Congressman Cliff Bentz is rolling out his own version of federal legislation for governing the Owyhee Canyonlands, supporting nearly 1 million acres in wilderness but with detailed provisions to allow cattle grazing. The Republican from Ontario said he planned to introduce the legislation on Friday, Nov. 1. Bentz said in an announcement on Thursday, Oct. 31, that his proposal “is based on a bill introduced last year by Senator Ron Wyden.” He is calling the legislation the “Oregon Owyhee Wilderness and Community Protection Act.’’ Its purpose, the draft bill says, is “to provide for the establishment of a grazing management program on Federal land in Malheur County, Oregon, and for other purposes.” Bentz proposes designating 926,588 acres as wilderness. Wyden had proposed 1.1 million acres. READ IT: Bentz legislation “This bill is the result of hundreds of hours of negotiation and collaboration by those who live, work, and recreate in Malheur County, the Burns Paiute Tribe, and many environmental organizations,” Bentz said in his statement.  Wyden has been pushing for years an effort to provide protection for some of Oregon’s most remote regions. Last year, he introduced the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act and has a commitment from Senate leadership for the legislation to get a Senate vote as soon as the end of the year. On Thursday, he joined Bentz in announcing the new House legislation. “I applaud Congressman Bentz’s thoughtful and constructive approach and am looking forward, as we continue to work together on this bill, to success on legislation that leaves the farmers, ranchers, preservationists, Tribes and all the residents of Eastern Oregon the true winners of the economic and preservation gains this legislative approach can achieve,” the statement said. Bentz and Wyden didn’t provide any details on how the two proposals differ. The Bentz legislation states, “Congress finds that the protection against wildfire, the protection against invasive species, and the protection of livestock production values are an essential, important, proper, and compatible activities and use of the Federal land designated as wilderness.” It creates the “Malheur County Grazing Management Program” and forms the Malheur CEO Group to carry out projects on both federal and non-federal land. The group of eight would be appointed by the director of the Vale district of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Malheur County Court. Members would include three grazing permittees or lessees, three from “other businesses or conservation organizations” with at least two required to live in Malheur County, and one representative from each the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Fort McDermott Tribe. The group “shall give priority to voluntary habitat, range, and ecosystem restoration projects focused on improving the long-term ecological health of the Federal land and natural bodies of water,” the legislation states. The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands is scheduled to consider Bentz’s proposal on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Bentz said he expected the legislation to pass the House “within the next few weeks.” Gov. Tina Kotek earlier this year joined those who are seeking a national monument designation for the canyonlands. She wrote President Joe Biden in August urging he use his executive authority to create such a monument. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Bentz proposes his own version of Owyhee Canyonlands protection, hearing set appeared first on Salem Reporter.