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Petition seeks monument papers Environmentalists want documentation, but Jackson County says they have it all By JILL BRISKEY Environmental organizations filed a petition with the state attorney general Tuesday seeking more documentation from Jackson County regarding the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. But Jackson County officials say they have already turned over all the requested items, and claim the environmental groups are asking for papers that just don't exist. "There's no reason in the world not to give them what they wanted," Commissioner Jack Walker said. "They are welcome to any of it." A spokesman for the attorney general's office in Salem said Wednesday the petition falls outside the agency's jurisdiction and must be filed with the Jackson County District Attorney's Office. Rogue Group Sierra Club chairman Tom Dimitre said he will re-file as soon as the attorney general's official reply arrives. "We don't give up that easily," Dimitre said. "We think there's still more documents. We just want some finality with that." The Sierra Club, along with members of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands, World Wildlife Fund and various individuals, began requesting papers from the county in June. Dimitre said he wanted to investigate the county's claim that an overwhelming majority of roughly 6,000 written comments were in opposition to the monument. The 52,947-acre monument was created on federal land by former president Clinton in June 2000 and is situated where the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains merge southeast of Ashland. The commissioners have recommended that the federal government greatly reduce the size of the monument. "We wanted to review those comments that were made," Dimitre said. "Now, we want to get the history, as complete as we can." The groups filed a public records request June 25 asking for numerous additional items related to the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. County Administrator Sue Slack said the Sierra Club paid for the thousands of copies to be made. County employees spent several hours handling the request, she added. "We sent them everything we had," Slack said. "We gave them everything that existed." Dimitre said the petition was filed following a letter, dated Aug. 3, requesting additional items that never received a response. "We don't know if that means they're not giving us other documents or what," Dimitre said. "Once we know (if we have all the documents) we can go from there." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.