Bill has $1.5 million for Hells Canyon

A federal spending bill approved by the Senate last week includes $1.5 million to buy “islands” of private property inside the boundaries of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

Oregon’s Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, had asked to include the Hells Canyon money in the Interior Appropriations bill.

She did not have details about how many acres the government expects to buy from The Nature Conservancy.

Edwards said President Obama is expected to sign the spending bill this week.

In addition, the appropriations bill creates a $474 million account to pay for firefighting costs on federal lands.

The account is intended to prevent the need for agencies such as the Forest Service and BLM to tap other accounts to pay to fight fires.