The Badlands east of bend are 30,000 acres of BLM land. Since 1992, it's been deemed a "wilderness study area," and will remain that way until (and unless) the federal government gives it a permanent wilderness title.
However, some want it protected from Bend's growth, and they want it done now.
"We're asking for Congress to designate the Badlands as a wilderness area, not unlike the Three Sisters or the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Area or some of the other areas we are familiar with, said Bill Marlett, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
Ben Alexander is executive director of Head Water Economics, which recently released a report that connects protected public land and the economy in the area.
"Many of them are moving here and bringing business or business connections to the area, and that's the exciting part of the migration picture from an economist's perspective," Alexander said Thursday.
For Alexander and others wanting to protect the Badlands, it's about starting now, to keep the people and their cash coming years into the future.
"It's the ability to live work and play in a single community is the calling card for the region," Alexander says.
The federal government has the final say on whether the land will become a wilderness area. Past efforts to convince Deschutes County officials to endorse the move have not gone well, amid criticism from some off-road enthusiasts who fear being locked out of the public lands, but supporters vow to keep up their campaign to make it happen.
