The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians greeted with cheers the introduction in the U.S. Senate of a long-awaited bill to restore about 62,000 acres of national forest to the only recognized tribe without a land base.

The bill, which would give the tribes a portion of the Siuslaw National Forest in Lane and Douglas counties, is the culmination of nearly a decade's work and was proposed Thursday by Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., in a legislative session.

"We are elated," said Tribal Administrator Francis Somday on Friday. "We are thrilled."

Smith said he has championed the tribes' efforts to have the land restored since being elected. In a floor statement introducing the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Restoration Amendments Act of 2003, Smith read a written speech recounting the tribes' loss of land.

"In 1855, in good faith the tribes signed the Empire Treaty with the federal government," Smith said. "But somewhere between Empire, Ore., and the floor of the U.S. Senate the treaty was lost. No land was allotted for their reservation and no compensation given."

The three tribes occupied 1.6 million acres from Oregon's south coast to what is now the I-5 corridor through the mid 1800s. As gold prospectors began to encroach on the territory, the federal government made pacts for the peaceful acquisition and settlement of many of those acres.

But the treaties were lost and no compensation was ever given to the tribes. Eventually, during the Rogue River War era, the tribes were marched north and held prisoner in the Coast Reservation until the mid 1870s. The government finally disbanded the tribes in 1954. President Ronald Reagan re-recognized them in 1984.

Since then, the 700-plus tribal members have struggled to gain economic independence. With a negligible land base and no real revenue-producing industries, the tribes have made the return of portions of the Siuslaw National Forest a priority for years.

"We just are so appreciative to Sen. Smith for understanding the tribe's story and understanding that it's the right thing to do," Somday said.

If the land is returned, the Confederated Tribes intend to thin the forest and expect it can generate up to $1 million per year. While the tribes would not be required to follow provisions of the Northwest Forest Plan, a plan presented to the senate indicates it intends to follow cutting provisions consistent with adjacent federal properties.

Smith is in support of those goals.

"Revenue gained from activities on these lands will help meet the self-sufficiency goals of the Confederated Tribes," Smith read in his speech. "It will be used to assist seniors through elder housing programs, youth through scholarships, low-income housing for those in need and provide health care benefits for all the Tribal members."

A coalition of environmental groups, led by the Oregon Natural Resources Council, worry that the transfer will reduce their ability to oversee logging in the national forest and could lead to cutting of old-growth timber.

In a March 24 letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., 23 environmental groups objected to the land transfer and claimed many of the acres proposed for the deal are suitable for wilderness designation. They also questioned what the impact of the transfer would be with other tribes that have received far less compensation for their losses.

"The only previous transfer in Oregon's recent history was the transfer of 5,400 acres of federal forest to the 695 members of the Coquille Tribe in 1996," the groups wrote. "Should this new legislation pass, what will be the response of the Coquille, Grande Ronde and Siletz tribes, who have considerably less acreage?"

The Confederated Tribes has argued that its proposal should be judged for its own merits. A forestry consultant with Pacific Management Associates working for the Tribes has said that only about 2,500 acres of the land being proposed for restoration qualifies as old-growth and the tribes have set up protections and limitations not to cut those acres as well as to leave three sensitive areas untouched.

Provisions in the bill will require the tribes put 20 percent of the gross revenue generated from timber harvesting into a fund to pay for watershed restoration programs for 20 years.

In addition, the tribes are prevented from building a mill on the land and are required to follow competitive bidding processes when selling logs. As written, the bill also will require the land to be kept open to the public and that fishing and hunting regulations not change.

Somday said the tribes want to meet with environmental groups to bridge the gap of understanding.

"The tribes will in fact protect the old growth-trees," he said. "The bill clearly says that."

Meanwhile, the tribal administrator who recently returned from Washington, D.C., to meet with Oregon's Congressional delegation said the tribes will continue to push the Senate to pass the bill, and will return to the nation's capital to work for the restoration of the Siuslaw National Forest lands.

"The cultural part will be something which will have to be portrayed to the delegation and to the congress at large," Somday said. "Probably the biggest hurdle for this bill will be an understanding from the environmental community."