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Our View: Monument expansion strikes a balance Sunday Jan 15, 2017 at 12:01 AM Supporters  of a larger Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument got some of what they wanted when President Barack Obama designated 47,624 acres as new monument land. Opponents, including the timber industry and the Jackson County commissioners, were disappointed, but the move is unlikely to bring the negative consequences they fear. In one of his last official acts as president, Obama used his power under the Antiquities Act to expand the monument, just as President Bill Clinton did to create it in 2000, just before he left office. Presidents of both parties have used the Antiquities Act to set aside unique features for protection since the act was passed under President Theodore Roosevelt. Supporters of the Cascade-Siskiyou expansion had sought 66,500 acres, and Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley actively supported and worked for the larger designation. The monument protects the intersection of the Cascade and Siskiyou mountain ranges, a unique bioregion that is home to plant and animal species found nowhere else on the planet. The goal of expansion supporters was to extend monument protection to the headwaters of streams that run through the monument and to connect migration corridors used by wildlife. The expansion also extends the monument into California, crossing the arbitrary boundary of the state line. Opponents argued that the expansion would remove timber land from potential harvest. The American Forest Resource Institute says President Franklin Roosevelt's Interior Department advised 80 years ago that former Oregon & California Railroad lands designated for timber production could not legally be withdrawn under the Antiquities Act because that conflicted with the O&C Act. That was one opinion, not a court ruling. O&C lands were included in President Clinton's original monument designation, but no court challenge has been mounted in the intervening 16 years. In any case, some of the O&C land in the monument is designated as reserves, already set aside from timber production. Monument opponents also argue that a presidential decree is not the best way to protect land because it prevents Congress from having a say and limits public involvement. That view has some merit, although two public hearings were held last fall on the expansion proposal, and Jackson County commissioners sent Interior Secretary Sally Jewell 750 pages of written material and a 178-page transcript of their public hearing. Commissioner Colleen Roberts acknowledged that the expansion is smaller than originally proposed, indicating that opponents' concerns were heard. Most activities now permitted will continue to be allowed under monument rules, despite fears to the contrary. Hunting, fishing, camping and hiking are all permitted, and motorized vehicle use is allowed as well on established roads. Livestock grazing can continue as well, although public land managers will likely encourage ranchers to retire grazing allotments over time. The expansion enjoyed support from Oregon's two senators, as well as the city councils of Ashland and Talent, and a substantial number of public comments favored the proposal. We argued last fall that the decision should be based on science and environmental considerations rather than any hoped-for boost in tourism dollars, which are more ephemeral. It appears the expansion as proposed did that, and is a reasonable middle ground.