Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Oregon Silvies Unit Land Trade-Prime deer/elk ground.

This is directed primarily to south eastern Oregon deer and elk hunters. Last night, at a rather discrete 6:00 PM public meeting, a Dr Scott Campbell gave notice that he is petitioning our Oregon Congressmen to exchange 1000 acres of his recently purchased Steens Mt property, for approximately 10 to 11,000 acres of BLM ground in and around the Silvies Valley west to within a couple miles of Yellow Jacket Reservoir. This is country between Burns and John Day, Oregon. Dr Campbell also acquired the local Ponderosa Ranch last year, for about $20 million, and wishes to expand his holdings.

The to be acquired BLM lands are sagebrush/forest transition land, mostly within the Silvies River drainage. The proposed process is a legislative pathway wherein the proposal is submitted to our Washington Congressmen, and if they are agreeable, they submit a bill. If it passes, it's simply a done deal. Congressmen from other states typically support such actions just to bankroll favors. The process may take from 6 to 18 months, and there is absolutely no opportunity for public input or discussion. Basically it's a smokey backroom deal.

The second potential process, which Dr Campbell WILL NOT pursue, is an administrative action where the proposal is submitted to our BLM district. If the BLM is interested, both parties have the properties assessed, lines are drawn, public input is solicited, and a fair trade negotiated. It's a 4 to 6 year process.

At our meeting last night, Dr Campbell announced his intentions and displayed very vague maps of the region that in no way furnished outlines of the effected lands. Likely some BLM/Forest access roads would be closed too.

The 1000 acres of Steens property holds two small streams (portions of Fish and Lake Creeks), supports sagebrush, some juniper and aspen, some deer, and would be accessable to walk in public for about 6 months each year after the BLM took it over.

The 10 to 11000 acres he hopes to acquire consist of about 50% sagebrush and 50% ponderosa pine forest. That area is excellent deer and elk habitat, supports valuable timber, is accessible year round, and would be closed to public access if acquired. There are absolutely no warranties, that he would not subsequently subdivide or develop the properties. I wish I could be more specific, but Dr Campbell will not furnish maps, discuss his plans for potential development of those lands, and stated that he will not solicit nor encourage any further public input.

My opinion is that the people of Harney and Grant counties, and the deer and elk hunters of Oregon have much more to loose than gain. Our local Oregon Hunters Association does not support the proposal, and the bulk of the local population see it as a case where one with a 10 or 11 figure income can have his way via the political machine.

I know that many of us are not letter writing types, but I strongly encourage you quickly draft a half page letter to each of our Washington Senators and Representitives with two to 3 very brief comments. First) discourage the transaction. Second) If the transaction is to occur, ask that truly valid apprasials be developed and furnished to the public, and 3rd) that Oregon citizens be made aware of the process and that they be given opportunity to assess concrete proposals and voice their opinions.

If those of you that are OHA members would also notify your local chapters, that organization can potentially present a united and opposing front.

Sorry for the duration of this, but we need your help. Likely there will be no further public mention of this process until some form of the deal has transpired.

As a precedent, we lost about 150 square miles of prime public pronghorn habitat in the Catlow Valley to a similar exchange about 6 years ago. One can only look across posted gates now and wonder what might have been. Thank you, 1Minute

pm sent thanks for the heads up

Just to get things into scale, the trade adds up to about 17 square miles of public land that could potentially pass to private hands and then be available for development.

Even if it's just a post card, please take the time to send a note. Here's the names and addresses of our Washington folks:

Senator Gordon Smith
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Ron Wyden
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Representative Gregg Walden
1404 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

here are some email links
www.house.gov/formdefazio/contact.html

http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/

http://gsmith.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

Thanks for the update.

Thanks for sounding the alarm. It'll take a LOT of pressure from us little guys to approach the influence of a multi-millionaire developer with a game plan. I'm afraid that the outcome has already been decided. I hope I'm wrong.

As much as I dislike him, contact Jeff Merkley's campaign as well. If we can get him hammering at backroom sell- outs of public land to developers that'll make Gordon Smith eager to show he isn't part of that game.

that is way to high of price to pay to consolidate the steens wilderness, a strait exchange of equal acrages is warranted, no more