Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Management Plan Released – Ashland News

The Director of the Bureau of Land Management will attempt to make a decision on any protests. Chairman of the Wilderness Council calls much of this “lip service”

By Tony Boom for the Rogue Valley Times

The Bureau of Land Management has submitted a proposed resource management plan for the management and protection of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

The underlying purpose of the RMP is to provide a management framework, including goals and management direction, that will guide BLM to protect and restore the resources, objects and values ​​for which the area is designated over the next 20 years.

The plan became available on October 11th. The deadline for filing protests against the plan is November 12th. Those who participated in the planning process and have an interest that could be affected by the proposed plan may file a protest.

“The plan ensures we are stewards of the unique resources the monument protects,” said Oregon/Washington State BLM Director Barry Bushue. The plan is an effort by many companies and reflects shared values, he said.

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was established by a presidential proclamation in 2000 by Bill Clinton and expanded by another presidential proclamation by Barack Obama in 2017. The area provides habitat for a number of rare plant and animal species across its three ecoregions.

The current boundary now covers approximately 113,820 acres of federal land, including BLM-managed land in the Medford and Lakeview districts of Oregon and the Northern California district. Approximately 58,578 acres of state and privately owned land lie within the boundary but are not part of the monument.

A draft of the plan the agency submitted in April received nearly 1,000 comments. Four public meetings were held this spring to gather input. The process has been evolving since June 2023, when public meetings were held to solicit comments for the first update to the original 2008 management plan.

The draft included one option for inaction and three with varying degrees of management. The RMP includes most of the mid-level action options with portions of others.

Monument features with environmental impacts considered in the plan include aquatic and riparian habitats, areas of wilderness features, livestock pastures, minerals, scenic and historic trails, recreation and visitor services, soils, travel and transportation management, vegetation, visual resources and wildfire management and wildlife.

After processing protests, the BLM Director will attempt to make a decision on each protest. After any protests are resolved, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek will conduct a consistency review.

The final step would be a 30-day consistency review, said Kyle Sullivan, public affairs specialist at the BLM. The agency could then make the decision to finalize the plan, which is expected to happen in January, he said.

The proposed plan does not provide for the transfer of areas of critical environmental risk or research natural areas. BLM determined that the management instructions in the plan would provide specific management attention that would apply to the entire monument and adequately protect the resource or value.

“In the process of drafting the plan, it was determined that (protection) is provided for in the plan. The additional planning required to manage these assets is unnecessary,” Sullivan said.

BLM’s two-volume, 1,128-page monument plan appears to have several gaps, said Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council.

“Despite the BLM’s lip service – a quarter of a century since its founding – the BLM still does not fully understand that this is a national monument with the primary purpose of protecting biodiversity. It is not normal BLM land,” Willis wrote in response to questions from the Rogue Valley Times.

Willis said the refusal to continue or designate new areas of critical environmental risk and research natural areas is an example of the BLM’s attempt to lower, if not circumvent, the BLM’s limit of responsibility for historic preservation.

For more information or questions, please contact the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Resource Management Plan team at 458-246-8861 or email blm_csnm_rmp@blm.gov.

Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.