Illinois Valley News

Josephine County commissioners have taken one more step toward compelling state and federal agencies to coordinate their land-use and natural resource utilization plans with those of the county.

During the Wednesday, May 19 weekly business session in Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass, the board voted 3-0 to pass an order launching the Josephine County Natural Resource Coordinating Committee.

The committee will consist of nine voting members serving four-year terms. It will include representatives of various interest groups, including mining, agriculture, timber, business, recreation and tourism, environmental or conservation, a watershed council, one citizen-at-large and one attorney.

Commission Chairman Dwight Ellis said that it is crucial to have members of all those groups as part of the committee.

“If you don“t have every concern represented, I think you lose legitimacy when you talk to the state and federal folks,“ Ellis said.

Once formed, the committee will meet quarterly and make recommendations to the board of commissioners.

Ellis said that the coordination process began last year, and was prompted by petitions to the commissioners from members of the Southern Oregon Resource Alliance. It is a nonprofit organization formed in the 1970s by Basker, a former commissioner, and advocates for the use of natural resources on public land.

A preliminary resolution regarding coordination was passed by the commissioners Nov. 24, 2009.

“I“ve been pushing this thing along for a few months,“ Ellis said.

Various federal regulations require agencies to coordinate with counties, he said. Many counties, he noted, have successfully used the process to prevent the acquisition of large tracts of acreage within their jurisdictions.

“This is something that“s really been put back in the closet,“ stated the chairman.

Modoc County in California used coordinating authority to block a plan by the Dept. of Fish and Game to obtain 2,200 acres adjoining an existing wildlife refuge. Those state officials had to discuss the plan with county officials because of a Memorandum of Understanding that was established through the coordinating process.

The result was that only 700 acres were acquired, 300 of which were to be sold back to private parties. Around 300 acres of the pre-existing refuge also were sold, and the new tax basis for the resold 600 acres made up for the loss of property taxes on the 400 acres ultimately kept.

In his research, Ellis obtained a coordinating plan from Owyhee County in Idaho. Baker County, in eastern Oregon, has produced a 40-page draft plan after nine years of work, Ellis said, and neighboring Jackson County is considering the same.

“I think this will start picking up steam across counties in Oregon very soon,“ Ellis said.

Coordination with federal authorities is particularly critical to Josephine County, as the federal government owns more than half the land.

Ellis said that the committee will serve as a “negotiating buffer“ between the county and federal authorities.

“These guys will be the experts,“ Ellis said. “That“s where I see the committee coming in handy when we do our plan. Hopefully, they will be the ones to sit down with the federal agencies.“

At least four people have expressed interest in joining the committee, he said. Members representing the various interest groups will be appointed, he said, and the rest of the positions will be advertised soon.

Ellis explained that potential members will be interviewed by the commissioners. He added that he anticipates the selection process to take approximately a month.

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