69–010 

Calendar No. 659 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 110–307 

COPPER SALMON WILDERNESS ACT 

APRIL 10, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2034] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2034) to amend the Oregon Wilderness Act of 

1984 to designate the Copper Salmon Wilderness and to amend the 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the North and 

South Forks of the Elk River in the State of Oregon as wild or scenic rivers, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and an amendment to 

the title and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 

thereof the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Copper Salmon Wilderness Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF THE COPPER SALMON WILDERNESS. 

(a) DESIGNATION.—Section 3 of the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 1132 

note; Public Law 98–328) is amended— 

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘eight hundred fiftynine thousand six hundred acres’’ and inserting ‘‘873,300 acres’’; 

(2) in paragraph (29), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(30) certain land in the Siskiyou National Forest, comprising approximately 

13,700 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘Proposed Copper Salmon Wilderness Area’ and dated December 7, 2007, to be known as the ‘Copper 

Salmon Wilderness’.’’. 

(b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this 

Act, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

shall file a map and a legal description of the Copper Salmon Wilderness with— 

(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

(B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 


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(2) FORCE OF LAW.—The map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) 

shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the 

Secretary may correct typographical errors in the map and legal description. 

(3) BOUNDARY.—If the boundary of the Copper Salmon Wilderness shares a 

border with a road, the Secretary may only establish an offset that is not more 

than 150 feet from the centerline of the road. 

(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 

offices of the Forest Service. 

SEC. 3. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS, ELK RIVER, OREGON. 

Section 3(a)(76) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)(76)) is 

amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘19-mile segment’’

and inserting ‘‘29-mile segment’’; 

(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

(3) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: 

‘‘(B)(i) The approximately 0.6–mile segment of the North Fork Elk from 

its source in sec. 21, T. 33 S., R. 12 W., Willamette Meridian, downstream 

to 0.01 miles below Forest Service Road 3353, as a scenic river. 

‘‘(ii) The approximately 5.5–mile segment of the North Fork Elk from 0.01 

miles below Forest Service Road 3353 to its confluence with the South Fork 

Elk, as a wild river. 

‘‘(C)(i) The approximately 0.9–mile segment of the South Fork Elk from 

its source in the southeast quarter of sec. 32, T. 33 S., R. 12 W., Willamette 

Meridian, downstream to 0.01 miles below Forest Service Road 3353, as a 

scenic river. 

‘‘(ii) The approximately 4.2–mile segment of the South Fork Elk from 0.01 

miles below Forest Service Road 3353 to its confluence with the North Fork 

Elk, as a wild river.’’. 

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL RIGHTS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as diminishing any right 

of any Indian tribe. 

(b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Secretary shall seek to enter into a 

memorandum of understanding with the Coquille Indian Tribe regarding access to 

the Copper Salmon Wilderness to conduct historical and cultural activities. 

2. Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘To amend the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 to designate the Copper Salmon Wilderness and 

to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of 

the North and South Forks of the Elk River in the State of Oregon 

as additions to the Elk Wild and Scenic River, and for other purposes.’’. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 2034 is to amend the Oregon Wilderness Act 

of 1984 to designate the Copper Salmon Wilderness and to amend 

the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the North 

and South Forks of the Elk River in the State of Oregon as wild 

or scenic rivers. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

East of the existing Grassy Knob Wilderness Area, The Copper 

Salmon area encompasses Copper, Barklow, and Salmon Mountains in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon. It contains one of the nation’s largest remaining stands of 

low-elevation old-growth forest, including tall Douglas firs and relatively rare native Port Orford cedars. The area also contains the 

headwaters of the North Fork of the Elk River. 

During the last decade, a dedicated group of people have been 

working hard to protect Copper Salmon. The Port Orford Chamber 

of Commerce, the Mayor of Port Orford, the Curry County CommisVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:13 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR307.XXX SR307

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sioners, and a majority of the guides and lodges support wilderness 

designation. 

