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Mount Hood Wilderness Protection
[April 23rd, 2010]
Mount Hood Wilderness Protection
The Omnibus lands package, a package of nearly 170 separate bills, was voted on by the US House and passed 285-140 in March, 2009. Here in Oregon, the legislation protects about 204,000 acres, including about 128,000 acres around Mount Hood.
Closer to home in Hood River, passage of the wilderness bill initiates a 16-month deadline to complete a land swap between Mount Hood Meadows and the U.S. Forest Service.
The land swap stems from HRVRC mediation with Meadows and Hood River County in 2003 where a settlement agreement was completed. The settlement agreement earned HRVRC, Mt. Hood Meadows, and Hood River County the “Resolution of the Year” award from Six Rivers Mediation Group in 2006.
Details of the agreement, today referred to as “The Citizen’s Alternative,” will upon completion protect wildlife, clean water, historic structures and backcountry access on the wild north side of Mount Hood. Because the land swap includes a transfer of federal property, an act of Congress was needed, hence inclusion in the wilderness bill.
What's included in the legislation?:- The “land swap” involves the trading of 120 acres of USFS land zoned for low-density residential development adjacent to Government Camp for the protection of over 2,000 acres on the north side of Mount Hood.
- Protect portions of the Crystal Springs Zone of Contribution, which provides drinking water to 25% of Hood River County’s citizens.
- HRVRC will determine, in conjunction with Meadows, a conservation easement holder or conservation buyer for 73.9 acres of upper valley land called “The Dog River Property.”
HRVRC will be working with the USFS, Oregon Congressional Delegation and our partners to ensure the land swap and other details are complete in a timely fashion.
Land Exchange: protections for our land and water
- Land protection: Cultivated over a year and a half of mediation between Mt. Hood Meadows, Hood River County and HRVRC, the proposed agreement would end 30 years of disputes over Meadows efforts to develop a destination resort. Essentially, Meadows would trade 2,000 acres of land on the wild north side of Mount Hood for in exchange for 120 acres of Forest Service land adjacent to Government Camp where development is more applicable. Included in this “land swap” are historic structures at Tilly Jane, an important deer and elk migration corridor, and a large amount of land on top of the Crystal Springs zone of contribution
- Water protection: Mount Hood Meadows has development rights to about one-third of the 6.9-square-mile Crystal Springs zone of contribution (ZOC). Crystal Springs Water District provides water to 25 percent of Hood River County’s residents. If Mt. Hood Meadows went ahead with any part of their plan to build 400-something homes or golf courses or more roads, this tranquil, clean ZOC would be impacted. According to the June 2003, Source Water Assessment Report for Crystal Springs prepared by the Oregon Department of Human Services, “the aquifer is considered highly sensitive due to the shallow unconfined nature of the aquifer, the highly permeable character of the aquifer, the presence of fractured bedrock at the spring outflow….“ “The presence of highly permeable soils within the DWPA (Drinking Water Protection Area) contribute to the overall sensitivity of the drinking water supply.”