Residents Committee and CSWF Celebrating with Markup of Wilderness Act

By JONATHAN GRACA
July 25, 2007

Conservation groups across the state, including Hood River Valley Residents Committee, are celebrating after the final Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007 (S.647) cleared the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 25th.

The Wilderness Act is bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith earlier this year after Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Greg Walden trekked around Mount Hood last summer and introduced a bill that sought to protect wilderness and wild & scenic rivers. S.647 protects 125,000 acres of pristine wilderness – a 40% increase over existing wilderness - and safeguards 80 miles of proposed Wild and Scenic Rivers.

The bill also includes the historic solution to protect Cooper Spur by allowing Mt. Hood Meadows to exchange the land for land of equal value in Government Camp. The historic settlement protects the Crystal Springs watershed and land near Cooper Spur in exchange for Forest Service land adjacent to Government Camp that lends to more appropriate development. The trade would resolve a 30 years of dispute between the Meadows and HRVRC by permanently protecting the North Side.

“We’re not out of the woods yet” said Mike McCarthy, President of Hood River Valley Resident Committee (HRVRC) and a pear farmer in Parkdale. “We look forward to hammering out a memorandum of understanding with the Forest Service that will facilitate the completion of the land trade.”

HRVRC is a 30-year old 501(c)3 non-profit committed to building a livable community and protecting the farm and forest lands of Hood River county for current and future generation. HRVRC was instrumental in initiating the formation of the Cooper Spur Wild and Free (CWSF), a coalition of 14 conservation groups like Oregon Wild and recreation clubs like the Mazamas from around the region

“Designating land as Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers protects these lands for future generations” said Jonathan Graca, executive director of HRVRC. “This proposal will safeguard these lands from out-of-scale development and unsustainable logging, and preserve our drinking water.”

Mission:The mission of Hood River Valley Residents Committee is to protect Hood River County’s farm and forestland for current and future generations while promoting the livability of its cities and rural communities thru advocacy, research, education, and monitoring.