Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, has a bill to help reduce fire danger to Crooked River Ranch by moving back the boundaries of the adjacent wilderness study area. It would allow mechanized fire prevention activities to create more of a buffer between homes and the tinderbox of a canyon next door.

It is supported by the Crooked River Ranch Homeowners Association. It is supported by the local fire department, Crook River Ranch Fire & Rescue.

It is supported by the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association. It is supported by Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins. It is supported by the state Sen. Cliff Bentz and state Rep. Daniel Bonham, who represent the area.

It is supported by the Jefferson County commissioners.

We could go on.

And yet when the bill came before the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands Forests and Mining, the subcommittee’s senior Democratic member, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, criticized the bill for lacking a broad base of support.

What?

“We want a citizens-driven solution to this one that incorporates everyone’s input,” Wyden said during the hearing.

He elaborated in a press release saying the bill “takes a limited approach to tackling the risk of wildfires, setting a precedent to thwart future collaboration with local stakeholders and community leaders in the ongoing effort to address the threat of wildfires.”

OK. If he truly believes the bill is too “limited,” where is his comprehensive alternative?

If the bill needs more public input, where are the town meetings he is hosting to get more feedback than the backing from the homeowners association, local fire department, local and state public safety officials and local and state government officials? We were told: “The senator’s staff has been meeting with, and continues to speak with, homeowners at Crooked River Ranch to get feedback.”

Wyden has tweeted: “The Crooked River Ranch deserves action ASAP to reduce the devastating potential of wildfires threatening its Central Oregon community. Fire prevention efforts must do more to protect homes within the Ranch.” So where is Wyden’s ASAP action?

Wyden has fought many battles in Congress to reduce the danger to the public from wildfire. But he has more to do for Crooked River Ranch.