Siskiyou County’s Natural Resource Policy Specialist Ric Costales
stated Tuesday that he had been charged with bringing forth information
on the creation of national monuments and information on how current
monuments are maintained, with a five-hour forum before the Siskiyou
County Board of Supervisors aimed at achieving those goals.
The board had previously discussed the proposed creation of a Siskiyou
Crest National Monument and the expansion of the existing
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument into California, proposals referenced
in a United States Department of the Interior (DOI) document leaked in
February.
Costales listed the various agencies present at the forum, noting that
he had invited the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands (KS Wild) group,
proponents of the creation of the Siskiyou Crest National Monument, to
the meeting, but the offer had been declined.
In a letter to Costales, Laurel Sutherlin of KS Wild states, “We are
happy to receive constructive input on the proposal from the public,
local governments and any other interested parties, and we look forward
to creating opportunities to discuss Siskiyou Crest management issues
with residents of Siskiyou County. Unfortunately we do not feel the
event you are organizing will be a venue where our voices can be heard
in a fair and respectful way.
“Our concerns about issues ranging from coordinated fire management to
grazing allotment trespass to inadequate road maintenance have
consistently been ridiculed by the supervisors. Hence we are concerned
that the forum will consist primarily of political theatre and divisive
grandstanding,” Sutherlin said.
Costales had also invited representatives from the United States Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), the Klamath National Forest (KNF) and from
legislative offices, with the BLM representatives speaking first.
Nancy Haug, manager of the BLM’s Northern California District, and
Howard Hunter, current manager of the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument, were both present to give the crowd information on monuments.
Haug stated that she has not received any requests for information from
the DOI regarding the proposed monuments and that currently not much is
known about the possible outcomes of the proposals.
KNF Forest Supervisor Patty Grantham and Hunter echoed Haug’s
statement, noting in answers to the board that they cannot comment on
what may happen if a national monument is created before any details are
formulated.
One concern expressed by the board at previous meetings is the
possibility of the use of a presidential declaration creating the
monuments under powers derived from the American Antiquities Act of
1906, which states “[t]hat the President of the United States is hereby
authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation
historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other
objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the
lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be
national monuments.”
Hunter noted that the Cascade-Siskiyou monument was created in 2000
under a declaration by President Bill Clinton.
According to Hunter, the management plan for the monument took a number
of years to complete and details a number of activities allowed and
restricted within the monument’s boundaries.
Recreational activities include rock climbing, bicycling, hiking and
dispersed camping, along with hunting and fishing, according to the
summary of the resource management plan. The plan states that
off-highway vehicle travel must be on designated open roads and
collection of rocks, minerals, petrified wood and other resources is
prohibited. Also noted is that up to one gallon per day of fruits,
berries, nuts or mushrooms for personal use is allowed by permit.
Hunter noted that timber harvest is prohibited within monument
boundaries except for projects designed to provide ecological benefit,
and he explained that while grazing is not expressly prohibited on
privately-owned lands within the monument, a number of owners of grazing
leases have since donated their lands with compensation for that
donation. He also explained that the grazing issue has proven to be the
most contentious. Later in the forum, District 3 Supervisor Michael
Kobseff stated that he feels the system is set up in such a way as to
force grazing lease holders off of their lands through regulation.
Hunter stated that the lease holders were in a position where they
could stay on the land and accept changes to the leases and further
restrictions,-- or donate the land.
The entire resource management plan can be found at http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/medford/plans/csnm.php.
Asked by Board Chair Marcia Armstrong why the Cascade Siskiyou, when
declared, had not included the extension into California, Haug stated
that the BLM had found the public in Oregon to be more accepting of the
monument.
Armstrong also asked if the absence of grazing activity in areas where
it had previously taken place has resulted in an increase in fire hazard
as the local grasses proliferate. Hunter answered, stating the period
of grazing absence has not yet been long enough to assess the full
impacts.
Answering a question from District 4 Supervisor Grace Bennett, Hunter
explained the main differences between a national monument and
wilderness designation, noting that wilderness designations, which must
be approved by Congress, have much more stringent restrictions in order
to preserve natural conditions free from human interference. National
monuments, he stated, are typically multiple-use areas subject to
Federal Land Management Policy Act guidelines.
Hunter noted that in the case of the Cascade-Siskiyou monument,
activities on private lands within the boundaries typically continue
unaltered, including private timber harvest and road use on the private
lands. However, he explained that without any details of what the
proposed monuments would be, it would not be possible to know the
potential impacts to recreation, grazing and other activities in the
areas.
When the discussion turned to Grantham and KNF District Ranger Ken
Harris, each noted the particular activities and practices currently
present in the proposed boundaries of the Siskiyou Crest National
Monument.
Kobseff asked Grantham if she would support the designation, but she
said that she would not be the one to answer the question. When Kobseff
asked how the designation might change management practices, Grantham
reiterated that without any details, it would not be possible to know
how practices might change in the area’s management.
Note: Coverage of this event will continue in Friday’s edition of
the Siskiyou Daily News.
Yreka, Calif. —