Copper Salmon is renowned among fishermen, and is a popular 

destination for anglers seeking to catch a trophy chinook salmon or 

winter steelhead. Few watersheds in Oregon can match the Elk 

River drainage. Copper Salmon also supports healthy populations 

of blacktail deer, elk, black bear, and mountain lion. 

Eighty percent of the watershed in this region is still intact. The 

Elk River has healthy wild runs of winter steelhead and chinook. 

It also has some coho salmon and sea-run cutthroat trout, as well 

as resident cutthroats and rainbow trout. Oregon State University 

researchers believe it is one of the healthiest anadromous fish 

streams in the lower 48 due to intact habitat. 

S. 2034 would designate the 13,700 acre Copper Salmon area as 

wilderness. It would also designate 9.3 miles of wild and scenic rivers. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2034 was introduced by Senator Wyden on September 10, 

2007 and Senator Smith was added as a cosponsor on September 

20, 2007. Rep. DeFazio introduced a companion measure in the 

House of Representatives (H.R. 3513) on September 10, 2007. The 

Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on S. 

2034 on September 20, 2007 (S. Hrg. 110–216). The Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered it favorably reported on 

January 30, 2008. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2034, if amended as 

described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 2034, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment makes 

several technical changes and changes the map date so that the bill 

references an updated map. In addition, the amendment requires 

that, if the boundary of the Copper Salmon Wilderness shares a 

border with a road, the Secretary may only establish an offset that 

is not more than 150 feet from the centerline of the road. Finally, 

the amendment includes a new provision regarding tribal rights. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title for the bill. 

Section 2(a) amends section 3 of the Oregon Wilderness Act of 

1984 by adding certain land in the Siskiyou National Forest, comprising approximately 13,700 acres, as depicted on the identified 

map, to be known as the ‘‘Copper Salmon Wilderness.’’ The Committee is aware that some National Forest lands designated as Wilderness by S. 2034 contain culverts. The Committee 

understands that some of the culverts are in disrepair. In fact, in 

2002 the General Accounting Office reported that the Forest ServVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:13 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR307.XXX SR307

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ice’s culvert maintenance backlog totals $331 million in Washington and Oregon (GAO–02–596T). The GAO report concludes 

that the Forest Service has not made sufficient funds available for 

culvert maintenance. 

The Committee anticipates that the Forest Service will eventually remove most, if not all, of the culverts after this area is designated as wilderness. However, the Committee is aware that such 

removal may not occur in a timely manner given the current state 

of the Forest Service’s maintenance backlog. In the interim, the 

Forest Service may find that continued maintenance is necessary 

with respect to a particular culvert or culverts in order to avoid 

damage to fisheries and soil resources. 

Section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act prohibits among other things, 

the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or other forms of 

mechanized transport, ‘‘except as necessary to meet minimum requirements for the Administration of the area for the purpose of 

this Act * * *’’ The Committee believes that the Forest Service’s 

ability to properly maintain affected culverts can be accomplished 

consistent with the authority of the Wilderness Act. The Committee 

recognizes that the Forest Service may determine that the use of 

motorized or mechanized equipment is necessary to accomplish 

maintenance activities. In fact, the Committee notes that the Federal land management agencies’ wilderness management guidelines 

explicitly state that the term ‘‘minimum tool’’ is not synonymous 

with ‘‘primitive tool’’ and in some cases an agency may determine 

that minimum tool includes motor vehicles, or other motorized or 

mechanized equipment. 

Paragraph (b)(1) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to file a 

map and a legal description of the Copper Salmon Wilderness with 

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

Paragraph (2) provides that the map and legal description shall 

have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except 

that the Secretary may correct typographical errors in the map and 

legal description. 

Paragraph (3) states that, if the boundary of the Copper Salmon 

Wilderness shares a border with a road, the Secretary may only establish an offset that is not more than 150 feet from the centerline 

of the road. 

Paragraph (4) requires that each map and legal description filed 

under paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Forest Service. 

Section 3 amends section 3(a)(76) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act to designate segments of the North and South Forks of the Elk 

River as additions to the existing Elk Wild and Scenic River. 

