A $1 million federal grant is moving Lane County’s planned replacement of the Bear Mountain communications tower forward, addressing an aging part of the radio network used by emergency crews in the county’s southern communities.
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Rep. Val Hoyle highlighted the award Friday, Sept. 25. The funding was secured through the federal fiscal year 2024 spending package, and Lane County commissioners voted in March 2026 to accept it. Friday’s announcement marked another step in a project already funded and accepted by the county, rather than a new congressional appropriation.
The grant will support construction of a new tower at Bear Mountain. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the award, says the replacement is intended to improve communications reliability for law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, public works crews and other essential services. The site is part of the infrastructure responders use while patrolling and answering calls in South Lane County.
For residents, the project concerns a service that usually operates out of view: the radio connection between crews in the field and the agencies coordinating their response. During a fire, medical call or other emergency, that connection allows personnel to relay conditions, request assistance and coordinate work across agencies. Replacing aging equipment at Bear Mountain is intended to make that part of Lane County’s system more dependable. Officials have not announced that the new tower is operating or provided a confirmed completion date.
The Bear Mountain award is one piece of a broader federal investment in rural Lane County communications. A separate $1 million USDA grant will pay for radio system upgrades and new emergency communications equipment at several rural locations. Lane County commissioners accepted the two awards under separate orders on March 3. Together, they amount to $2 million for related projects, with only one of the grants designated for the Bear Mountain tower.
The project’s history also clarifies what the federal money covers. An earlier request supported by Hoyle described a broader effort that included replacing the aging Bear Mountain tower and building and updating 100 multiband radios for 10 rural fire districts. That request should not be read as confirmation that every item will be purchased with the tower grant. Federal and county records identify separate awards for the tower and for radio system upgrades.
Although the construction is in Lane County, the underlying issue reaches beyond it. Emergency agencies throughout Oregon depend on radio sites and equipment to connect crews working across large rural areas. The Bear Mountain investment does not establish an upgrade to emergency communications in Jackson, Josephine or other Southern Oregon counties. It shows how a county project can move from a congressional funding request to a federal award administered through USDA and accepted by local government.
For South Lane County, the remaining question is when the replacement tower will be built and placed in service. Until the county releases a construction schedule, the confirmed development is the funding and its intended use: replacing an aging communications site that supports local emergency response.