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Rep. Owens backs access‑fee work group for Owyhee Lake Road; supporters cite visitor pressure and maintenance costs
Summary
House Bill 3122 would direct Parks to pursue an access‑fee agreement with federal land managers for Owyhee Lake Road. County officials and citizens told the committee fees could fund maintenance, safety services and visitor management, but federal authority and cabin-owner impacts remain unresolved.
Representative Mark Owens (House District 60) opened the public hearing on House Bill 3122 by describing a long‑running local problem: a single, narrow county road with heavy seasonal visitation and maintenance and public‑safety costs borne by Malheur County.
“For the record, Mark Owens, House District 60,” Owens said. He told the committee the county asked him to seek a mechanism — described in the bill as an “access fee” — to fund maintenance and services for the road into Owyhee Lake.
The nut graf: the bill would direct Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to make a good‑faith effort to negotiate with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management a fee agreement for use of the Owyhee Lake Road, set minimal terms for a steering committee, and specify that fee…
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