What's New
On May 3, the U.S. Senate committee on Public Lands and Forests, chaired by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, held a hearing on Sen. Wyden’s bill to designate nearly 130,000 acres on and around Mt. Hood as wilderness and protect rivers on Mt. Hood as Wild and Scenic Rivers.
How You Can Help
E-mail Sens. Wyden and Smith and thank them for supporting wilderness protections for Mt. Hood. Urge them to move the Mt. Hood wilderness bill quickly to the Senate floor for a vote!
The Issue
The famous snow-capped peak of Mt. Hood is a centerpiece of Oregon’s natural heritage. Its slopes and ridges are home to lush forests, hidden lakes, and roaring rivers, and the mountain is both a major recreation destination a major source of drinking water.
Unfortunately, this once-pristine area is crisscrossed with roads and clearcuts.
But we have a historic chance to protect the mountain. Oregon’s Congressional delegation has come together in bipartisan agreement to establish major new wilderness areas and other protections for the forests and rivers on Mt. Hood.
Environment Oregon is working to protect Mt. Hood by designating new wilderness areas this year.
Mt. Hood: A Special Place for Oregonians
Mt. Hood’s peak crowns a vast area of forests, canyons, rivers, and valleys that provides innumerable benefits for Oregonians.
Mt. Hood is a destination for 4 million recreation visits every year, as Oregonians and visitors head into the forests for hiking, camping, and hunting, or onto the rivers for fishing and kayaking. More than 1 in 4 Oregonians gets their drinking water from Mt. Hood, including residents of Portland, The Dalles, Hood River, Lake Oswego, and West Linn.
Pristine Areas Threatened
Many once-pristine areas of Mt. Hood are now criss-crossed by roads or logged into a patchwork of clearcuts. More than 4,000 miles of roads currently run through Mt. Hood National Forest. There are 2,600 clearcuts on and around Mt. Hood.
Logging companies and other special interests have kept new wilderness areas from being created on Mt. Hood for more than 20 years. Less than 4% of Oregon’s land is protected as wilderness – compared to more 10% or more in Washington and California.
A Historic Opportunity
Fortunately, Oregon’s Congressional delegation has come together to support bipartisan protections for Mt. Hood. Senator Ron Wyden, who first introduced Mt. Hood wilderness legislation several years ago, has been joined by Senator Gordon Smith in sponsoring a bill to protect more than 125,000 acres on Mt. Hood as wilderness.
Oregon Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Greg Walden worked together last year on a bipartisan House bill to protect Mt. Hood and are planning to support a bill again this year.
Environment Oregon is working with a coalition of wilderness and river conservation groups to urge Congress to act on this important legislation this year.
