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Get your say in on monument now Submit Cascade-Siskiyou plan ideas until Aug. 31 By Paul Fattig Whether you believe the creation of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument near Ashland in June was folly or fortune, you�re encouraged to toss in your two bits now about how the monument should be managed. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking comments until Aug. 31 on what should be included in its monument management plan. "This is really the starting point on how the BLM should manage the monument," said Karen Perault, spokeswoman for the BLM�s Medford District. "We�re asking folks to identify issues they want us to address as we develop the management plan." Citing unique ecological diversity, President Clinton declared the 52,000-acre BLM monument crowned by Soda Mountain southeast of Ashland early in June. The decision was applauded by many in the environmental community and elsewhere and denounced by others, including ranchers, timber industry interests and off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Claiming it will have an impact on adjacent private land, opponents say the monument is actually nearly twice the size stated by government officials. Supporters and officials say creation of the monument will not affect nearby private land. The draft management plan is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Its release will be followed by a 90-day comment period. A final management plan is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2001. Clinton�s declaration prohibits commercial timber harvest within the monument unless it is needed for forest health, bars off-road vehicle use and directs the BLM to conduct a study on the impact of cattle grazing on the area. Recreational activities such as hunting , fishing and hiking are not affected. Before it was declared a monument, much of the area, which has 100 species of butterflies, the most of any area in the West, was being studied as the Cascade Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area. The BLM had developed a draft management plan and draft environmental impact statement for the area. The Medford District resource management plan completed in 1995 identified the area as having unique ecological value. The roughly 1,000 comments received for the ecological emphasis area will be considered when the monument plan is created, Perault said. In addition to gathering public input, the agency has a team of scientists and others, including recreational specialists, working on putting together the management plan. Congress has yet to decide the future of the 5,860-acre Soda Mountain wilderness study area in the heart of the monument. It will be treated as a wilderness until a decision is reached. "The agency wants to hear from the public before the plan is developed," Perault said. Send comments about the Cascade-Sisikyou National Monument by mail to: BLM Medford District, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford OR 97504; or via e-mail to: www.or.blm.gov/medford. 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