MISSION, Ore.- Acquisition of the Qapqápa Wildlife Area near La Grande by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has stalled.
Although the project was fully funded, after $22 million from the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy Program was secured to acquire the land, the nonprofit that owns the property decided to withdraw for undisclosed reasons, according to a joint ODFW and CTUIR statement on March 2.
The Qapqápa Wildlife Area, pronounced (cop-COP-a), is located in the Blue Mountains about 10 miles southwest of La Grande.
By purchasing the land, two existing portions of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest that provide migration routes for elk and deer, and where waters provide habitat for bull trout, Chinook salmon and steelhead, would have been connected.
“The acquisition would have permanently conserved these important resources and provided public access for future generations,” the ODFW and CTUIR said in a press release about the stalled acquisition. “It also would have restored the Tribes’ access to multiple sites of critical cultural and historic importance for CTUIR.”
The effort to acquire 11,438 acres of private timber land for the creation of a new wildlife area was led by the CTUIR, ODFW, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and other stakeholders.
The new Qapqápa Wildlife Area would have been owned by ODFW and jointly managed with the CTUIR.
“While it is with heartfelt regret that we share this news, we remain committed to pursuing opportunities—here or elsewhere—that benefit wildlife, habitat, and public access,” the ODFW and CTUIR said.