Section 4 states that nothing in this Act shall be construed as diminishing any right of any Indian tribe and requires the Secretary 

to seek to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 

Coquille Indian Tribe regarding access to the Copper Salmon Wilderness to conduct historical and cultural activities. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 


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S. 2034—Copper Salmon Wilderness Act 

S. 2034 would designate 13,700 acres of land in the Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon as the Copper Salmon Wilderness. The bill 

also would designate certain segments of the north and south forks 

of the Elk River in Oregon as wild or scenic rivers. 

Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates 

that discretionary costs would increase by less than $1 million to 

implement the bill. The funds would be used to survey and mark 

the wilderness area as well as remove existing culverts and roads. 

In addition, because a small portion of the affected area has had 

an environmental assessment completed, timber harvesting could 

occur in this area during the next 10 years under current law. Because the bill would designate the land as wilderness, some of that 

timber harvesting would not occur, leading to a loss of offsetting receipts. According to the Forest Service, any such activities would 

likely be done through the use of stewardship contracts, a program 

that allows the Forest Service to use proceeds from such sales, 

without appropriation, for various purposes. Thus, while the bill 

would lead to a small loss of offsetting receipts (less than $500,000 

over the 2009–2018 period), those losses would be offset by a corresponding reduction in direct spending. On balance, CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no net impact on 

direct spending and would not affect revenues. 

S. 2034 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 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. 2034. 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. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 2034, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 2034, as 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 Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 2034 on September 20, 

2007. 


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STATEMENT OF JOEL HOLTROP, DEPUTY CHIEF, NATIONAL

FOREST SYSTEM, FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRI- CULTURE

* * * * * * 

S. 2034, COPPER SALMON WILDERNESS ACT

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you to provide the 

Department’s views on the bills which are on the agenda 

today. 

* * * * * * 

S. 2034, COPPER SALMON WILDERNESS ACT

This bill would designate approximately 13,700 acres of 

the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest as wilderness 

and designate segments of the North and South Forks of 

the Elk River as additions to the existing Elk Wild and 

Scenic River. 

The Department supports this bill, but requests some 

important adjustments to the wilderness boundary. These 

adjustments would provide for better separation of motorized use from the wilderness, allow for road maintenance 

activities within road clearing limits (such as ditch cleaning and culvert and bridge maintenance), as well as to accommodate treatments of plantations that would improve 

forest health and habitat diversity while increasing firefighter safety. 

The wilderness proposal comprises 13,700 acres of rugged forested land surrounding Copper Mountain, Barklow 

Mountain, and Salmon Mountain adjacent to the Grassy 

Knob Wilderness. It contains vast stands of Douglas fir 

and relatively rare native Port Orford cedar trees. About 

ten percent of the proposed wilderness area is designated 

in the Siskiyou National Forest Plan as a ‘‘Supplemental 

Resource Area’’, considered highly productive habitat for 

wildlife and fish, critical for the maintenance of watershed 

condition, and with special recreation values. Lands within 

the proposed wilderness are primarily allocated as Late 

Successional Reserves (LSR) under the Northwest Forest 

Plan. LSRs are designed to serve as habitat for old growthrelated species. This LSR allocation includes 2,267 acres of 

previously managed overstocked Douglas fir plantations. 

Using perimeter forest roads as the boundary designation would likely lead to unintended incursions of motorized vehicles and mechanized equipment into the wilderness. In addition most of the plantations adjacent to forest 

roads that comprise a portion of the wilderness boundary 

(about 1,000 acres) were included in the Coastal Healthy 

Forest Environmental Analysis signed in 2007. Treatment 

of these stands would improve habitat conditions for fish 

and wildlife, reduce effects from insects and disease, and 

provide defensible space for firefighters in the event of a 

wildfire, consistent with their allocation as Late SuccesVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:13 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR307.XXX SR307

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sional Reserve (LSRs). Wilderness designation would preclude this treatment. 

