FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Why Congress should classify Badlands as wilderness

By Linda Swearingen

The Bulletin, April 29th 2008

The Badlands, located just 15 miles east of Bend, is a 30,000-acre area containing fascinating lava flows and ancient junipers. This area was named for its harsh terrain and fantastic rock formations. This unique part of the Oregon desert needs to be permanently protected for generations to come.

I am not alone in my support of the Badlands wilderness proposal. The Badlands has broad-based and bipartisan support in our community. As a former Deschutes County commissioner and former mayor of Sisters, I know that support of this degree does not come along every day and certainly is not present for every proposal that our leaders have to consider. The Badlands enjoys a recent endorsement from Oregon’s governor as well as widespread support from leaders in local government, tourism, development and real estate, conservation, outdoor recreation, the faith community, business, education, arts and entertainment, media and health care. I can hardly imagine more consensus on an issue.

A 2005 poll showed 69 percent of Deschutes County residents want the Badlands protected as wilderness, while only 19 percent were opposed. During a 2005 Deschutes County hearing on the Badlands, 82 percent of the comments were in favor of Badlands protection. Currently, supporters of the Badlands wilderness include more than 200 local businesses, and more than 1,500 Central Oregonians have asked their congressmen to permanently protect the Badlands as wilderness. This is more backing than our elected officials could hope to have for most of the issues that come through their offices.

The current protections and recent removal of motorized use from the Badlands are a direct response to this outstanding public support for the permanent protection of the Badlands as wilderness.

Central Oregon is blessed with millions of acres of public lands, and managing all lands for all uses is not in the best interest of local residents. As a society, we commonly prioritize lands for different uses because we recognize that all uses are not compatible. Immediately adjacent to the Badlands are nearly 200,000 acres that are set aside for off-road vehicles, and nearby Horse Ridge is popular among mountain bikers. This is the very reason that many mountain bikers and ORV users agree that setting aside the Badlands for hiking, horseback riding and other nonmechanized use is a reasonable proposition.

The support that the proposed Badlands wilderness enjoys is a testament to the values that we hold dear in Central Oregon. We enjoy an incredible quality of life, and that quality of life is directly tied to the wide-open spaces that distinguish our community. As our community grows, it is important that we preserve these values, and these lands, for future generations.

We cannot predict the future, and therefore we are unable to know when or if the current protections that the Badlands enjoys will be lifted. What we do know is this: The wilderness study area designation is a temporary designation until Congress decides whether to give an area full protection as wilderness. Recent events suggest that there is a very real possibility that the interim protection provided to the Badlands as a wilderness study area could be removed. In 2003, federal legislation was introduced in Congress that would revoke the protections afforded to wilderness study areas unless they were designated as wilderness within 10 years. This legislation did not pass, but if a similar threat that we have not yet imagined emerges in the future, it will be too late to protect the Badlands for future generations to enjoy.

We save things for our children and grandchildren that reflect what our families value — we save money in college funds, we save special family heirlooms, we save photographs and videos of loved ones. The legacy of the High Desert seems to me a worthy addition to this list.

Protecting the Badlands now, while we have the chance, makes good sense to me and to thousands of other Central Oregonians. The community has spoken with a loud and clear voice: Our leaders should heed this call and permanently protect the Badlands as wilderness.

Linda Swearingen lives in Redmond

###