Oregon land swap would preserve Rajneeshee land

PORTLAND — Thousands of acres of Central Oregon land once occupied by the infamous Rajneeshpuram commune would be protected under legislation introduced Thursday by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.

The Cathedral Rock and Horse Heaven Wilderness Act would preserve almost 16,500 acres of land as wilderness.

About half of it would come from a proposed land swap between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and a nondenominational Christian organization that runs a summer camp at the former ranch once controlled by followers of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

The bill to approve the land exchange and create two wilderness areas would expand camping, fishing, hiking and hunting opportunities for the public while protecting habitat for elk, deer, bighorn sheep and fish.

Wyden, in a statement, said the legislation will "preserve these natural treasures for generations to come and will serve as a hopeful postscript to the saga of the Rajneeshee colony."

In the early 1980s, thousands of red-robed followers of the late guru came from around the world to a ranch outside the small community of Antelope. Armed guards patrolled the commune perimeter while inside the guru was cheered while he drove Rolls-Royce automobiles given to him by followers.

After taking over the Antelope City Council, some leaders of the commune plotted to take over the local county government in 1984, spiking a salad bar in The Dalles with salmonella in an effort to incapacitate non-Rajneeshee voters. The act of bioterrorism sickened 750 people but did not unseat the government.

The cult collapsed the following year, and the land eventually became Young Life's Washington Family Ranch, which attracts 700 teenage campers each week during the summer.

The ranch, however, is intertwined with BLM parcels, and better-defined boundaries will improve land management, said Forrest Reinhardt, a consultant working on the project for Young Life.