Rep. Bentz’s Bad-Faith Owyhee Canyonlands Proposal

Ontario, OR — Last night, Representative Cliff Bentz (R-OR 2nd District) announced his intention to introduce a new legislative approach undermining the decades-long effort to protect Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands. At the eleventh hour, after years of collaboration and negotiation among multiple stakeholders—in which Representative Bentz chose to play no part—the Congressman is now introducing a bad-faith proposal. His legislation is an extreme rewrite of Senator Wyden’s common-sense and broadly supported compromise proposal and, in many cases, would actually restrict conservation on public lands. More specifically, Representative Bentz’s proposal would:

• Eliminate existing safeguards on 1.6 million acres of public lands, leaving those lands open to industrial development, and abandon current science-based land and resource management practices; 

• Prevent future conservation action on millions of acres of federal public lands in Malheur County, which include some of the best wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, and cultural values found in eastern Oregon;

• Reduce Sen. Wyden’s proposed new Wilderness protections by more than 175,000 acres while promoting the use of heavy equipment, including backhoes, excavators, and tractors in designated Wilderness areas; 

• Sabotage agreements with the Burns Paiute Tribe, burdening a Tribal Nation with the costs of changes to grazing management on public lands and restricting the Tribe’s ability to fully exercise the management of their traditional and sacred lands; and 

• Restrict community involvement and participation in public lands management in favor of empowering industry decision-makers.

Representative Bentz’s legislative approach seems designed to confuse and delay. That Senator Wyden would embrace this as “a significant step forward” is concerning for the three-quarters of Oregon voters, Tribal communities, local leaders, and others counting on the Senator to deliver on his promise to protect these iconic, vulnerable lands. 

Members of the Protect the Owyhee Canyonlands Coalition, which comprises local, regional, and national organizations collectively representing 22 million members, issued the following statements in response to Representative Bentz’s announcement: 

Tim Davis, Executive Director, Friends of the Owyhee

“Senator Wyden needs to stand up for the Owyhee and the community members who have been earnestly negotiating protections. Congressman Bentz’s last-minute proposal, which diverges sharply from Wyden’s own balanced, conservation-focused bill,  weakens conservation measures, undermines Tribal rights, and reduces community engagement. Wyden’s original proposal—which already enjoys bipartisan support—remains the best path forward for protecting the Owyhee and respecting the diverse needs of Eastern Oregon’s communities."

Kaden McArthur, Government Relations Manager, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers 

“This misguided and ill-conceived proposal for the Owyhee Canyonlands, drafted hastily behind closed doors, undermines the work of dozens of stakeholders—including hunters and anglers, as well as ranchers and conservationists—who have worked together collaboratively for years to protect these public lands. Sportsmen and women have worked alongside Senator Wyden, and we have an expectation that he will uphold our shared goals by passing his Malheur CEO Act.”

Lindsey Scholten, Executive Director, Oregon League of Conservation Voters

“Unlike Senator Wyden, who has spent years working with the local community, conservation groups, ranchers, and other stakeholders, Representative Bentz has put forward a bill without any consensus building. I have serious doubts about his commitment to adequately protecting the Owyhee, which he has characterized as nothing special. We’ve seen this tactic of delay used by so many Republicans when they know they are out of step with what voters want. Representative Bentz is just using process to run out the clock until it is too late.”

Ryan Houston, Executive Director, Oregon Natural Desert Association

“Despite what Representative Bentz claims, his bill is nothing like Senator Wyden’s finely balanced community proposal developed over the last five years. Bentz’s bill would be a huge step backward for conservation in Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, abandoning science-based management of public lands and resources, undermining bedrock environmental laws and Tribal interests, and putting public lands decision-making in the hands of industry.”