Oregon Democrats introduce legislation to transfer 18,600 acres of Siuslaw National Forest to Grand Ronde tribe

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA/The Oregonian/OregonLive

Oregon Democrats Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Andrea Salinas have introduced legislation that would transfer 18,626 acres of federal forestland to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde amid concerns from conservation groups about the extent of logging and potential impacts to wildlife habitat.

The legislation is part of a larger push by tribes across the U.S. to regain ancestral lands. Such land transfers have been rare in Oregon, where tribes retain only a small fraction of their historic territories.

The bill is backed by all seven Democrats in Oregon’s congressional delegation who say it addresses historic dispossession and will allow the tribe to sustainably manage the land and boost economic opportunity in the region.

“For too long, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has faced historic injustices that stripped them of their ancestral lands,” said Salinas in a written statement. “This legislation is a meaningful step towards righting those wrongs. By transferring these 18,626 acres to the Tribe’s stewardship, we honor their deep connection to this land and their leadership in strengthening forest health, wildfire resilience and community safety for all Oregonians.”

The legislation does not prescribe how the tribe can use the land and doesn’t set timber harvest limits, although it would prohibit gambling on the transferred land, including the building of a casino.

Earlier this year, environmental groups in Oregon wrote to the congressional delegation with concerns about how to balance giving land back to tribes with protections for old growth, roadless areas and public access.

Five seek land return

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is one of five Oregon tribal nations pursuing legislation to transfer public lands into tribal ownership. The others pursuing land-return proposals are the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. Legislation for those tribes has yet to be made public.

The proposals have exposed competing visions for restoring tribal land. Tribal leaders say federal land transfers are necessary to address historic land loss, while some conservation groups have urged Congress to instead help tribes buy private lands from willing sellers — including timber companies — with public funding and conservation dollars as an alternative to public land transfers. But, they acknowledge such private land deals can be expensive, time-consuming and dependent on willing sellers and uncertain funding.

The U.S. Forest Service land that would be transferred to the Grand Ronde lies in the Siuslaw National Forest, just north of the Grand Ronde’s existing reservation in parts of Yamhill and Polk counties. The tribal confederation lost its ancestral lands to white settlers in the 19th century and later lost most of its reservation after the federal government terminated its recognition in the 1950s. It has spent decades trying to rebuild its land base.

Environmentalists have been particularly concerned about the proposed transfer because the Siuslaw is held up as a model for environmental stewardship, having largely shifted away from old-growth logging after the timber-versus-spotted-owl conflict of the late 1980s and ’90s.

Tribal leaders have said the Grand Ronde’s logging practices differ sharply from industrial timber operations that clearcut private land. The tribe emphasizes longer harvest cycles, smaller cuts, greater stream protections and a focus on habitat and wildlife restoration.

“The transfer of these lands helps us rebuild the reservation, community and economy we lost as a result of termination,” Grand Ronde tribal council chair Cheryle A. Kennedy said in a written statement. “We will care for these forests with the knowledge our people have carried for generations, the same way we care for the nearly 16,000 acres we manage today. Under our care, this land will stay healthy for generations to come.”

The land would remain open to the public for hunting, fishing and recreation.

The legislation also mandates forest management on the land must comply with federal and tribal laws.

Steve Pedery, conservation director with Oregon Wild, said he remains concerned about logging on the transferred land, particularly in the Mount Hebo roadless area where mature trees abound. The Portland-based conservation nonprofit was among the coalition that urged the delegation to weigh the land transfer’s impact on wildlife.

“It’s important to remember that Hebo has never been logged or developed and that makes it a pretty special and unique place. There really isn’t anything else like it in the northern Coast Range,” Pedery told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The Grand Ronde land managers have said they plan to keep the Mount Hebo area roadless, a commitment conservation groups welcomed.

• Gosia Wozniacka is a reporter at The Oregonian/OregonLive and can be reached at [email protected]