From the Rogue Valley Times
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday upheld the expansion of the biologically diverse Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Originally created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, the monument was expanded in 2017 by President Barack Obama to 114,000 acres. The monument is a mix of forest, meadow and oak grasslands at the junction of the Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains.
The court ruling affirms a 2019 decision by an Oregon federal court that Obama lawfully expanded the monument and that the expansion did not violate the Oregon and California Lands Act.
Murphy Timber Products, which owns 2,101 acres in the monument, argued in its lawsuit that the O&C Lands Act of 1937 was specifically designed for forest production.
The 9th Circuit Court found that Congress’s original intent under the Lands Act wasn’t limited to just forest production, stating “the statute’s specific reference to ‘watersheds and recreational facilities'” also underscores the secondary uses for the land.
Joseph Vaile with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center said the latest legal victory “is a strong signal that the courts see that there is more than one value for (Bureau of Land Management) lands in Oregon.”
He said the monument was created to protect an area with a significant biodiversity, located at the convergence of three different ecological regions: the Klamath Mountains, the Cascades and the Great Basin.
While logging in the monument is still possible, it would have to be based on ecological efforts and would be limited in scope.
“There wouldn’t be any clear-cutting,” Vaile said.
The creation of the monument has had its share of supporters and detractors over the years, spawning lawsuits that have dragged on for years.
Another lawsuit that is pending in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals was filed by the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, as well as counties that have forests from the Oregon and California Lands Act.
Local residents and conservation groups have declared support for the monument along with two consecutive Oregon governors and both of Oregon’s U.S. senators. Tribes, business owners, scientists, hunters and anglers have sought to protect this area, which is mostly in Jackson County but straddles a small portion of Siskiyou County in California as well as Klamath County.
