At least two presentations about the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument are scheduled in Oregon this week.
Neither meeting will be located less than 30 miles from the the nearly half-million-acre area that would be included in the monument as it is proposed.
The proposal is the work of Andy Kerr and Stephen Sharnoff, but Sharnoff is the only listed speaker for both events. Sharnoff is a well-known botanical photographer based in Berkley, Calif. Kerr is a lobbyist who splits his time between Ashland, Ore. and Washington, D.C.
They propose setting aside more than 750 square miles of the Santiam River watershed, from the Opal Creek Wilderness south to the divide between the Santiam and McKenzie drainages, and from just above Green Peter Reservoir to the Cascade Crest, including the Middle Santiam, Menagerie and parts of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness areas, the Quartzville Creek Wild and Scenic River corridor, and Moose Creek.
The Lane County Audubon Society is hosting a talk by Sharnoff about the proposal on Tuesday, April 26, in Eugene. The April 28 presentation is through the Native Plant Society of Oregon in Salem. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
A national monument can be established by an act of congress or presidential proclamation.
While no elected officials are listed as supporters on the proposal’s website, douglasfirnationalmonument.org, some local legislators have been working on the issue.
Rep. Sherrie Sprenger said she has been talking with a couple of local groups – which she declined to name at this point.
We need to be extremely vigilant, she said.
“I don’t like it. We don’t need it,” Sprenger said. “I don’t like outsiders coming into our backyard and telling us what’s good for us.”
Kerr does not share Sprenger’s view about outsiders.
In a recent interview on
Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud,” he was asked about the local vote to reject the recent Owyhee Monument in Malheur County, of which he was a strong advocate. Ninety percent of the residents said they did not want it, host Dave Miller noted.
“There are more members of the Audubon Society, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and Oregon Wild individually than all the voters in Malheur County,” Kerr responded.
Miller asked if Kerr decided whether points of view should be taken into account just by “looking at how many people live in a certain place as opposed to the merits of their arguments or the percentage of people that live in a certain place that feel a certain way.”
“Proximity doesn’t give license to abuse federal resources,” Kerr responded. “So the question of what’s the highest and best use of the public lands in Malheur County is no more a decision that should be weighted more for what they want than any other county in Oregon or any other citizens in Oregon or in the nation.”
In an email interview with The New Era in March, Sharnoff said the list of supporters for the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument includes “some of the most prominent scientists in the world…but the main push needs to come from Oregon.”
There is a division even within Oregon, though, according to Sen. Fred Girod.
He likened the monument proposal to the Northwest Forest Plan of 20 years ago, which he said was dominated by people out of Portland and Eugene.
The issue is not Republican or Democrat, he said; it is rural and urban.
“What’s good for Portland isn’t good for rural Oregon,” Girod said.
“It’s the equivalent of if I went to Portland and said no buildings could be over five stories,” he said. “It’s the same sort of thing.”
Girod encourages citizens to contact their national senators – Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
Merkley’s staff said he welcomes local input.
“With any natural resources proposal, Sen. Merkley believes that the best path forward is through a community-wide conversation that addresses the benefits of protecting Oregon’s special places while respecting the needs of those who live, work, and recreate in the area,” said Martina McLennan, Merkley’s spokesperson. “Senator Merkley and his staff are open to hearing all comments about this proposal and how it could impact the landscape and surrounding communities.”
Likewise, Wyden’s press secretary, Hank Stern, said Wyden’s approach would include discussions with “all parties.”
“Senator Wyden’s approach to natural resources issues is always to do his due diligence on any proposal by having his staff talk with all parties in hopes of finding common ground,” Stern said. “That path has proved successful on everything from Mt. Hood and Copper Salmon to the Badlands and Spring Basin, and will be the approach he takes with this proposal.”
John Shelk of Ochoco Lumber has worked with Wyden and Kerr in the past.
“I have worked on and off with Andy for nearly 10 years,” Shelk said. “We, along with select members of industry and environmental groups, worked together to craft federal legislation to enable the U.S. Forest Service to create vegetative management programs on the forests east of the Cascades in Oregon. Although this legislation languished in Congress for a time and never made it to ratification, it formed the framework for action that guides the Forest Service activities today.”
Shelk specifically praises Wyden’s role in the process.
“Senator Ron Wyden deserves a huge vote of thanks for his role in the legislation and subsequent work with the Forest Service. Without his initiative and constant encouragement, the above would not have happened.”
Asked if he had any advice for communities that may be affected by the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument, Shelk offered the following: “I have no opinion or advice to give to other groups or individuals working on natural resources issues except to say that the issues may be solved in the courtroom, given enough time and money.
“We in our region ran out of time and were tired of spending money on lawyers, so sought a different path.”
Rep. Peter DeFazio declined to comment on whether he had seen the proposal. Given that the monument could also be established by presidential proclamation, he did have a statement when asked if the proposal has any traction in D.C.
“I’m not aware of any active consideration by the Obama Administration for such a monument,” DeFazio said.
Sharnoff is scheduled to speak about the proposed Douglas Fir National Monument on Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m., Straub Environmental Learning, 1320 A Street NW (next to Olinger Pool), Salem.