Dexter Completes Forty-Mile Trek Around Mt. Hood to Shape Public Lands Policy

September 2, 2025 Press Release PORTLAND, OR — Last Friday, Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (OR-03), M.D., the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, completed a four-day, forty-mile backpacking trek around Mt. Hood along the Timberline Trail. Throughout the hike, Dexter met with members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, environmental advocates, recreations, conservationists, youth advocacy organizations, and U.S. Forest Service staff. These discussions will inform upcoming federal policy proposals aimed at protecting and preserving Mt. Hood and surrounding public lands for generations to come. “Forty miles of hiking made clear that Oregonians from all walks of life demand bold action to protect these treasured places. The climate crisis is accelerating, visitor use is surging, and federal resources are diminishing. We must preserve Mt. Hood for our children and grandchildren,” said Rep. Dexter. “That’s why I’m committed to using my role on the Natural Resources Committee to advance federal policies that strengthen wildfire prevention and response, build durable Tribal partnerships in stewardship, support ecosystem health under climate stress, and balance growing recreation demand with long-term wilderness protection and forest resilience. These are the questions I carried with me on the trail—and the ones I’ll answer in Congress.” Image The trek marks twenty years since former Congressmen Earl Blumenauer and Greg Walden completed the same hike, which helped inspire major bipartisan legislation to steward Mt. Hood National Forest. Dexter’s journey, undertaken in the midst of intensifying wildfire seasons and mounting threats to public lands, builds on that legacy with a renewed focus on climate resilience, tribal partnership, and equitable access to nature. Image Image