News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A federal effort to protect the Steens Mountain area in southeast Oregon may be felt along Squaw Creek near Sisters.
Local landowner George Stroemple has expressed interest in exchanging 640 acres he owns in the Steens for 640 acres along Squaw Creek. Stroemple already owns 80 acres along the creek two miles south of Sisters.
Paul Dewey, attorney for Stroemple, told The Nugget that federal and state officials approached his client about exchanging his property in the Dingle Creek Basin, east of Fish Lake in the Steens.
The land would be included in a newly established wilderness.
Stroemple came back with proposal to acquire the Squaw Creek land.
"We haven't heard anything back from them, frankly," Dewey said.
The Steens Mountain Protection Bill proposes to acquire private land to include within designated wilderness units. The act would also designate three wild and scenic rivers, restrict grazing, eliminate geothermal development and expand public/private cooperative management.
The proposed federal legislation would protect Steens Mountain without designating it as a National Monument. The legislation, backed by Congressman Greg Walden, is still in committee.
Dewey noted that it isn't clear that the Squaw Creek proposal is even going to make it to the table.
"Apparently we're not even mentioned in the bill, so it's really preliminary," Dewey said.
Dewey, an environmentalist who has been active for 15 years in efforts to protect Squaw Creek, acknowledged that "some people in Sisters may see some loss along Squaw Creek as a net loss."
However, he argued that "there is no question that the public would come out ahead" through the creation of wilderness in the Steens.
About 4,000 feet of Squaw Creek flows through the proposed exchange area.
Bob Bridgeford, chairman of the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, hopes that the condition of the stream in that area can be preserved.
"The stream banks are in unusually good condition for that reach of the river," Bridgeford said. "It would be terrific if there was some way to have the (potential) new owner interested in some sort of conservation easement."
Bridgeford emphasized that the council takes no position on ownership of land.
That section of Squaw Creek is readily accessible to the public and Rod Bonacker of the Sisters Ranger District acknowledged that public access is a potential concern.
"The local public has a great deal of attachment and interest in this area due to the proximity to town," Bonacker noted. "Loss of public access would not be well received."
Bonacker noted that the Forest Service has taken no position on any potential exchange.
The exact nature of any exchange has not been determined and Bonacker indicated that some public access provisions could be included.
There are private irrigation facilities and roads on some of the exchange land, and Bonacker indicated that "authorizations to allow these uses to continue would need to be part of the deal."
Dewey indicated that it is too early to talk about conservation easements or other alternatives since the possible exchange has not even been officially proposed.
Conservationists are generally supportive of the Steens Mountain Protection Act, which has been hammered together by legislators, government officials, environmentalists and ranchers.
"It's brought all the interests together, and with the different values out there, I think they did the best they could," Bridgeford said.
He hopes the proposed exchange along Squaw Creek does not become a sticking point.
"We don't want to impact or derail that process," he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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