BOR Will Not Close Land In Power County

The Bureau of Reclamation is reversing its decision to close 2,195 acres of land north of the Snake River in Power County, said Power County Commissioner Delane Anderson. Anderson is calling it a victory for the county.

After more than 100 people showed up to testify against the closure at a meeting with the bureau on Monday, and Power County threatened legal action, bureau representatives met with Commissioner Ron Funk Tuesday afternoon to announce the decision, Anderson said.

?The public input we?ve received in the last week has given us a better perspective on how important these lands are to local residents,? said Bureau of Reclamation Pacific Northwest Regional Director Lorri Lee. “While we continue to be concerned about protecting important cultural resources on these lands, we realize we need to find a way to do that without having such a large impact on public access.?

The Bureau of Reclamation will still move forward with its study of the area’s cultural resources, but the land will remain open, the bureau said in a press release.

“The proposed closure was intended to provide protection to cultural and historical resources while Reclamation surveyed the area to assess whether those resources had been damaged by public recreation activities or looted by illegal artifact collecting,” according to the release.

The Bureau of Reclamation plans to finish its study within the next year and will determine whether or not it needs to close some or all of the land in the area based on the study’s findings, the release said.

County Commissioners spoke out against the closure after being “blindsided” with the bureau’s original announcement last week.