,000 acres, to be preserved as Wilderness.

Some of the land holds a unique place in Oregon’s history. It was home to the followers of Bagwhan Shree Rajneesh. It now belongs to a Christian Youth Camp.

Here’s the link to the web stream. Remember the hearing may not start on time, and the Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act may not be the first item on the agenda.

Cathedral Rock along the John Day River. Photo from the National Park Service.

UPDATE: Hearing has been cancelled for today. We haven’t heard when it will be rescheduled.

A bill to create 16,000 new acres of wilderness in Eastern Oregon gets a Senate hearing Tuesday morning.

Called the “Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act of 2010″, the bill arranges a land swap between private landowners and the Bureau of Land Management. The result is two large continuous tracts of land that can be preserved as wilderness.

That includes land near the town of Antelope that was once home to followers of Bagwhan Shree Rajneesh. These days it belongs to Young Life, a Christian youth group.

Senator Wyden sponsored the bill and will chair the hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Pubic Lands and Forests.

Click on this link if you want to follow the hearing online. It’s expected to start about 11:30am Pacific time.

Wyden and DeFazio introduced legislation to protect the area last year, but the bill has languished on the sidelines as Congress has focused on other issues. Oregon Wild is leading a petition drive to remind them that Oregonians are still paying attention to the Devil’s Staircase and want to see the legislation passed.

To see the video and sign the petition go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEM_3wKfsY

Cathedral Rock along the John Day River. Photo from the National Park Service.

Oregon’s Senators are introducing a bill that would protect another 16,000 acres of wilderness in Oregon.

Called the “Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act of 2010″, the bill arranges a land swap between private landowners and the Bureau of Land Management. The result is two large continuous tracts of land that can be preserved as wilderness.

In a joint statement, Senators Wyden and Merkley say they hope to build on the 200,000 acres of Oregon wilderness that were protected by Congress last year.

The swap involves three private landowners, including the Christian youth group Young Life. The group operates the Washington Family Ranch near Antelope, Oregon and includes property that once belonged to the followers of Baghwan Shree Rajneesh.

The proposed Cathedral Rock Wilderness Area is on the west side of the wild and scenic John Day River, across from the Spring Basin Wilderness.

But there are two exceptions.

The bill adds 127,000 acres of wilderness around Mt. Hood and more than 200,000 acres in the state.

The Bend Bulletin plays up the postive reaction with a headline that simply says, “Good News For The Badlands.” The bill creates a 30,000 acre wilderness in the Badlands area east of Bend. The favorable reaction includes comments from the Oregon Natural Desert Association which says it’s important to preserve wilderness close to the city because that’s what draws people to Central Oregon.

But some of the coverage in the Medford Mail Tribune focuses on how the bill will impact local ranchers. Their reporter interviewed a rancher who’s family has been grazing cattle in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument for more than 50 years. The bill creates the 23,000 acre Soda Mountain Wilderness within the monument and rancher Bob Miller will lose his grazing rights after the bill becomes law.  He tells the paper he’s relieved to get this behind him.