Proposed monument draws friends, foes

By Jeff Duewel, Daily Courier

Proponents of the Siskiyou Crest National Monument say nothing is imminent concerning the 600,000-acre monument they proposed 15 months ago.

But opponents are worried President Barack Obama will sign off on more national monuments using the Antiquities Act, in the same manner then-President Bill Clinton did in 2000 to create the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

They're worried about cutbacks in mining, timber harvests, grazing, hunting, off-road vehicle use and other activities on what is now a combination of National Forest, Bureau of Land Management and private lands.

"This, and 12 million other acres are lying at the president's feet," said Jim Frick, chairman of the Southern Oregon Resource Council. "We already have the Red Buttes, the Kalmiopsis, Soda Mountain, Oregon Caves National Monument and you've got the Wild and Scenic river set asides. How much more are we going to take away?"

Frick is one of the scheduled speakers at a Thursday night meeting on the subject in Applegate.

Already, commissioners in Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Douglas and Deschutes counties have made proclamations against any monument, fearing a designation without enough local input.

But Stephanie Tidwell, executive director of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, which proposed the monument, said when Cascade-Siskiyou was enacted there was adequate public input.

Tidwell believes a presidential designation is the most likely path for the monument. U.S. Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Wally Herger, R-Calif., have expressed their opposition.
"I personally think national monuments are a perfectly good use of the Antiquities Act," Tidwell said. "...We have to figure out a way to protect our dwindling resources.

"We think a national monument is the best way to do it."

Monument foes are circulating an internal memo leaked from the BLM months ago, called "Our Vision, Our Values" concerning "treasured lands."

The memo lists 14 sites as potential national monuments under the Antiquities Act and one of them is expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou, east of the proposed Siskiyou Crest. "This expansion could connect Cascade-Siskiyou with the proposed Siskiyou Crest National Monument," the memo reads.

The memo also urges the Obama administration to support congressional efforts to expand the National Landscape Conservation System by designation of new national monuments, national conservation areas, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers and historic trails.

Local BLM spokesman Jim Whittington says he sees no evidence that a designation is on the horizon.

"Typically when there is a serious proposal we'll get asked for maps, analysis, and information that goes into forming the administration's position," Whittington said.

Opponents bring up the 1,400 homes and private properties inside the proposed monument boundary, but a monument designation cannot take private property, Whittington said.

But it doesn't mean things wouldn't change.

For example, Whittington said, someone trying to build a new road from another direction to their property wouldn't be able to. In the Cascade-Siskiyou monument, firewood cutting is banned, and roads have been decommissioned.

But fishing, hunting, and mushroom picking for personal use are allowed.

Tidwell said monument foes have circulated some myths, including that private land would be purchased; a reduced ability to fight wildfires; and the end of grazing allotments.

Of the 92,000 acres of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, about 40,000 were still privately owned at the time it was designated, said Howard Hunter, assistant monument manager. Since then the BLM has purchased 2,500 acres from willing sellers

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Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or jduewel@thedailycourier.com