The first major federal legislation to preserve the Owyhee Canyonlands in eastern Oregon recently received a big boost.  Oregon Senator Ron Wyden says his bill passed the Senate last week, with the help of a Wyoming Republican who was also looking for support for his own land-use legislation.

 

“He went out and talked to his colleagues, I went and talked to mine and about a half an hour later, we had unanimous consent to pass in the Senate two major public lands bills,” Wyden said.

 

He added he's worked for more than a year to get a bipartisan deal to protect the Owyhee, - considered one of America’s most spectacular landscapes.  He said he wanted to preserve its multiple uses, including recreation and grazing, which has earned support from Eastern Oregon Republican Representative Cliff Bentz.

 

“Congressman Bentz and I talked after the vote. We said we’re going to work very closely together to bring this about early next year, but we just picked up a big, big dose of momentum.”

 

Bentz has said he will work with House leadership to get the bill up for a vote in his chamber.

 

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