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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW California man dies in I-5 rollover ... Medford man wins Megabucks jackpot ... Budget tops $339 million for 2016-17 ... California man dies in I-5 rollover ... Medford man wins Megabucks jackpot ... Budget tops $339 million for 2016-17 ... MONUMENT TRANSPORTATION PLAN: TWO VIEWS Guest Opinion: Proposed road closures threaten access to public lands Comment By Gary Reed MailTribune.com By Gary Reed Posted Apr. 10, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Gary Reed Posted Apr. 10, 2016 at 2:00 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Guest Opinion: BLM should close more roads in the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument... » Social News The morning had begun at 4 a.m. and now, 14 hours later, the old green Peterbilt logging truck was rambling out of the woods with its freshly loaded stack of six logs. This would be the third trip today past Pilot Rock to the mill to dump the load. My father had been hauling logs throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California for as long as I can remember and there was a good possibility I was sitting alongside him with BB gun in hand, waiting for a load check so that I might chase after some nearby squirrels. I can still remember as my father explained how logging done correctly was much like raising corn: you would cut the timber as it matured and replant for a future cut, the same as you would do a corn stalk. The Bureau of Land Management managed much of the land that my father would have logged. BLM records indicate they managed 16.3 million acres with 738 employees in 1965. Their expenditures on forest development, wildfire and misc other charges amounted to just over $26 million. As recently as 2014, controlled acreage remained virtually the same, but according to BLM records, over 1,600 employees were required. The same records show expenditures exceeded $256 million. In June 2000, after the environmentalists had totally devastated the logging industry with the spotted owl and other environmental concerns, the Clinton administration decided to create the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which now totals 62,000 acres. As a point of comparison, the average annual Oregon harvest of timber from World War II through 1989 was 7 billion to 9 billion board feet, which sent $1.5 billion of O&C money to local counties and schools. In 2013 only 4.2 million board feet were harvested, and today less than $40 million is being used as a Band-Aid through Congress. The BLM now carries an inflated number of employees, expenditures have skyrocketed and logging has decreased. The need for BLM in its current condition is suspect at best. So now the BLM pushes for removal of 165 miles of roadway, maybe in an effort to justify its numbers. Removing those roads does not come without cost. Perhaps an estimate of what costs are involved to close 165 miles of road and turning them back to nature should be given to the public. History proves that where timber is not logged, fires will eventually arrive. The Transportation Management Plan document even admits “limiting vehicular access … increases the chance of wildfire … increasing the fire suppression costs.” Roads that are closed will have to be rebuilt to access those fires; the taxpayer bill increases. As a 58-year resident of Oregon, I have paid my share of taxes to this state. I have been an avid hunter and fisherman, bought licenses and tags and hunted every corner of the current monument for over 45 years. Now that I am older and walking is harder, it seems that I am the one being discriminated against by the closure of all of these roads. Many of the areas that I have hunted have already been gated up or “recontoured.” With much of the land now being bought up by private parties I find it harder and harder every year to even get on land that I can enjoy. I find it interesting that the only public meeting that the BLM has is in Ashland, a town known for the environmentalists, many of whom do not even live in this state. Perhaps we should have a meeting that includes the Jackson County commissioners, who are actually supporting the citizens by saying no to these road closures. The old green Peterbilt has since been decommissioned and my father passed away, but I would hope that people could remember those loggers were the ones that helped protect and make these woods available to all of us. In my opinion it would be a great disrespect to those who in the past and present have logged the woods of Southern Oregon by denying their children and grandchildren the same opportunities that they once enjoyed. Closing any roads and denying the access of any part of the forest is not acceptable. My children and theirs should not be locked out of any public lands. It seems to me what the BLM is proposing would be the same as showing a young child a new playground and then only letting a select few go into the playground while the others are left looking in. Gary Reed lives in Phoenix. By Gary Reed MailTribune.com By Gary Reed Posted Apr. 10, 2016 at 2:00 AM » 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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