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Commissioners penning anti-monument-expansion letter to Obama Howard Prairie Lake is included in the proposed expansion area of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Tuesday Nov 1, 2016 at 3:59 PM Nov 2, 2016 at 8:48 AM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous The Jackson County Board of Commissioners plans to send a letter to President Barack Obama voicing opposition to the proposed expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument east of Ashland. The commissioners decided Tuesday to send a letter along with a transcript of more than four hours of public testimony they heard last week while holding a forum in Medford about the expansion. Commissioners called expansion supporters and opponents up in alternating fashion. Testimony was evenly split before the forum ended at 10 p.m., but opponents outnumbered supporters by a ratio of about 2-to-1 counting those who spoke, people who were unable to speak because time ran out and those who submitted written comments, said Rick Dyer, chairman of the board of commissioners. The monument was created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton under the authority of the Antiquities Act. Supporters of an expansion say it would further protect the rich biological diversity of the area, improve quality of life, enhance recreation and boost tourism. Commissioners said they are concerned Obama could use that same act to expand the monument without public input. Dyer said he believes the 1906 Antiquities Act was intended to stop the looting and desecration of Native American sites — not designate broad swaths of public land as monuments around the nation. "To me, that's a huge concern," he said. In their letter, commissioners plan to point to the 1937 O&C Lands Act, which gives county governments a share of revenues from timber sales on federal land. Those revenues help fund an array of county government services to the public. Commissioners worry about logging cutbacks in the monument, as well as the curtailing of grazing rights and access to the land by people with limited mobility, hunters and people using motorized vehicles. Supporters have pointed out that monument lands are open for hunting and other recreation and that private lands within the monument's borders are not subject to rules governing federally designated monuments. U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, have proposed doubling the size of the 66,000-acre monument to preserve its unique biological diversity, particularly in the face of climate change. They say current boundaries don't take into account full watersheds, fail to protect the headwaters of Jenny Creek and other streams and don't include high-elevation public lands needed for the monument's unique flora and fauna as they react to climate change. Merkley held a meeting in Ashland earlier this month, but commissioners, all of whom are Republicans, believe opponents weren't given enough notice. Supporters wearing matching T-shirts outnumbered opponents. Dyer said the input county commissioners gathered at their forum more accurately represents the divided views of locals. Commissioners discussed a potential court challenge if the monument is expanded, saying they could try and assert the county's rights under the O&C Lands Act. County Administrator Danny Jordan said a court fight would be a years-long battle. While Jackson, Klamath and Siskiyou county commissioners oppose an expansion, the city councils of Ashland and Talent support the proposal. The chambers of commerce in the two towns back an expansion, but the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce has voiced opposition. — Reach staff reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.