Sponsors (2)
Official title: Designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress March 6, 2025
The bill secures substantial Oregon public lands for conservation, recreation, tribal rights, and wildfire resilience but does so by restricting new mineral, geothermal, and development uses — trading local economic and development opportunities for environmental protection and public-safety gains.
Rural communities, recreationists, and visitors gain permanent protection for a large block of public land (roughly the combined acreage cited across sections), preserving habitat, scenic and recreational opportunities.
Nearby residents and local governments get faster wildfire risk information and plans — required assessments within ~280 days and mitigation plans (including vegetation treatments and evacuation-route planning) within a year — reducing wildfire risk to homes and infrastructure.
Tribal members and local recreation users keep legal access and uses on the lands: the bill preserves tribal treaty rights and explicitly retains hunting, fishing, and other recreational uses.
Local economies, small businesses, and energy companies lose opportunities for mining, geothermal development, and new resource leases on the withdrawn/protected lands, reducing potential jobs, royalties, and economic activity.
Landowners, permittees, and local governments may face legal uncertainty, delays, or conflicts because valid existing mineral rights are preserved and could be litigated against the new protections.
Residents, recreation businesses, and transport workers may face limits on new road construction and motorized access in wilderness and withdrawn areas, constraining some recreational and commercial uses.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Designates two Oregon recreation areas and wilderness additions, withdraws mapped federal lands from mining/leasing/disposal, requires published maps and wildfire assessment/mitigation plans.
Designates two new BLM-managed recreation areas in Oregon (Rogue Canyon and Molalla), adds about 59,512 acres to the Wild Rogue Wilderness, and withdraws additional mapped BLM lands from many forms of mining, leasing, and disposal while preserving existing rights. It requires the Departments to publish maps and legal descriptions, complete a wildfire risk assessment and mitigation plan for the new recreation areas and adjacent lands, and limits new road construction except for safety or mitigation needs.