A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022
THE WEST
Actor Jack Black, family,
visit Wallowa Lake
Groups sign letter backing
the River Democracy Act
BY JEFF BUDLONG
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — “School of
Rock” star Jack Black proved
to be a quick study when it
came to fishing lessons during
his weekend trip to the Wal-
lowa Lake Marina.
Black and his family were in
Wallowa County, where they
dined and enjoyed a day on
the lake with the help of ma-
rina staff.
“(Store manager) Duncan
Christman met him down at
the (Glacier Grill) and offered
to have him come out on a
pontoon boat with us the next
day,” said Brandon Keeling,
who is the Wallowa Lake Ma-
rina Inc. vice president. “We
took them around the lake,
we took them fishing and they
went swimming.”
Black was there with his
family — which included his
parents, siblings and aunts and
uncles — because his father
had previously visited the area
with a hiking group. A mem-
ber of the group recently died,
leading to the Blacks choosing
Wallowa County as a place to
come together as a family.
Keeling said the entire party
picked up on fishing fast after
he gave a quick lesson with
Black snagging the biggest
rainbow trout of the group
and his father a close second.
Signers include
conservation
groups, outdoor
organizations
BY MICHAEL KOHN
Oregon Capital Bureau
A plan to protect thou-
sands of miles of rivers and
streams in Oregon received
renewed attention last week
when dozens of organizations
banded together to encourage
politicians to speed up the
passage of the bill.
Seventy-five organizations
across the state sent a joint
letter to Oregon Democratic
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley urging them to pass
the River Democracy Act.
The letter is signed mainly by
conservation groups and out-
door sporting and fishing or-
ganizations.
If passed, the bill would
add nearly 4,700 miles of riv-
ers and streams in Oregon to
the Wild and Scenic Rivers
System. The federal designa-
tion, created in 1968, protects
rivers and develops them
for tourism, just as national
parks and national forests
protect designated areas of
land. Rivers can be listed as
having wild, scenic or recre-
ational value.
Wyden and Merkley intro-
duced the River Democracy
Act, Senate Bill 192, in Febru-
ary 2021. More than 15,000
streams and rivers were
nominated by Oregonians
for inclusion in the act after
Wyden called on state resi-
dents to suggest their favorite
waterways in 2019. In Bend,
one nomination came from a
group of sixth graders at Pa-
cific Crest Middle School.
But the bill has its detrac-
tors too. In January, U.S.
Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario,
spoke out against the act on
the floor of the U.S. House
of Representatives, declaring
that it will create a wildfire
risk in Oregon’s watersheds.
Bentz argued that the act puts
forests at risk because it al-
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File
Rock Creek in the Elkhorn Mountains west of Haines is among more than a dozen streams that would
be added to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act list under the River Democracy Act sponsored by Ore-
gon’s U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
lows prescribed burns with-
out conducting thinning op-
erations.
The American Forest Re-
sources Council, which rep-
resents logging interests, is
among the groups that de-
fend Bentz’s position.
“We continue to oppose
the River Democracy Act be-
cause it will increase the risk
of severe wildfires, threaten
our communities, impede
public access, and impact
multiple uses of public lands,”
said Nick Smith, the council’s
public affairs director. “Cat-
astrophic wildfires including
subsequent erosion and sed-
imentation pose the greatest
threat to watersheds and riv-
ers, and water quantity and
quality.”
Smith said more manage-
ment of federal lands will
help reduce wildfire.
“Rather than imposing
more arbitrary designations
and restrictions on federal
lands, Oregon’s federal rep-
resentatives should focus on
giving public lands managers
more resources and tools to
proactively reduce wildfire
risks, maintain access, and
protect our forests, rivers, and
communities,” said Smith.
Wyden’s office has pushed
back against the argument
that forests will be at a greater
risk for fire, stating that the
bill requires agencies to im-
plement a fire risk-reduction
plan across a half-mile corri-
dor on either side of a river or
stream.
The letter sent last week
was supported by riverkeeper
groups, guiding associations,
watershed councils and pad-
dling clubs, among others.
“Although our groups rep-
resent a wide variety of in-
terests, purposes, and people
across the state, we all have
at least one thing in common
— a love of Oregon’s rivers,”
stated a portion of the letter.
“They provide us with clean
drinking water, our favorite
swimming holes, and places
to take our families fishing
and boating.”
The designations would
add protection for fish, wild-
life, clean drinking water and
recreation in watersheds in-
cluding the Deschutes, Meto-
lius, McKenzie, and others.
The next step for the act is
a vote by the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Com-
mittee, which is chaired by
West Virginia Sen. Joe Man-
chin, a Democrat.
Wyden told The Bulletin
that public lands bills tend to
get a close look at the end of
the year, and he is preparing
to have it voted on in the Sen-
ate by that time. His office is
in communication with Man-
chin specifically to seek the
necessary votes to get the bill
passed.
“In terms of public lands,
we’re going to fairly soon
have some mark-ups, where
the legislation is formally
considered and pulling out all
the stops for it,” said Wyden.
“We are getting all the small
businesses from rural Oregon
behind it and we are pleased
about the coalition coming
together.”
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The entire family reeled in at
least one fish with Black’s fa-
ther snagging the first within
30 seconds of dipping his line.
And, yes, both Black and
his father cleaned the fish they
kept.
“The family was absolutely
wonderful and a joy to be
around,” Keeling said. “He was
out here picking up kids and
taking pictures with every-
body. He is out here spend-
ing hours out of his day doing
photo ops around the com-
munity.”
A quick search of Facebook
reveals the numerous Wallowa
County residents and visitors
who got to snap a picture with
the actor. Keeling credited
Black for his down-to-earth
nature and willingness to en-
gage with everyone who ap-
proached.
Black isn’t the first celebrity
to take in the impressive na-
ture views the area has to offer.
“Napoleon Dynamite” star Jon
Heder has hiked in the area,
but did not make it to the ma-
rina.
The experience is some-
thing that the marina’s staff,
including Wallowa Lake Ma-
rina Inc. President Casey
Barstad’s daughter, Jaiden,
won’t forget anytime soon.
“It made our week pretty
dang awesome,” Keeling said.
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