The proposed wilderness includes about nine miles of 

designated roads. All but two of those road miles are currently closed to vehicular traffic; however, these roads are 

highly engineered up steep slopes, with significant cuts 

and fills, culverts, and other constructed features. If the 

area is designated as wilderness, the forest would consider 

converting some of these roads into hiking and equestrian 

trails to improve access, but most would require decommissioning to protect water quality and fisheries resource values. This would require heavy equipment to remove culverts and contour the land to reduce erosion, as well as 

significant investment. 

The Department would like to work with the bill’s sponsor and the committee to offset the wilderness boundary 

inward along perimeter roads to implement planned treatments within a reasonable distance of the road, provide for 

routine road maintenance, and to decrease the likelihood 

of incompatible motorized use in wilderness. We also request that the bill include the date of the map referencing 

the intended wilderness configuration. 

The bill would designate segments of the North and 

South Forks of the Elk River as additions to the existing 

Elk Wild and Scenic River. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest completed an extensive wild and scenic river 

inventory and, while both tributaries are free-flowing, neither was judged to have an outstandingly remarkable 

value. Nevertheless, in recognition of the value of managing the Elk River as a system that contributes to one of 

the most important and valuable runs of anadromous fish 

in coastal Oregon, the Department does not oppose the 

proposed additions in this bill. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, this concludes my testimony. I am happy to answer any questions 

you may have at this time. 

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. 

2034 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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A. OREGON WILDERNESS ACT OF 1984 

(Public Law 98–328; Approved June 26, 1984) 

AN ACT To designate certain national forest system and other lands in the State 

of Oregon for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for 

other purposes. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress Assembled, That this Act may 

be referred to as the ‘‘Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984’’. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 3. In furtherance of the purpose of the Wilderness Act the 

following lands in the State of Oregon comprising approximately 

øeight hundred fifty-nine thousand six hundred acres¿ 873,300 

acres and as generally depicted on maps appropriately referenced, 

dated May 1984; are hereby designated as wilderness, and therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System—

* * * * * * * 

(29) certain lands in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, 

which comprise approximately twenty-two thousand seven 

hundred acres, are generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Hells 

Canyon Wilderness Additions—Proposed’’, and which are hereby incorporated in, and which shall be deemed to be part of, 

the Hells Canyon Wilderness as designated in Public Law 94–

199ø.¿ ; and 

(30) certain land in the Siskiyou National Forest, comprising 

approximately 13,700 acres, as generally depicted on the map 

entitled ‘Proposed Copper Salmon Wilderness Area’ and dated 

December 7, 2007, to be known as the ‘Copper Salmon Wilderness’. 

* * * * * * * 

B. 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. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 

United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) this Act 

may be cited as the ‘‘Wild and Scenic Rivers Act’’. 

* * * * * * * 

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

hereby designated as components of the national wild and scenic 

rivers system: 

(76) ELK, OREGON.—The ø19-mile segment¿ 29-mile segment 

to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classes: 

* * * * * * * 

(A) The 17-mile segment from the confluence of the 

North and South Forks of the Elk to Anvil Creek as a recreational riverø; and¿. 


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ø(B) the 2-mile segment of the North Fork Elk from the 

falls to its confluence with the South Fork as a wild river.¿ 

(B)(i) The approximately 0.6-mile segment of the North 

Fork Elk from its source in sec. 21, T. 33 S., R. 12 W., Willamette Meridian, downstream to 0.01 miles below Forest 

Service Road 3353, as a scenic river. 

(ii) The approximately 5.5-mile segment of the North 

Fork Elk from 0.01 miles below Forest Service Road 3353 

to its confluence with the South Fork Elk, as a wild river. 

(C)(i) The approximately 0.9-mile segment of the South 

Fork Elk from its source in the southeast quarter of sec. 32, 

T. 33 S., R. 12 W., Willamette Meridian, downstream to 

0.01 miles below Forest Service Road 3353, as a scenic 

river. 

(ii) The approximately 4.2-mile segment of the South 

Fork Elk from 0.01 miles below Forest Service Road 3353 

to its confluence with the North Fork Elk, as a wild river. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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