Written by Karen Withrow, State Environmental Representative
Photos by Dan Streiffert
The Steens Mt Advisory Council (SMAC) met on October 19-20, 2023 in Burns, Oregon. We have many new members this year. We are now at a quorum. This means we have more of the various interest groups represented as well as we can vote to make recommendations. We spent time getting to know each other and doing strategic planning on what direction we want to take. We are also spending time during each session to review a section of the Steens Act as it pertains to our discussions. This session we focused on “Reasonable Access for Reasonable Use” for private inholdings in the wilderness area.
The BLM presented us with information on a variety of topics. The options for the removal of the Page Springs Weir are being considered and will be presented at a future meeting. Recreation on Steens Mt. was impacted by the loop road closure due to a rock fall. Options for correcting this are being considered with the hope that the full road can be opened as usual next year. The BLM is looking for ways to fund the development of the Penland campground off the East Steens Road.
We spent a block of time discussing the Bridge Creek Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This is a complex issue. At the SMAC meeting in June, the BLM went over their procedure for applying for use of the grazing allotment. This meeting focused on describing the five alternatives for use. SMAC voted unanimously for a statement of support: “SMAC has reviewed the Bridge Creek Area EIS work to date and engaged in discussion with the Bureau of Land Management. As a result of this review, SMAC judges the BLM is pursuing a forthright and rigorous process that seeks maximum input from all parties. While it is too soon to judge the content of this work, SMAC thank and congratulates the BLM on the EIS process to date.” The final EIS should be coming out in the next few months and will be available for public comment. It will be a subject of future meetings of SMAC.
