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Monument foes rally in Medford Hundreds expected to send message to Clinton, Bush By Paul Fattig More than 1,000 people opposed to national monument designation of federal lands by the Clinton administration are expected to attend a rally in Medford on Saturday. The goal is to make known the strong opposition against any more monument designations by the outgoing administration while calling for repeal of those already created by Clinton, said Larry Toelle, field director for Frontiers of Freedom/People for the USA, two pro-multiple-use groups helping to organize the event. "We intend to raise hell about all three national monuments in Southern Oregon," said Toelle, a retired computer industry employee living in Scotts Valley, Calif. Toelle was referring to the 52,000-acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument created by Clinton last June in the Soda Mountain area east of Ashland, and two other monuments proposed by environmental groups. "It would be terribly egregious if Clinton goes ahead and creates these new monuments," he said. "This rally is a wake-up call to the Bush administration that they need to do something about this." The proposed monuments include the 1 million acre Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Monument in southwest Oregon�s Siskiyou Mountains and a 206,600-acre Medicine Mountain National Monument in the area around Diamond Lake. The rally begins at noon in the Red Lion Hotel, 200 N. Riverside Ave. For those wanting to know more about how to "compete with the greens and stop the monuments," a workshop will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Red Lion. Nationally known activist Chuck Cushman, director of the American Land Rights Association, will speak. Admission is free to both events, but organizers are encouraging contributions to help defray the costs. "Anyone having an interest in this huge land grab must plan to attend," said Kurt Stark, president of the Jackson County chapter of FOF-PHUSA. "Only by joining together can the various user groups hope to preserve Congress� authority to manage federal lands." In addition to the two national groups, organizations involved in the rally include the Cave Junction-based Oregonians for Responsible Conservation Alliance, Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, Oregon Snowmobilers, Oregon Cattlemens Association, Oregon Hunters Association and the Blue Ribbon Coalition. Organizers have sent out some 11,000 notices of the event. "We expect at least 1,000 people, and I suspect it will be larger than we anticipate," Toelle said. "People are waking up in a big way what these monuments mean. Monument designation threatens all human use on the land." Moreover, opponents to the monuments say they also threaten the multiple use of private property abutting public land designated as a national monument. Since first being elected eight years ago, Clinton has established 14 national monuments, with the bulk of the designations coming last year. Under the 1906 Antiquities Act, presidents can establish national monuments through executive action. Local proponents of additional national monuments have cited environmental, scientific, historic and scenic values for protecting the sites. Opponents disagree. But they are worried about the potential for Clinton approving more monuments, including the two proposals in Southern Oregon, before he leaves office Jan. 20. "Bush�s transition team has floated the idea of repealing some of these monuments that have been created by Clinton," Toelle said. "There is some debate whether that�s doable; but, in my humble opinion, anything you can do you can undo." In any case, Saturday�s rally will send a message to Washington, D.C., that there are plenty opposed to monumental status, he said. "We think it�s about time for some grass-roots activism," he added. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.