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3 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 Jackson County Commissioners oppose Crater Lake wilderness proposal ... Court gives class-action status to Jacksonville protesters against Bush ... Oregon revenue forecast shows slight uptick; spending cuts could be averted ... Jackson County Commissioners oppose Crater Lake wilderness proposal ... Court gives class-action status to Jacksonville protesters against Bush ... Oregon revenue forecast shows slight uptick; spending cuts could be averted ... WILDERNESS Jackson County Commissioners oppose Crater Lake wilderness proposal Commissioners cite wildfire risk, ban on motorized vehicles By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Dec. 2, 2015 @ 5:01 pm By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Dec. 2, 2015 @ 5:01 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is voicing its opposition to a proposed Crater Lake Wilderness Area. Commissioners Rick Dyer and Colleen Roberts voted Wednesday to proclaim their strong opposition to a proposal to designate a Crater Lake Wilderness Area encompassing Crater Lake National Park and surrounding U.S. Forest Service lands in the Umpqua and Rogue River national forests. Commissioner Doug Breidenthal, who has been criticized for missing at least 30 commissioners' meetings so far this year, was on a trip to Colorado for a National Association of Counties meeting. Dyer said Breidenthal also supports the proclamation. Commissioners cited a list of concerns, including increased wildfire risks and a wilderness area ban on the use of motorized vehicles. In 2009, several environmental groups proposed a new 500,000-acre wilderness area that would include the national park. It would connect the existing wilderness areas around Diamond Peak, Mount Thielsen and Mount McLoughlin, creating a 90-mile swath of new wilderness stretching from north to south. The wilderness area would surround the west and east sides of Diamond Lake, according to a map by Oregon Wild, one of the groups supporting the proposal. In a proclamation, commissioners said "much of the area is a high-use recreational area around Diamond Lake and Crater Lake for summer and winter activities, nearly all centered around motorized uses." Motorized vehicles, as well as bicycles, cannot be used inside wilderness areas. "Public lands can be utilized responsibly by motor-sport users," said Dyer. According to Oregon Wild, a wilderness area designation would not affect access roads and the Crater Lake Rim Road used by the public. It would affect backcountry routes and areas. Dyer said commissioners are also concerned Crater Lake National Park's let-it-burn wildfire policy could be extended throughout the proposed wilderness area. Wildfire could escape a wilderness area boundary. "We're concerned about the let-it-burn policy and the potential for uncontained wildfire and its effect on land around it," he said. The proclamation cites potential wildfire danger to cabins, lodges and campgrounds in the area. It also notes wildfire smoke from the Diamond Lake area could negatively impact air quality in the Rogue Valley. Crater Lake National Park has a policy to let wildfires burn during most years if they don't threaten buildings, homes and public-use areas. Earlier this year, park officials announced a temporary policy change to suppress all fires because of record low snowfall last winter. Firefighters battled the lightning-sparked National Creek Complex fires during the summer. The two fires burned nearly 21,000 acres total in the northwest corner of the national park and in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Oregon Wild Communications Associate Arran Robertson said the area around Crater Lake is important habitat for deer and elk, which are disturbed by motorized vehicles. He said Oregon Wild has reached out to snowmobile clubs to try and discuss the issue. Robertson said environmental groups also have reached out to mountain bikers and are willing to adjust the boundaries of their wilderness area proposal to avoid impacts on biking routes. As for wildfire, Robertson said fires have been suppressed by humans for more than a century, leading to overgrown forests and increased wildfire activity. "We don't have the resources to continue to write a blank check for firefighting every year," he said, referring to the soaring cost to fight wildfires in the West. Allowing wildfires to burn naturally would help forests return to a natural state in which fire regularly burned through areas, he said. Robertson said people who build structures in fire-prone areas need to be able to accept wildfire risk. He said the timber industry wrote language opposing the wilderness area designation and is passing it around to elected officials. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution in late November opposing the designation. The Klamath County Board of Commissioners took a similar action Tuesday. Robertson said the moves are being orchestrated by the timber industry. Douglas Timber Operators Executive Director Bob Ragon presented a resolution against the wilderness designation to commissioners in Douglas County at their meeting in late November. He said at the time Jackson, Josephine and Klamath County officials also would be asked to sign the resolution, according to news accounts. Ragon said snowmobile clubs and businesses had signed the resolution as well. No one gave a presentation about the anti-wilderness area proclamation at the Jackson County commissioners meeting Wednesday. Dyer said he didn't know the genesis of the proclamation, other than the issue was brought forward by Breidenthal. "This is something brought to our board's attention recently," Dyer said. Robertson said the environmental groups have collected 31,000 signatures in support of the designation and submitted those to U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. He said 200 business and organizations also have signed on in support of the designation. Environmental groups supporting the designation include the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Umpqua Watersheds, Crater Lake Institute and Environment Oregon, according to Oregon Wild. Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-776-4486 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous . By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Dec. 2, 2015 @ 5:01 pm » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » 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. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site 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. 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