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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lawmakers Aim To Reopen Wilderness Road 6-1/2-Mile Hells Canyon Stretch Was Closed To Vehicles In 1989 By Forest Service

Associated Press

After eight years without motor vehicle traffic, a dirt road meandering in and out of a wilderness area on the rim of Hells Canyon has been become more of a trail as grasses and wildflowers move in.

At the urging of the U.S. Forest Service, two Oregon lawmakers are pushing a bill through Congress that would restore motor vehicle traffic to the 6-1/2-mile stretch of road. A House bill has been approved by the Resources Committee.

“Somewhere along the line we have to accommodate all the population, not just one segment,” said Rep. Bob Smith, R-Ore.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has introduced a companion bill due to come up in the Senate next month.

Opposition to the Smiths’ plan has come in the form of an unusual alliance. Ranchers who graze cattle in the area have lined up with conservationists who want to keep the road restricted to hikers and horseback riders.

“The Forest Service can’t even maintain the roads they’ve got, so why add any more,” said rancher Bob Garnett.

The controversy mirrors a broader debate about the effects of the roads that now traverse tens of thousands of miles of Western public lands. The Clinton administration has pushed federal agencies such as the Forest Service to shut down roads that enter sensitive areas.

The debate over the road goes back to 1978, when Congress clarified the boundary of a wilderness within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area along the Oregon side of the Snake River.

At the suggestion of the Forest Service, Congress set the boundary along a hydrologic divide. Where water flowed into the canyon was wilderness. Where water flowed the opposite direction was outside the wilderness.

The road was considered to be outside the wilderness, but in 1989 the Forest Service closed it after determining a mapping error had been made and the road actually ran in and out of the wilderness.

Local tourism leaders want the road opened.

“This is one of the most beautiful areas in Oregon, and it has a right to be seen by everyone,” said Dr. George Burns, a Baker City physician who has spearheaded a drive by northeastern Oregon county and chamber of commerce officials to open the road.

But the Hells Canyon Preservation Council argues the area is important wildlife habitat and there are already plenty of roads that offer spectacular views of Hells Canyon.

“Once they open that road up, anything can happen,” said Ric Bailey of the council.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife supports keeping the road closed because it runs through a calving ground for elk and is a key migration route for elk, deer and other wildlife.

“It’s very unusual for us to take a position on a specific road. But from a wildlife perspective, this is an important piece of real estate,” said biologist Craig Ely.