The Dalles Mayor Richard Mays looks at the Columbia River from his hilltop home in The Dalles, Oregon. | Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File An Oregon representative is trying to push through a bill in Congress that would cede federal public land to a local town so that it can double the size of its reservoir. On paper, Representative Cliff Bentz has indicated it's needed to accommodate the projected population growth of The Dalles, a small town on the banks of the Columbia River.