A bipartisan bill to provide new wilderness protections for areas on and around Mt. Hood came very close to becoming law in the final months of the Congressional session that ended in December.

Mt. Hood is one of Oregon’s most beloved outdoor destinations and provides many Oregon communities with clean drinking water. But the mountain’s forests are crisscrossed with roads and clearcuts.

Oregon Reps. Greg Walden (Hood River) and Earl Blumenauer (Portland) jump-started efforts to protect Mt. Hood when they introduced a wilderness bill in the spring of 2006. Rep. Walden shepherded the bill through the House of Representatives.

Sen. Ron Wyden, who had introduced his own Mt. Hood bill in prior sessions, was joined by Sen. Gordon Smith in sponsoring a Senate version of the bill.

While Senate and House members agreed on most portions of the bill, a final effort to reach full agreement in early December did not succeed.

Members of the delegation said protecting Mt. Hood would be a priority once Congress re-convened.