S.Amdt. 6416

This amendment, proposed by Mr. Wyden and Mr. Merkley, seeks to add a section titled "Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee" to bill S. 4784. Its purpose is to manage federal lands in Malheur County, Oregon, through grazing flexibility, community collaboration, wilderness preservation, and tribal land transfers.

The amendment aims to add the following to the bill:

Grazing Management

• Establishes the Malheur County Grazing Management Program to give permittees and lessees more "operational flexibility" (such as adjusting livestock positioning or water source placement) to improve the long-term ecological health of the land.
• Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop monitoring plans and conduct a review of the program after 8 years.

Community Collaboration

• Creates the Malheur C.E.O. Group, a 18-member body consisting of representatives from private interests (grazing, tourism, irrigation), the environmental community, hunting/fishing groups, Indian Tribes, and Federal and State agencies.
• Authorizes this group to propose eligible projects, such as ecological restoration, invasive species management, and economic development.
• Appropriates $1,000,000 per year from 2026 through 2036 to carry out these activities.

Land Designations

• Designates approximately 1,102,393 acres of federal land as wilderness, creating 29 specific wilderness areas (such as the Fifteenmile Creek Wilderness and the Mary Gautreaux Owyhee River Canyon Wilderness).
• Releases certain wilderness study areas (Clarks Butte, Saddle Butte, and Bowden Hills) from their study status.

Tribal Land and Co-stewardship

• Directs the Secretary to take title to and hold in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe specific lands, including the Jonesboro Ranch and approximately 2,500 acres in the Castle Rock Wilderness Study Area.
• Establishes the Castle Rock Co-Stewardship Area to be managed via a memorandum of understanding between the Secretary and the Burns Paiute Tribe.
• Appropriates $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out these land conveyances.