WASHINGTON -- A four-year effort to buy out cattle ranchers who hold grazing leases on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is moving forward in the Senate.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would get cattle off the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon. The monument was created in 2000 to protect the rare mix of plants found where the Siskiyou Mountains connect with the Cascade Range.

Oregon's two senators, Republican Gordon Smith and Democrat Ron Wyden, hailed the bill as a breakthrough after years of negotiation. The legislation would provide private payments to ranchers who give up leasing rights. In exchange, about 23,000 acres of new wilderness would be designated within the monument, permanently protecting it.

"At a crossroad that required balance and long-term vision, ranchers and environmentalists came together and found a way to make this land work for all," Smith said. "This fair, commonsense solution will keep the issue out of court, keep ranchers in the saddle and protect our precious natural resources."

But Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he feared the bill could be a "bait and switch" that could victimize ranchers.

Walden was referring to a change in the bill that removed a requirement for federal payments to the ranchers in exchange for giving up leasing rights. Instead, a private conservation group would pay the ranching families an undisclosed amount based on the number of cattle and their productivity.

"I don't want a pivotal party to this agreement to fall prey to a bait and switch. I want a square deal," Walden said.

Minutes after the Senate panel approved the bill, Walden issued a press release announcing that he was sponsoring his own bill on grazing -- one that includes up to $2 million in federal payments to ranchers.

Walden said his bill also would restore "missing language" from the Senate bill that spells out terms of a deal reached between environmentalists and ranchers to compensate ranchers for giving up their grazing leases before wilderness is established.

"Where I grew up, a handshake is as good as a contract. In Washington, D.C., I've learned that you better get it in writing," Walden said in the press release, headlined "A deal is a deal."

Walden, who has been in Congress a decade, said he has "found out the hard way that if you don't have a guarantee in writing, it likely won't happen."

Wyden's chief of staff, Josh Kardon, called Walden's comments offbase.

"That's a pretty hard shot at Senator Smith, who is the lead sponsor of the bill," Kardon said. "With friends like Greg I'm not sure Gordon needs (Democratic opponents Steve) Novick and (Jeff) Merkley."

Kardon and other supporters said lawmakers would not have acted without consulting both environmentalists and ranchers. The federal payments were removed from the bill because of opposition from Senate leaders in both parties on the Energy and Natural Resources panel.

"We're grateful that given fiscal realities in the Senate that Senators Smith and Wyden have been able to move the deal forward," said Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, an advocacy group that has long pushed for the deal.

The wilderness council will pay ranchers an undisclosed amount in exchange for giving up grazing rights.

Willis and others said the language approved Wednesday reflected the latest agreement between conservationists and the ranchers.

"There was no surprise today," Willis said.

Bob Miller, whose family has ranched on the Cascade-Siskiyou for generations, agreed.

"We've been working with Senator Smith's office all along," Miller said, adding that ranchers have long known that federal payments were unlikely, given federal budget restraints and opposition to buyouts among many lawmakers.

Miller, of Siskiyou County, Calif., said he appreciated Walden's efforts as well.

"He's trying to make sure ranchers' interests are protected," Miller said.