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Babbitt suggests Soda Mt. monument President would decide on uses By Paul Fattig Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt has recommended to President Clinton that Soda Mountain be part of a national monument. In his recommendation sent to the White House on Wednesday, Babbitt urged the designation of the proposed Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, covering some 52,000 acres and including Soda Mountain. Located in the Bureau of Land Management�s Medford District a dozen miles southeast of Ashland, it is one of four sites recommended for protection under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The other sites are in Arizona, Colorado and Washington. "These are priceless natural landscapes that have somehow remained almost untouched by exploitation, development and urban sprawl," Babbitt said in a prepared statement. "But we are losing open spaces every day. Protection of several of these areas, in one form or another, has been discussed for years, but no action has been taken. "We may not have another chance before they are lost, so I am urging the president to protect these unique landscapes now for future generations of Americans," he added. The type of protection and the allowed use in the area will be determined if and when the president accepts his recommendation, according to Babbitt. The monument�s southern border would be the California state line, with the northern tip of the area including a portion of Hyatt Lake. Many in the environmental and scientific communities had supported the proposal while the timber industry, motorized off-road vehicle enthusiasts and cattle ranchers had generally opposed it. Scientists have identified the Soda Mountain region where the Siskiyou and Cascade ranges come together as one of the most biologically diverse on the North American continent. In an earlier interview, Dave Willis, president of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council and an environmental activist who has been working to promote protection of the area since 1983, stressed that protecting the area through national monument status would preserve a priceless natural heritage. "The highest and best use of the national public land and resources here is to protect them for generations to come,�� he said. Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, opposed the recommendation. He also questioned the timing of the announcement. "It�s a disappointment that the secretary of the Interior didn�t wait until the comment period had closed before making this recommendation to the president," he said. "It seems like the process was invalid from the very beginning," he added. He was referring to the June 14 deadline for public comments for the BLM�s draft management plan and draft environmental impact statement for the Cascade Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area, which includes most of the Soda Mountain region. In that plan, the BLM�s preferred alternative recommends a 40,975-acre CSEEA while further restricting timber harvest and cattle grazing. However, local BLM officials said the CSEEA study would continue as planned. Jackson County Commissioner Jack Walker had expected the recommendation. "It was just a matter of time," he said. ��They made up their minds to do this months ago. They don�t listen to us." The board has opposed monument recommendation, citing the impact on grazing and timber harvests in the region. "The public meetings � that�s just a facade,�� he said. "It�s a shame." Designation of a national monument will hurt local ranchers, predicted Don Rowlett, owner of the 1,500-acre Box R Ranch in the Greensprings. The problem, he said, is that many local ranchers have historically depended on federal land to graze their cattle. "They use their base lands along with federal lands for grazing, for their livelihood," he said. "If it becomes a monument, cattle grazing will be seriously affected. If that happens, ranchers could be in real trouble up here." However, Interior officials said grazing could continue on the monument while the BLM completed a study to determine whether grazing could be allowed. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA