Conservation Alliance grantee Oregon Natural Desert Association announced that Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkely introduced legislation yesterday to protect two new Wilderness areas in the John Day River Basin. The Cathedral Rock (photo above) and Horse Heaven Wilderness areas together comprise 18,000 acres of public land adjacent to or near the Wild and Scenic John Day River. The legislation would transfer important riverfront property into public hands, increasing access to this special river. The Alliance supported this campaign with a $30,000 grant in July, 2009.