19–010 

Calendar No. 277 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 112–115 

DEVIL’S STAIRCASE WILDERNESS ACT 

JANUARY 13, 2012.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of December 17, 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 766] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 766) to provide for the designation of the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Area in the State of Oregon, to designate 

segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State of Oregon 

as wild rivers, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 

reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends 

that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 766 is to designate approximately 30,540 acres 

of Federal land in the State of Oregon as the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness and to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate 

approximately 10.1 miles of Wasson Creek and 4.5 miles of Franklin Creek in the State of Oregon as ‘‘wild rivers.’’ 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Devil’s Staircase area is part of the Oregon Coast Range on 

the west coast of Oregon, northwest of Elkton. The terrain is steep, 

wild, and remote, and is home to two threatened bird species: the 

northern spotted owl and the marbled murrelet. The name ‘‘Devil’s 

Staircase’’ comes from a stair-step waterfall on Wasson Creek. 

Approximately 23,660 acres of the land proposed for wilderness 

designation are managed by the Forest Service as Late Successional Reserves in the Siuslaw National Forest. The Bureau of 

Land Management (‘‘BLM’’) manages approximately 6,880 acres of 


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the land proposed for wilderness designation, most of which is revested Oregon and California Railroad land. The BLM land currently is administratively protected as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and through other protective classifications. 

The creeks proposed for designation under the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Act are characterized by outstanding scenic, recreational, 

and ecological values, and have been identified as critical habitat 

for coho salmon, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 766 was introduced by Senators Wyden and Merkley on April 

7, 2011. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a 

hearing on the bill on May 18, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112–39). At its business meeting on November 10, 2011, the Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources ordered S. 766 favorably reported without 

amendment. The Committee reported an identical bill (S. 1272, as 

amended) by voice vote in the 111th Congress. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on November 10, 2011, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 766. Senators Risch, 

Lee and Paul asked to be recorded as opposing the measure. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title for the bill, the ‘‘Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act of 2011.’’ 

Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill. 

Section 3(a) designates approximately 30,540 acres of Federal 

land managed by the Forest Service and BLM as the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness. 

Subsection (b) directs the Secretary to prepare a map and legal 

description of the Wilderness and to make it publically available. 

Subsection (c) provides that the designation of the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness shall be administered in accordance with the Wilderness Act, except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) and subject to valid existing rights. The Committee is aware that the Forest Service’s records indicate that some parcels of National Forest 

land within the proposed wilderness are subject to an existing undeveloped easement, including in sec. 15, T. 21 S., R. 10 W. This 

provision reiterates that the application of the Wilderness Act to 

the Federal land is subject to and would not interfere with the exercise of any valid existing easements. 

Subsection (d) clarifies that the wilderness designation does not 

affect the State of Oregon’s jurisdiction with respect to fish and 

wildlife. 

Subsection (e) clarifies that the wilderness designation does not 

create a buffer or preclude non-wilderness activities outside of the 

wilderness. 

Subsection (f) confirms that the wilderness designation does not 

diminish any tribal treaty rights. 

Subsection (g) transfers administrative jurisdiction over approximately 49 acres of BLM land to the Forest Service, to be adminisVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:21 Jan 14, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR115.XXX SR115

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tered in accordance with the Weeks Law (16 U.S.C. 480 et seq.) 

and other laws applicable to the National Forest System. 

Section 4 amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 

1274(a)) to add approximately 4.5 miles of Franklin Creek and approximately 10.1 miles in two segments of Wasson Creek to be administered by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior as 

wild rivers. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 766—Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act of 2011 

S. 766 would designate about 30,520 acres of federal land in Oregon as the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness. The bill also would designate about 15 miles of creeks in the area as wild rivers under the 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Based on information provided by the 

agencies that administer those areas, CBO estimates that implementing S. 766 would have no significant impact on the federal 

budget. Enacting S. 766 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

The acreage and waterways to be added by S. 766 to the National Wilderness Preservation System or the Wild and Scenic Rivers System are already owned by the federal government and are 

currently administered by either the Forest Service or the Bureau 

of Land Management (BLM) for conservation purposes. CBO expects that designating those areas as wilderness would not raise 

the costs of managing or protecting them. We estimate that any 

costs to revise brochures, maps, and signs to reflect the new designations would be minimal because most such revisions would 

take place in conjunction with scheduled reprinting and routine 

maintenance. 

The lands that would be designated as wilderness under the bill 

are already managed for conservation purposes and produce no income from commercial activities. Therefore, CBO estimates that enacting S. 766 would have no effect on offsetting receipts. 

