The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO) have completed a land exchange put in motion 12 years ago.
Approximately 4,200 acres of BLM land was transferred to the CTWSRO through the The Pine Creek/Spring Basin Land Exchange.
The BLM also acquired roughly 4,500 acres, including more than 2,700 acres within the Spring Basin Wilderness Area (SWBA) and 2.25 miles of a federally managed portion of the John Day River.
The move was completed through the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, in order to combine tribal and Federal lands.
Federal lands acquired from the BLM are within the 10 million acres given up to the United States in CTWSRO’s 1855 Treaty.
The CTWSRO will incorporate the BLM parcels into their conservation area to be managed for fish, wildlife, and watershed mitigation purposes.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will collaborate with them under an approved conservation easement and management plan.
Finishing the exchange of land is an effort by the BLM, the CTWSRO, and the BPA to work together toward a common goal to gain efficient land management and allow the public to continue to enjoy the land.
