Bill to expand the size of the Oregon Caves nearly tenfold would lead to a ban on hunting on those lands

The bill was introduced jointly by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrats who tout the legislation as a way to preserve the monument, improve forest health and boost the local economy without banning hunting.
The bill would designate more than 4,000 acres of Forest Service land for a preserve and transfer its management to the National Park Service, which manages the Oregon Caves. The version of the Oregon Caves Revitalization Act that passed the U.S. Senate unanimously last week contains language that says the National Park Service would maintain hunting and fishing access in those current Forest Service-managed lands.But skeptics such as Central Point hunter Michael Mull are wary of the Park Service's attitude toward hunters. One of the agency's leaders told a Senate committee last year that the Park Service would "prefer" to phase hunting out in five years should it get management of the surrounding lands.
www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201...80322