S. 766 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 766. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 


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Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 766, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 766, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally 

directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Department of Agriculture and the Department 

of the Interior were included in testimony received by the Committee at the May 18, 2011, hearing (S. Hrg. 112–39), which is provided below. 

STATEMENT OF MARY WAGNER, ASSOCIATE CHIEF, FOREST

SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman, Honorable Ranking Member and distinguished members of the Committee, I am Mary Wagner, 

Associate Chief of the Forest Service. Thank you for the 

opportunity to speak with you today about a bill that addresses Wilderness designation in the coastal Douglas-fir 

forests of Oregon. 

S. 766 would designate an area known as the Devil’s 

Staircase as wilderness under the National Wilderness 

Preservation System. In addition, S. 766 would designate 

segments of Wasson and Franklin Creeks in the State of 

Oregon and within the proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness as wild rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 

The Department supports the designation of the Devil’s 

Staircase Wilderness as well as the Wild and Scenic River 

designations on National Forest System lands. We would 

like to offer minor modifications to S. 766 that would enhance wilderness values and improve our ability to manage resources in the area. 

The Devil’s Staircase area lies in the central Oregon 

Coast Range, north of the Umpqua River and south of the 

Smith River. Elevations in the area range from near sea 

level to about 1,600 feet. The area is characterized by 

steep, highly dissected terrain. It is quite remote and difficult to access. A stair step waterfall on Wasson Creek is 

the source of the name Devil’s Staircase. 

The area that would be designated as wilderness by S. 

766 encompasses approximately 30,540 acres of National 

Forest System (NFS) and Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) lands. NFS lands are approximately 24,000 acres, 

and BLM lands are approximately 6,500 acres. 

All NFS lands that would be designated as wilderness 

are classified as Late Successional Reserve under the 

Northwest Forest Plan, which amended the Siuslaw National Forest LRMP in 1994. This land allocation provides 

for the preservation of old growth (late successional) habitat and is compatible with a wilderness designation. There 

are no planned resource management or developed recreVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:21 Jan 14, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR115.XXX SR115

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ation projects within the NFS portion of the lands to be 

designated as wilderness. 

Most of the area is forested with older stands of Douglas-fir and western hemlock, and red alder in riparian 

areas. All three tree species are under-represented in the 

National Wilderness Preservation System, relative to their 

abundance on NFS lands in Washington and Oregon. 

These older stands provide critical habitat and support 

nesting pairs of the northern spotted owl and marbled 

murrelet, which are listed as threatened species under the 

Endangered Species Act. 

The proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness provides an 

outstanding representation of the Oregon Coast Range and 

would enhance the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Oregon Coast Range has been largely modified 

with development, roads, and logging. Three small wilderness areas currently exist along the Oregon portion of the 

Pacific Coast Range, and the proposed Devil’s Staircase 

Wilderness would more than double the acres of oldgrowth coastal rainforest in a preservation status. Wilderness designation would also preserve the Devil’s Staircase, 

which is a unique landscape feature. 

There are approximately 24 miles of National Forest 

System roads within the proposed boundary, 10.5 miles of 

which are not needed for administrative use and would be 

decommissioned and obliterated. The remainder would be 

converted to a trail as discussed below. The Department 

recognizes that decommissioning and obliteration of this 

magnitude may require the use of motorized equipment to 

remove road related structures and grading. We anticipate 

analyzing such use under the Forest Service’s minimum 

requirements analysis process. 

The remaining 13.5 miles of road comprise Forest Service Road 4100, which bisects the proposed wilderness. The 

Department recommends that this road be converted and 

managed as a non-motorized, foot and/or horse trail compatible with wilderness uses. The Forest Service would use 

a minimum requirement analysis process to determine the 

appropriate tools necessary to complete activities associated with the road. 

The bill would transfer administrative jurisdiction over 

49 acres of BLM land to the Forest Service. The Forest 

Service supports the transfer of jurisdiction. 

S. 766 also would designate approximately 10.4 miles of 

streams on National Forest System lands as part of the 

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System: 5.9 miles of 

Wasson Creek and 4.5 miles of Franklin Creek, both on 

the Siuslaw National Forest. 

Both Wasson and Franklin Creeks have been identified 

by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as critical habitat for coho salmon (Oregon Coast ESU [Evolutionarily Significant Unit] of coho salmon), a threatened 

species under the Endangered Species Act. While the critical habitat portion of Wasson Creek is below the Devil’s 

Staircase waterfall and thus largely outside the proposed 


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wild and scenic designation, the designation will nevertheless help ensure that the lower portion of the creek remains suitable as coho habitat. 

The Department defers to, and agrees with, the Department of the Interior concerning the proposal to designate 

the 4.2-mile segment of Wasson Creek flowing on lands administered by BLM. 

