Opinion: Currently, only 5% of the Owyhee Canyonlands is permanently protected, which leaves the overwhelming majority of this vital land in danger of industrial threats
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The Owyhee Canyonlands, located in southeastern Oregon, stretches across 2.5 million acres through steep chasms, billowing grasslands and rushing streams and is a homeland to hundreds of native species.
The Canyonlands also provide a home to Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone tribes and serve as a popular recreational camping, hiking and kayaking spot for many tourists. With such important ecological and cultural significance to Oregon and surrounding states, only 5% of the canyonlands are protected, leaving acres of beloved and necessary land vulnerable to potential oil and gas developments.
A recorded 170,000 gas leases nearby threaten the local ecology, causing various emissions that threaten the water, air and wildlife.
In June 2023, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley reintroduced the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act for the third time in the past four years. This came with the hope of keeping strong environmental protections while also compromising on specific regulatory policies with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other local agencies. The bill focuses on retaining ecological preservation and supports diverse interests, including local tribes.
The 2019 and 2022 bills had initially failed to pass due to conflicting interests of local stakeholders; ranchers had used the grasslands for grazing, there was significant economic income from tourism into Malheur County, conservationists argued for complete protection of the land and the initial proposals marginalized indigenous voices within the area. The 2023 proposal hopes to meet all stakeholders’ demands, and Merkeley and Wyden remain hopeful.
During the initial proposal hearing, Sen. Wyden said, “We have a piece of legislation that preserves not just a treasured landscape for its beauty and ecological significance, but importantly, it preserves our agriculture, culture and way of life for people who call it home.”
The bill explicitly allocates 1.1 million acres of land and a 15-mile stretch of the Owyhee River to the National Wilderness Preservation System and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Twenty-eight thousand acres of federal and private land would also be transferred into a trust seen by the Burns Paiute Tribe.
This is the most significant conservation project in the West, and Oregon has a direct voice in the future of this project.
In a statement given to the Emerald by Ryan Houston, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, he wrote, “ONDA has been committed to protecting millions of acres of the awe-inspiring canyons, expansive plains and intact habitats across Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands for decades … If Congress doesn’t act, then President Biden can make their vision a reality by establishing an Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument.”
Yusuf Arifin, a former intern for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV), elaborated on the “Protect the Owyhee Canyonlands” campaign and the importance of this particular conservation project.
Arifin urges young people to get involved through “letters to the editors” to local press and contact with state representatives to voice support for the campaign.
Arifin frames the campaign as a positive opportunity on multiple fronts.
“One of the things we should rethink and reconsider is that this is the largest conservation opportunity in the west, and 2.5 million acres is a huge opportunity for the state and allows people to get involved with something so important,” Arifin said.
Ecological diversity is crucial to the missions of OLCV. Arifin mentions that over 200 fish species and 100 migratory bird species depend on the lands to survive, and they would be devastated if this project failed again. Migration patterns rely on a level of certainty, and with the annual unpredictable change in the climate, more and more species are becoming threatened.
“Environmental legislation is not being prioritized the same way other legislations are, and that is really concerning for young people especially and communities of color especially because they are the ones most impacted by all of these decisions, and the inaction on state officials’ part would show that our voices on this issues, and other issues, are not being prioritized,” Arfin said.