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--> --> Trio pledges unbiased monument decision By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Jackson County Commissioners said they have open minds about the future of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument although they previously opposed the designation of the monument. In March of 2000, the commissioners voted to express opposition to the designation of the monument, which then was proclaimed by former President Bill Clinton in June of that year. Commissioners Sue Kupillas, a Democrat, and Ric Holt, a Republican, also spoke at an anti-monument rally and parade the day after the 52,947-acre monument was created. Kupillas said the commissioners' opposition to the monument was centered on concerns that a broad cross-section of the public was not consulted when then U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt visited the area to talk to selected representatives of various groups. Babbitt spoke to representatives of ranching, motorcycle, environmental, timber and other interests. "We're not opposing the monument now," Kupillas said. The commissioners stance on the monument became a major issue after current U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton sent a letter earlier this year to federal, tribal, state and county officials asking them to gather public input and make recommendations about monuments designated by Clinton. Last week, the Jackson County Natural Resources Advisory Committee, tasked with making a recommendation on the monument to the commissioners, capped off a series of three public meetings to gather input. Several hundred people attended the meetings, with a majority speaking in favor of the monument, and the committee received more than 5,000 written comments. The committee continues to meet to review the comments and formulate a recommendation for the commissioners, and plans to hand in that recommendation on or before July 9, according to committee member John Dutcher. The commissioners then will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 11 in the Jackson County Courthouse Auditorium, 10 S. Oakdale Ave., to formulate their monument recommendation for Norton. Although Kupillas said she opposed the designation of the monument because of its size and the process involved, she said she has not come out in opposition of the monument since it was designated. "I've accepted that we're going to have a monument," she said. Commissioner Jack Walker, a Republican, said he does not wish to comment on the monument issue while the natural resource advisory committee has yet to report on the public meetings and make a recommendation. "Our purpose is truly to be as unbiased as we can," Walker said. He said he had opposed the designation because the Clinton administration consulted with specific organizations rather than the public as a whole. "We're headed in the direction of getting input from the whole community. If that process would have taken place initially, the outcome may have been different," Walker said. Holt said he has many unanswered questions about issues such as possible impacts on private property falling within the monument boundary, wildfire suppression, road closures and accessibility for the disabled and the biodiversity of the area. Holt said he may invite a range of people who spoke at the public meetings to come before the commissioners at the July 11 meeting to provide additional information. "I'm not decided yet," he said. "Since our meeting more than likely will be televised, I think it will give - with these people speaking - all of us a better understanding of what this all means." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing