Huge expansion proposed at Caves Monument
Federal legislation would prohibit grazing, ‘protect’ land, according to DeFazio, Wyden
From our weekly issue dated June 24, 2009
Three pieces of federal legislation to protect wilderness areas throughout the state -- including a major expansion of Oregon Caves National Monument property near Cave Junction -- were introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Grazing would be prohibited under the plan.
Josephine County Commission Chairman Dwight Ellis opposes the plan, citing it as a federal land grab.
According to a Tuesday, June 16 press release from DeFazio’s office, the Oregon Caves bill would expand the monument by more than 4,000 acres -- a proposed increase of more than 900 percent in property.
Additionally, the National Park Service (NPS) would take over some aspects now under the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
The legislation is intended to “enhance the protection of the natural resources associated with (the monument), increase public recreation opportunities, expand local economic development opportunities, and protect the drinking water source of (the monument) from pollution and contamination by adjusting the boundary of the Monument.”
Such protections are necessary, the release states, because grazing in the watershed has caused water quality problems, including contamination of the monument’s drinking water supply.
The monument, currently comprised of 480 acres, is managed by NPS. Surrounding watersheds are managed by USFS, which would change under the new legislation. That land would be transferred to NPS and designated as a national preserve.
According to the release, a second proposal, the Lower Rogue Wild & Scenic Bill, would designate 142.9 miles of 40 waterways as wild, scenic or recreational.
Josephine County Commission Chairman Dwight Ellis said that he has concerns about some of that bill’s provisions. Ellis said that the river designation contains a half-mile buffer on each side of its tributaries.
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“That’s probably almost 30,000 acres that they’re taking out of our county or other counties from here to Gold Beach,” Ellis stated. He said that it is too early to tell what restrictions will be placed on those designated areas in terms of public access, land use, and grazing.
“My concern is, I don’t want to see them closing this for public use,” he said. “People who want to hunt, fish and recreate on these lands should be able to, rather than closing them altogether to public use.”
Because of those reasons, Ellis said that he is not inclined to support such a plan.
“It seems like Congress is just trying to grab more and more land,” Ellis said. “Any time there’s a land grab by the feds, I am against it. They keep taking more and more.”
However, Ellis said that his opposition might not mean much in the larger scheme of things.
“With the new administration in Washington D.C., I imagine it’s already a done deal. It looks like they’re just going to go ahead and do it.”
According to the release, the House Natural Resources Committee & Senate Energy Committee likely will hold hearings on the bills soon.
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