Rep. Owens backs access‑fee work group for Owyhee Lake Road; supporters cite visitor pressure and maintenance costs

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 revenue be used for maintenance, visitor services and data collection for future planning.

Taylor Rumbalski, economic development director for Malheur County, described the road as a 22‑mile, single approach route with heavy seasonal traffic and tourism. Rumbalski told the committee, “The most recent survey done by the Oregon State Parks shows between 2015 and 2021 an average of 229,000 people per year visited the state park at the end of the road.” He argued that an access fee could pay for search and rescue, sheriff services and road upkeep and would place costs on users rather than general taxpayers.

Mark Owens and other witnesses emphasized unresolved jurisdictional issues: the road crosses BLM lands and Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure; county road districts currently maintain the roadway and receive little or no revenue from the users who create wear and demand for services. Owens said the county has liability and asked for a legislative endorsement to form a work group of federal, state and local stakeholders to resolve implementation questions.

Ralph Poole, an Ontario resident and long‑time cabin owner, supported the concept but urged that cabin owners be considered in any fee scheme because they already pay multiple fees and lease charges to the Bureau of Reclamation. Poole said cabin leases include a clause that can require vacating the site with one year’s notice and that cabin owners already pay lease fees, property taxes and fuel tax contributions that he said go toward county road funds.

Committee members asked whether similar access fees exist elsewhere in Oregon and whether federal land managers would accept a user fee; witnesses said they expect those questions to be addressed by the proposed work group. Senator Meek and others pressed for clarity on whether the bill’s use of the term “access fee” differs legally from a “toll” and for further analysis of fiscal and jurisdictional consequences. Owens said the bill intends to signal legislative support for negotiation, not to preempt federal approvals.

The public hearing closed with multiple community witnesses supporting a work group to flesh out implementation. No committee vote was recorded during the hearing; sponsors and supporters asked the committee to advance the measure so agencies and local governments can convene the detailed negotiations the bill envisions.