Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument Campaign Launches
Calling on President Biden and Senators Wyden and Merkley to permanently protect Oregon's Owyhee Canyonlands
ONTARIO, Ore., Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new campaign, Protect the Owyhee Canyonlands, launched today calling for National Monument designation before the end of 2024. Founding campaign members include: The Wilderness Society, Oregon Natural Desert Association, Conservation Lands Foundation, Friends of the Owyhee, People of Red Mountain, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club Oregon Chapter, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, American Whitewater, Great Basin Resource Watch, and others.
The Owyhee Canyonlands is the largest conservation opportunity in the American West, boasting millions of acres of deep canyons, rolling sagebrush grasslands, and rushing rivers worthy of National Monument status. Today, only 5% of the Owyhee Canyonlands is permanently protected, leaving this natural treasure vulnerable to looming threats of industrial development and climate change.
"Formed over millions of years, the Owyhee Canyonlands is a wild and iconic landscape that deserves permanent protection as a National Monument," said Nicole Layman, Deputy Vice President of Conservation Campaigns, The Wilderness Society. "Fed by the vital Owyhee River, this area serves as a pivotal route for wildlife migration and is a sanctuary for hundreds of species."
The national monument campaign launches at a critical moment in the three-decades-long effort to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands. With nearly 80% of Oregonians in favor of protecting this land, after years of expert study and consensus-building, and with threats to the land only growing, the Owyhee cannot wait any longer.
For the third time in four years, Senators Wyden and Merkley, longtime champions of the Owyhee, introduced a legislative proposal to protect some of the most critical areas of the canyonlands. But if Congress won't act, then President Biden must work with Oregon's Senators to guarantee the Owyhee's protection. While all previous legislative attempts have failed to advance, President Biden can use Senators Wyden and Merkley's recent proposal as a blueprint for a national monument.
"The conservation of the Owyhee Canyonlands is vital to our community. Not only are we protecting the land for future generations, but we are also growing our economy, protecting local interests, and preserving a way of life," noted Tim Davis, Founder and Executive Director, Friends of the Owyhee.
In President Biden's first week in office, he signed an executive order establishing the nation's most ambitious conservation goal: protecting 30 percent of the country's lands and waters by 2030. The Owyhee Canyonlands represents one of the country's greatest opportunities to meet that target. Today, the nation is led by an administration committed to our public lands, and we must seize the opportunity to protect the Owyhee Canyonlands before it's too late.
"The Owyhee Canyonlands is one of the most significant landscapes to my people," said Wilson Wewa, Paiute Elder, Storyteller, Spiritual Leader, and Culture Keeper. "As the descendant of Paiute Chief Paulina and Chief Weahwewa, I carry the stories and legends of this place from my grandmother and tribal elders. For the ancestors of the Owyhee and their future generations, we cannot wait any longer to protect this sacred land. The time is now."
Only permanent protection can secure the future of the Owyhee. By protecting the Owyhee today, President Biden and Senators Wyden and Merkley can leave an enduring legacy for tomorrow.
Visit ProtectTheOwyhee.org.
SOURCE Protect the Owyhee Canyonlands
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