Wilderness designation would be beneficial for local Badlands

From Alice Elshoff
For The Bulletin

I was pleased to read that the Badlands Wilderness proposal is gaining strength and surprised to hear of The Bulletin's opposition. In the 37 years I have lived in Bend, I introduced hundreds of people, through adult hikes and school fieldtrips, to the wonders hidden in the Badlands. Twice during those years, the Bulletin gave front page pictorial coverage to these trips and this place.

When hiking in the Badlands, one first notices the volcanic formations, unique even in Central Oregon. These have been the subject of a presentation by a local geologist at a regional gathering of scientists. Careful exploring turns up a slot canyon containing water smoothed bedrock and three foot deep tinajas, sculpted by an ancient river that repeatedly emptied Lake Millican during the ice ages.

Evidence of use by the first people abounds in caves and rock art. Examples still exist here of cryptobiotic crust, the living layer of soil that once protected much of this area from erosion and noxious weeds. All of this in an area accessible for year-round enjoyment and only 15 miles from Bend.

The close proximity, such an asset to a fast growing area, also, unfortunately, threatens the Badland's integrity. People with no understanding of this place find it easy to dump garbage and illegally cut firewood and carry off slabs of pahoehoe lava for facing fireplaces. Wilderness designation by eliminating vehicle travel would alleviate these problems. These are not activities carried out by hikers! Every case of archeological looting I ever encountered here was also accompanied by vehicle tracks.

Commissioner Swearingen stated her concern, `If you designate something as a special wilderness area, you invite the public in there without providing money for security or trails.`

Au contraire, in this case, the need for security would be eliminated through the removal of vehicles, since they are the main conveyances of the problems. As for trails, there is no need for them and they wouldn't last anyway in these sandy soils. The very beauty of this area is the chance it offers to simply explore and feel the solitude. In all my years of hiking here, I have not covered it all and have discovered something new each time.

Terry Silbaugh is quoted as being `totally opposed` to the designation stating, `People should be able to drive on certain designated roads, especially the elderly and handicapped.`

The off-road-vehicle industry, with its money and lobbyists, has been able to pressure the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service into opening most of our public lands to use by off-road vehicles. In the Fort Rock district of the National Forest and the Millican Valley ORV area, immediately adjacent to the Badlands, over 500 miles of trails are designated and proposed. Less than 30 miles of trails within the Badlands would become off limits to this use through Wilderness designation.

With all due respect, I am not certain that Mr. Silbaugh truly represents the elderly and the handicapped either. I become a certified old person on my next birthday, able to apply for social security and medicare, and I can assure you that if I were confined to a wheelchair tomorrow, I would be wheeling it down to my Representatives' offices to stump for this wilderness, in particular, and wilderness in general.

My hat is off to Ray Clarno, who is willing to give up his grazing priveleges to further protect this sensitive area, contributing to what he rightly perceives to be the greater public good. How
often do conservationists and ranchers agree on land management issues. This is surely a win/win situation. Lets all get behind it.