©2025 League of Conservation Voters
1982 Scorecard Vote
247
141
45
Issues
(H.R. 7340). Seiberling (D-OH) motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill to designate as federally protected wilderness 1,006,000 acres of Oregon national forest land, and designate another 112,000 acres for further wilderness study. This bill represents one of the most extensive wilderness proposals to come before Congress since the 1980 Alaska Lands Act. It would have created 19 new wildernesses and expanded 7 others. Included were extensive additions like the Middle Santiam in the spectacular Cascade Mountain Range; the north fork of the John Day River, the largest remaining spawning stream for wild salmon; the first and only wilderness in the lush temperate rain forest in the Coast Mountain Range; and huge areas of forest land in eastern Oregon. Some areas included virgin old growth timber with trunks up to eight feet in diameter.
The Act was the product of over two years of hearings and negotiations. Although it called for only about half the acreage originally proposed by conservationists, and affected less than 5% of the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed timber harvest in the state, it was strongly opposed by Oregon’s powerful timber interests. Motion rejected 247-141 (a two thirds majority of those present is required to pass a bill under suspension of rules). December 15, 1982. YES is the pro-environmental vote.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters