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Photo by Bob Pennell Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt pauses during a hike through the Soda Mountain study area to discuss options for its management with ranchers, motorcyclists, timber representatives and environmentalists. All will get their say about diverse area, Babbitt vows Interior chief visits mountainous spot, says decision due in a year By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt stood squarely at the crossroads of the Cascade/Siskiyou mountains Thursday morning. Comment period ends today Today is the last day to comment before the Bureau of Land Management begins building a management plan for the future of the Cascade-Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area. Last month, the agency asked for public input before it began working on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the area. Three field tours already have been held as well as a public meeting. Stretching from Jenny Creek on the east to the Siskiyou Summit, the area is slightly more than 12 miles wide. It is about 10 miles deep from the Horseshoe Ranch area in Northern California to Highway 66 in Oregon. The draft EIS is expected in March 2000, followed by a 90-day public comment period on the draft. A final decision is expected in October 2000. Written comments should be sent to Richard Drehobl, Ashland Field Manager, Medford District BLM, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504. As he stood on Soda Mountain just west of Pilot Rock, the center of what scientists say is one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America, Babbitt noted that humanity is at a crossroads of its own in terms of deciding how to protect the region's unique features. "The time is at hand for a decision during the coming year," Babbitt told the diverse group that had accompanied him on the hike. "I want to make that decision with you, with transparency and an open discussion. I vow to you there will be no surprises. "I'll give you some good clear signals of what's on my mind, then I'll come out and discuss it with you again," he added. "We'll keep talking until everybody has their say." At issue is the Cascade Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area, roughly 40,000 acres nestled high in the mountains immediately east of Ashland and in far Northern California. The Bureau of Land Management is studying the area to determine how to best manage it; this could include everything from creating a national monument to lesser levels of environmental protection. Babbitt hiked to the site with representatives of Jackson County, cattle ranchers, motorcycle riders, members of the timber industry and environmentalists. After a few comments, Babbitt asked the group for suggestions. "Give it to me with the bark straight on," he said. The region should be designated the "Soda Mountain National Ecological Area," said Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council. As the first step in creating such a federally protected area, he presented Babbitt with a deed for 75 acres in the Scotch Creek Research Natural Area in the middle of the ecological emphasis area. "Here's the deed ... a gift from the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council," Willis said. "Because we like and trust the direction of the agency in this planning process, there are no deed restrictions on this. "We trust you to do the right thing," he added. The right thing, said Sue Kupillas, a member of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, would be to make a decision that includes multiple use. "As a county that is dependent on timber revenues and a county that has multiple use values, we have an interest in having this managed in a way that recognizes a wide range of values," she told Babbitt. She asked Babbitt to give local residents the opportunity to come up with innovative solutions. "We want you to give us an opportunity to do that, rather than have a top-down regulatory process," she said. No one disagreed with an assessment by scientists about the uniqueness of the area. "There is a convergence of numerous differing plant communities and geologic formations that converge here, creating an enormous amount of biological diversity," said Tom Sensenig, an ecologist with the BLM's Medford District. "Our concept of an ecological emphasis area as scientists is to be able to manage and provide for long-term conservation and sustainability of these ecosystems," Sensenig said. "It's a fire-prone environment. Many of these plant communities have developed as a result of fire." That includes about 80 percent of local plant life, he added. There are roughly 100 butterfly species alone that depend on the area's diverse habitat, observed Frank Lang, Southern Oregon University biology professor emeritus who is serving as an adviser on the BLM project. There are also some 80 species of birds and eight bat species in the area, he said. "This simply reflects the ecological diversity of the area," he said. But it has also long been used by humans, he said. "Pilot Rock has been a beacon for travels north and south for probably as long as humans have been in the area," he said. The human use shouldn't be forgotten, said Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. He presented Babbitt with a wedge of wood that he said represented how much wood a person uses each day. Don't forget those who like to use off-road vehicles, said Medford resident Rocky Reeser, representing the Motorcycle Riders Association. In particular, he urged that the Schoheim Jeep Road, a 25-mile track through the area that serves as access for firefighting as well as off-road vehicles, be left open. But Dominick DellaSala, a forest ecologist who is director of the Klamath-Siskiyou region for the World Wildlife Fund, sided with Willis. Less than 1 percent of the BLM land in southwest Oregon is dedicated to wilderness, DellaSala said. "Most of the land here is already under multiple-use management," he said. "There is incredible development pressure in the Rogue Valley. We also need solitude for future generations. This is one of the few places in southwest Oregon that meets that criteria." But Greensprings area cattle rancher Jim Miller, representing the Jackson County Stockmen's Association, spoke out for cattle grazing. If those who have grazing permits are stopped from using those permits, Uncle Sam should compensate them, he said. Their concerns would be considered, Babbitt said, reiterating that he didn't come with a decision in mind. "I'm not here to anticipate any course of action other than the sense that the year 2000 should be the year of decision," he said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA