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Recommendation over monument held back 2 weeks By PAUL FATTIG The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has postponed for two weeks making a recommendation to Interior Secretary Gale Norton concerning the future of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The delay for the recommendation, originally due by June 30, is necessary to provide additional time to study the issue following three public meetings gathering local input held in the past two weeks by the county Natural Resources Advisory Committee, officials said. Board Chairwoman Sue Kupillas sent a fax to Norton on Friday informing her that the recommendation would arrive by July 15. "The delay is because the (committee) has received so much information that it will take longer for them to synthesize the material and get their recommendation to us," Kupillas wrote. "Over 1,000 people have come to meetings to speak about the issue," she added. "There are hundreds, if not thousands, of letters, both for and against changes." Created by former President Bill Clinton last June, the 52,947-acre monument is on the Bureau of Land Management's Medford District where the Siskiyou and Cascade mountains meet about a dozen miles southeast of Ashland. Scientists have touted it for its uniquely rich biological diversity. The monument is among the 19 created or enlarged by Clinton that the Bush administration is reviewing. The local meetings were the result of a letter Norton sent to Kupillas in March. Norton had asked for local input on how the monument should be managed. The question wasn't whether the monument should exist, but how it should be managed and whether its boundaries needed to be adjusted, officials said. Norton indicated she felt there had been a lack of local input before the monument was created. Monument proponents say it was created after 10 years of debate; opponents say there was very little opportunity to comment before its creation. Last month, Norton postponed releasing the BLM's draft plan for managing the monument. The release of that document remains on hold pending a review by Norton's office, Medford District spokesman Don Ferguson said Friday. The three-member county board wants time to study the 17-member committee's recommendation before making its own to Norton, Kupillas said in an interview. Kupillas' husband, Ed, serves on the committee. The committee has received more than 5,000 responses, including some 4,600 form letters against the monument, according to committee members. However, a survey of 433 property owners with land within a mile of the monument, released earlier this month, showed 62 percent support it as it stands today. The survey was conducted by Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. No matter what the committee's recommendation, there will be a negative reaction by some, Sue Kupillas observed. "I've already been blasted all over the place," she added. Deservedly so, according to longtime monument proponent Dave Willis, chair of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council. "The disingenuous lack-of-public-process argument used against the monument by the commissioners and the Bush administration has backfired on them," Willis said. By his count, those speaking out at the meetings held June 12 in White City, June 14 in Medford and this past Wednesday in Ashland resulted in 149 speakers in favor of the monument as is and 65 opposed to it. There were 115 additional monument supporters compared to 40 opponents who didn't get a chance to speak at the Ashland meeting, he said. "It seems clear the people have now literally spoken," he said. "What would the commissioners be saying now if it were 21/2-to-one in their favor? Shame on them." He was referring to the fact the board early last year unanimously approved a resolution against creating the monument. When all the dust is settled, Applegate Valley resident J.D. Rogers, a committee member for six years, figures the recommendation will be fair. "I think it was a good thing for the board to ask for more public input," Rogers said, adding that the committee intends to be impartial. Fellow committee member John Dutcher, a retired BLM forester, agreed. "It's not going to be a vote count of the most letters or speakers for or against the monument," Dutcher said. "We're going to look at all the issues. "Very few new items came up at the meetings or from the comments," he added. "So far, we haven't seen anything new jump out at us." The committee, which met Friday to begin building a consensus on its ultimate recommendation, will meet again Monday. "I don't think we'll have a lot of consensus right off the bat," Dutcher said. The committee plans to give the board its recommendation by July 9, he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.