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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Drilling for the Big One ... Ticket availability ... Picking a president ... Drilling for the Big One ... Ticket availability ... Picking a president ... ENVIRONMENT BLM reopens comments on monument transportation plan Plan would eliminate between 6 and 165 miles of roads Comment By Mark Freeman For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Mark Freeman For the Tidings Posted Jun. 5, 2016 at 3:58 PM By Mark Freeman For the Tidings Posted Jun. 5, 2016 at 3:58 PM » Social News Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument users will have more chances to speak their mind about federal land managers' plans to close or decommission 6 to 165 miles of old logging roads within the monument boundaries. The Bureau of Land Management has reopened public comment on its long-awaited draft transportation plan, which grapples with how to address 412 miles of roads that everyone from hunters and birders to wildland firefighters use to access a 60,434-acre chunk of the monument east of Ashland. The initial public comment period lapsed May 9, but BLM managers have extended the deadline on its Draft Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Transportation Management Plan and Environmental Assessment through Aug. 18 . "We realized it was something of great interest to people, and we want people to have the time to really look at what we're contemplating up there," said BLM spokesman Jim Whittington. "A lot of people feel very passionate about the monument and what they think needs to happen there," Whittington said. BLM has collected comments, but they have not been counted, said Joel Brumm, the monument's assistant manager. The final decision will be made later in the year after BLM has evaluated the public comments. The final plan will determine which roads, routes and trails will be left open, closed or decommissioned and how to do so. The draft plan addresses what roads should remain open to fire trucks and other public vehicles, snowmobilers, Nordic skiers and mountain bikers while addressing the monument's main goal of protecting biological diversity in an area once heavily roaded for logging but still popular for recreation. Studies show roads can fragment wildlife habitat, lead to erosion, put sediment in streams and harm the land, which the proclamation creating the monument in 2000 states shall be protected for its biological diversity and ecological significance. In the works since 2011, the draft plan and accompanying environmental study offer four alternatives that run the gamut of resource protection. They include Alternative 2, which outlines the closing or decommissioning of 165 miles of roads, more than a third of which already are overgrown and impassable, according to the BLM. The draft plan lists no alternative as preferred by BLM. Those who seek fewer decommissioned roads have weighed in over access concerns. Others have sought higher resource protection and improved wildlife habitat that they see as fragmented and threatened by roads and road use. Hunters have spoken out on both sides of the debate, with some worried about places to drive and camp, while others value increased backcountry experiences fostered by fewer roads. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Mark Freeman For the Tidings Posted Jun. 5, 2016 at 3:58 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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