Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act
The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act would designate two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land areas in Oregon as recreation areas and would expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness by adding a large block of federal land to it. It also would withdraw certain lands in Curry County and Josephine County from entry, mining, and leasing laws, effectively limiting development on those lands. In addition, the bill requires the federal agencies to perform wildfire risk assessments and to develop a wildfire mitigation plan, and it restricts new road construction within the designated recreation areas (with limited exceptions for temporary roads linked to the mitigation plan). Existing wilderness areas within the recreation areas would continue to be governed by the Wilderness Act. Overall, the bill tightens protections for certain lands to emphasize recreation, conservation, and wildfire resilience, while restricting mining, mineral, and geothermal activities on those lands.
Key Points
- 1Designation of Rogue Canyon Recreation Area and Molalla Recreation Area in Oregon (BLM land) to be managed for conservation and recreation.
- 2Expansion of the Wild Rogue Wilderness by about 59,512 acres, adding land to the existing wilderness area and placing it under wilderness protections and administration.
- 3Comprehensive wildfire actions: (a) a wildfire risk assessment within 280 days, (b) a wildfire mitigation plan within 1 year, including vegetation treatments, evacuation routes, and public communication, and (c) limited use of temporary roads to implement the plan.
- 4Broad land withdrawals within the recreation areas and wilderness additions: withdrawal from entry, disposal, mining, and mineral/geothermal leasing to protect these lands from development (subject to valid existing rights).
- 5Withdrawal of specific lands in Curry and Josephine Counties (Hunter Creek, Pistol River Headwaters, Rough and Ready, Baldface Creeks) with maps published for public access; recreational uses are largely preserved on these lands aside from the withdrawal.