Medford, Ore. — The Jackson County Board of Commissioners are taking extra steps to make sure the president knows they don’t want any more land added to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
“We are looking at all possible avenues that we have and need to maybe use to make our point,” Colleen Roberts said, Jackson County Commissioner
It ‘s crafted a letter to the president, but members said that may not be enough. That’s why commissioner Doug Breidenthal has paid $1,500 out of pocket to bring in a consultant.
“He had a lot of of good ideas. We have some new contacts to send our arguments to,” Roberts said.
The expansion would increase the monument by twice its size,approximately 53,000 acres.
“He’s going to look at our transcripts, see how he can, what he has to offer, to help us and to battles this. We are in a time crunch,” Roberts said.
A time crunch – because proponents of the expansion are hoping President Obama approves before he leaves office. Even if that happens, the move may not be set in stone.
“If the president does add the the expansion, that a new president can go through congress to have it altered or repealed,” Roberts said.
Still, commissioners hope that won’t be needed. Instead, they hope the president takes notice of their 750-page proposal and hears the voice of the county.
“Hopefully they’ll look at our input and see that we are not unified on this,” Roberts said.
If you’d like to submit a comment to the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument public hearing, you have a few options.
You can email the Board of Commissioners at the email address at [email protected]
You can submit your comments to the President of the United States, by calling the office at 202-456-1111.
Or you can submit your comments to the Secretary of the Interior at 202-208-3100.
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