The Forest Service conducted an evaluation of the 

Wasson and Franklin Creeks to determine their eligibility 

for wild and scenic rivers designation as part of the forest 

planning process for the Siuslaw National Forest. However, the agency has not conducted a wild and scenic river 

suitability study, which provides the basis for determining 

whether to recommend a river as an addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Wasson Creek was 

found eligible as it is both free-flowing and possesses outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational and ecological 

values. The Department supports designation of the 5.9 

miles of the Wasson Creek on NFS lands based on the segment’s eligibility. 

At the time of the evaluation in 1990, Franklin Creek, 

although free flowing, was found not to possess river-related values significant at a regional or national scale and 

was therefore determined ineligible for designation. Subsequent to the 1990 eligibility study, the Forest Service has 

found that Franklin Creek provides critical habitat for 

coho salmon, currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and also serves as a reference 

stream for research because of its relatively pristine character, which is rare in the Oregon Coast Range. Due to the 

presence of coho salmon and the pristine character the Department does not oppose its designation. Designation of 

the proposed segments of both Wasson and Franklin 

Creeks is consistent with the proposed designation of the 

area as wilderness. The actual Devil’s Staircase landmark 

is located on Wasson Creek. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I am happy 

to answer any questions that you may have on Devil’s 

Staircase Wilderness Act. 

STATEMENT OF MIKE POOL, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF

LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior to 

testify on S. 766, the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Act of 

2011. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) supports S. 

766 as it applies to lands we manage. 

Background 

The proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness, near the 

coast of southwestern Oregon, is not for the faint of heart. 

Mostly wild land and difficult to access, the Devil’s Staircase reminds us of what much of this land looked like hundreds of years ago. A multi-storied forest of Douglas fir 

and western hemlock towers over underbrush of giant 

ferns, providing critical habitat for the threatened NorthVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:21 Jan 14, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR115.XXX SR115

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ern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet. The remote and 

rugged nature of this area provides a truly wild experience 

for any hiker. 

S. 766 

S. 766 proposes to designate over 30,000 acres as wilderness, as well as portions of both Franklin Creek and 

Wasson Creek as components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The majority of these designations are on 

lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The Department of the Interior defers to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on those designations. 

Approximately 6,830 acres of the proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness and 4.2 miles of the Wasson Creek proposed designation are within lands managed by the BLM. 

The Department of the Interior supports these designations. 

We note that while the vast majority of the acres proposed for designation are Oregon & California (O&C) 

lands, identified under the 1937 O&C Lands Act for timber 

production, the BLM currently restricts timber production 

on these lands. These lands are administratively withdrawn from timber production by the BLM through various administrative classifications. Additionally, the BLM 

estimates that nearly 90 percent of the area proposed for 

designation is comprised of forest stands that are over 100 

years old, and provides critical habitat for the threatened 

Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl. 

The 4.2 miles of Wasson Creek would be designated as 

a wild river to be managed by the BLM under S. 766. The 

majority of the acres protected through this designation 

would be within the proposed Devil’s Staircase wilderness 

designation, though 376 acres would be outside the proposed wilderness on adjacent BLM lands. 

The designations identified on BLM-managed lands 

under S. 766 would result in only minor modification of 

current management of the area and would preserve these 

wild lands for future generations. 

Conclusion 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of 

these important Oregon designations. The Department of 

the Interior looks forward to welcoming these units into 

the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill S. 

766, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 

printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 


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WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT 

(Public Law 90–542; Approved October 2, 1968) 

AN ACT To provide a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 

and for other purposes. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 3.(a) The following rivers and the land adjacent thereto are 

hereby designed as components of the national wild and scenic rivers system: 

* * * * * * * 

(210) FRANKLIN CREEK, OREGON.—The 4.5-mile segment from 

its headwaters to the line of angle points within sec. 8, T. 22 

S., R. 10 W., shown on the survey recorded in the Official 

Records of Douglas County, Oregon, as M64–62, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river. 

(211) WASSON CREEK, OREGON.—The 10.1-mile segment in the 

following classes: 

(A) The 4.2–mile segment from the eastern boundary of 

sec. 17, T. 21 S., R. 9 W., downstream to the western 

boundary of sec. 12, T. 21 S., R. 10 W., to be administered 

by the Secretary of the Interior as a wild river. 

(B) The 5.9–mile segment from the western boundary of 

sec. 12, T. 21 S., R. 10 W., downstream to the eastern 

boundary of the northwest quarter of sec. 22, T. 21 S., R. 

10 W., to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture 

as a wild river. 

* * * * * * * 


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