WASHINGTON — A plan to return a large swath of federal land to one of Oregon's poorest Indian tribes requires a leap of faith, Sen. Gordon Smith says.

But potential payoffs justify that, the Oregon Republican said Tuesday at a Senate hearing on his plan to transfer nearly 63,000 acres of the Siuslaw National Forest near Florence to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, to hold in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

"The proof is in the forest," Smith said. "Native people in their bones feel a stewardship of the land that frankly is more important than a law."

The Siuslaw National Forest encompasses more than 630,000 acres of the Coast Range and is considered by many to be a diverse and productive region, extending from Tillamook to Coos Bay along the Oregon coast and stretching inland to the Willamette Valley. It has offices in Corvallis.

Smith's plan drew extensive support at a hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, but ran into opposition from the Bush administration and a prominent environmental group.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, whose district includes the entire parcel, also was cool to the idea.

There is no question the tribes deserve some type of land grant to help them recover economically and culturally, DeFazio said, but the sheer size of Smith's plan makes it unworkable.

"It is clear that Senator Smith needs to keep working on this legislation," the Democratic congressman said.

Smith called the plan a "work in progress."

The tribes pledge to protect cultural resources while restoring old-growth forests and wildlife habitat and generating up to $1.1 million a year in revenue through commercial thinning and other logging projects.

The land would remain open to the public for hunting, fishing, recreation and other uses, the tribe said. No casinos or other forms of gambling would be allowed, and no sawmills would be built or operated on the land.

Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey, who oversees U.S. forest policy, called the proposed transfer too large, saying officials were concerned it could set a precedent that would encourage other tribe to seek similarly sized parcels.

Rey pledged to work with Smith and others to find alternative approaches.

Jay Ward, conservation director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council, said he also was concerned about the size of the transfer, noting that it would amount to nearly 83 acres per tribe member — 10 times the amount per tribal member in previous land bills.

Ward also said the bill could limit public access to the land and hinder legal appeals of management decisions and public comment on proposed changes.

But Cheryl Hoile, vice chairwoman of the Confederated Tribes, said the proposal has been in the works since 1997 and represents a significant compromise by tribal members. An earlier proposal would have transferred about 100,000 acres to the tribes.

The current plan is supported by a wide array of interests, Hoile said, from the National Congress of American Indians to the Douglas, Lane and Coos county commissioners; the timber industry; and several environmental groups, including the Pacific Rivers Council and Cascadia Wildlands Project.

The land transfer would "restore a small but very significant portion of our homeland," Hoile told Smith. "We cannot proceed without your active support and passage of this critical legislation."

The bill is S. 868.

On the Net:

Congress, http://thomas.loc.gov

Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw, www.ctclusi.org/