The Senate Wednesday passed a bill addressing the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur land exchange as part of a series of amendments added to a broad energy bill.  Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley introduced the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act in September to help resolve a decades-long dispute over proposed land development on the northeast side of Mt. Hood.  The bill would allow development of 107 acres of the mountain while protecting 770 acres – a land exchange that has been delayed for almost six years.  Wyden believes the Senate vote will set in motion completion of the exchange.  In 2009 Congress passed a broad public lands bill that included the Mt. Hood land exchange as part of the Mt. Hood Wilderness designation, directing the U.S. Forest Service to complete it within 16 months.  Multiple delays over the past several years have led to uncertainty, frustration, and a lawsuit against the Forest Service.  The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on a similar version of the bill at the end of February.