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Author to address wilderness Soda Mountain debate is focus of presentation By PAUL FATTIG A professional environmental facilitator will discuss the contentious issues in the Soda Mountain debate this evening. Dan Daggett, 55, author of "Beyond the Rangeland Conflict Toward a West That Works," will give a slide presentation at 7 p.m. in the Stevenson Union arena at Southern Oregon University. His book was nominated for the Pulitzer prize. Admission is free. "I focus on common interest," Daggett said in a telephone interview from his hometown of Flagstaff, Ariz. "I find that is much more effective than working against each other." Soda Mountain has been proposed as a national monument, a designation now being reviewed by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Last month, the Bureau of Land Management released a draft management plan and environmental impact statement for the Cascade Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area (CSEEA), which includes most of the Soda Mountain region. The agency's preferred alternative calls for expanding the area while further restricting timber harvest and cattle grazing. Located a dozen miles east of Ashland near the California border where the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains meet, the region is considered by many scientists as one of the most biologically diverse in the country. In addition to its environmental importance, the area is used by off-road vehicle enthusiasts and for cattle grazing as well as being a potential commercial timber resource. Daggett has 20 years' experience in dealing with thorny environmental issues. He was recognized as one of the top 100 grass-roots activists of the 20th century by the Sierra Club. "I started out as an environmental activist working around the West," he said. "I'm still more of an activist than a facilitator." The goal is to get participants beyond talking about what they want the other to do to listening to each other, he said, adding that ranchers and environmental activists have a lot in common once they shed their defenses. Daggett, who hopes to spend a little time walking the land, will be showing examples of how diverse interests can work together to obtain similar goals. "These are the same collaborative efforts that have been used successfully in Africa, the Middle East, Russia," he said. "The same principles of working together can be used anywhere." His appearance is being sponsored by the Jackson County Stockmen's Association, the Native Plant Society, the Dead Indian Stockmen's Association, the Siskiyou County Stockmen's Association, Siskiyou County Sportsmen, Oregon Farm Bureau, California Farm Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service and People for the USA. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA