This is the first part in a two-part series on the next wild and scenic rivers bill for Oregon. Part 1 focuses on the nuts and bolts of what a wild and scenic river is, while Part 2 will help you nominate your favorite stream(s) for congressional consideration.

Representatives of many Oregon outdoor recreation industry heavyweights, including but not limited to Columbia Sportswear, the Conservation Alliance, Travel Oregon, and Keen Footwear, testified to the business sense of conserving more of the many treasures found on Oregon’s federal public lands. Many conservationists traveled from afar to make the case for protecting their most cherished Oregon gems for the benefit of this and future generations.

The Oregon Wildlands Act is now the law of the land. Neither the Rogue Canyon National Recreation Area (98,150 acres), nor the Molalla National Recreation Area (~29,884 acres), as well as the Wild Rogue Wilderness Additions (~59,512) acres was included in the final version signed by President Trump.

The congressional conservation pipeline is clogged. This is not because it is too full of fine legislation that would elevate the conservation status of certain public lands by designating wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, and other special protection areas, but because of the general dysfunction of Congress.