Greater Idaho effort seeks federal help as Oregon lawmakers keep border plan stalled

ROSEBURG, Ore. — The push to redraw the Oregon-Idaho border has gained support in parts of Eastern Oregon in recent years, even as some counties have reversed course and the effort remains stalled in Salem.

The Greater Idaho Project is a movement that has been covered for years. Thirteen Oregon counties have voted to consider expanding the Idaho border to cover much of Oregon. Two of those counties — Harney and Wallowa — later voted to repeal their decisions to side with Greater Idaho.

In Douglas County, voters rejected a Greater Idaho-related measure in the May 2022 election. Measure 10-185 asked Douglas County voters to consider expanding the Idaho border. The measure was defeated with 52.6 percent of the vote, meaning more than 47 percent voted for consideration of expanding the Idaho border.

Greater Idaho effort seeks federal help as Oregon lawmakers keep border plan stalled

After that vote, David Jaques, identified as the leader of Greater Idaho in Douglas County, said in 2022, “I’m a lifelong Oregonian. I don’t wanna move to Idaho. Well the good news is we don’t have to move. We’re just gonna draw the line around here.”

The movement’s executive director, Matt MacCaw, said the effort has support from Idaho but remains blocked by Oregon lawmakers.

“We have Idaho as a willing partner saying, hey, all these people in eastern Oregon want to be a part of Idaho. We will take them. We would love to have that conversation,” MacCaw said. “We have the people of Eastern Oregon voting and saying, we want to just peacefully secede from Oregon and join Idaho. But the Oregon Legislature, Western Oregon, is holding eastern Oregon captive against our wishes. The Oregon Legislature refuses to take up the issue, refuses to to have any conversation about letting us go.”

Greater Idaho has now turned its focus to the Trump administration, asking the federal government to fix the standstill.