After twelve years of collaboration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has completed a land exchange with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon (CTWSRO), with support from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The Pine Creek/Spring Basin Land Exchange was authorized in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, to consolidate both tribal and Federal lands.

As part of the exchange, the BLM conveyed approximately 4,200 acres to the CTWSRO. The BLM acquired roughly 4,500 acres, adding over 2,700 acres to federal ownership within the Spring Basin Wilderness Area (SBWA) and over 2.25 miles of federally managed river frontage along the John Day River.

The CTWSRO owns and manages the 34,012-acre Pine Creek Conservation Area (PCCA) adjacent to the newly designated SBWA. The Federal lands being conveyed to the CTWSRO are within the 10 million acres ceded to the United States by the CTWSRO in their 1855 Treaty. With this exchange, the CTWSRO will be able to incorporate the BLM parcels, currently scattered throughout the PCCA, into their conservation area and manage them for fish, wildlife, and watershed mitigation purposes in collaboration with the BPA under an approved conservation easement and management plan.

The completion of this exchange seems to show a coordinated effort by the BLM, the CTWSRO, and the BPA to work together toward the goal of providing for more efficient land management for all agencies and an increased benefit to the public who enjoys these lands.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-07-19 10:08:31

Last Update: 2021-07-19 10:39:08