Audrey Caro Gomez
Friends of Douglas-fir National Monument are hosting their first all-day field trip on Oct. 1 in Sweet Home.
“It’s the first big event to get the public involved,” said David Stone, board president of the organization.
The group’s mission is to establish a Douglas-fir National Monument that will encompass nearly half-a-million acres of land including 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.
Stephen Sharnoff, a botanical photographer and forest advocate who lives in Berkeley, Calif., is working on the proposal with Andy Kerr, a lobbyist who grew up in Creswell, and now splits his time between Ashland and Washington, D.C.
Stone, who lives in Eugene, got involved in April when Sharnoff gave a presentation about the proposed monument at the Lane County Audubon Society.
At the presentation, Sharnoff showed a map of the region that Stone thought wasn’t as clear as it could be.
“I have some graphics skills, so I said I could help,” Stone said.
Stone is a nature photographer and has taught nature photography for 20 years. He co-founded the Waldo Wilderness Council, served six years as the conservation chair for the Lane County Audubon Society and has served on the boards of the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and Friends of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.
He is now the president of the Friends of Douglas-fir National Monument.
Kerr is the secretary and Sharnoff is the treasurer.
Friends of Douglas-fir National Monument has a six-person advisory council and the group is looking for more board members.
Their revamped website marks the launch of their public outreach, Stone said.
There are about 200 people on the mailing list, he said.
A group will carpool from South Eugene High School at 8 a.m. They expect to arrive at Thriftway in Sweet Home by 9:30 a.m. where they will meet up with anyone else who would like to join the tour.
The plan is to have people carpool, Stone said. He will provide information about the area and proposed monument for each carload of people.
“We’d like to keep the number of cars to a minimum because we don’t want to spew a lot of fumes out there but we’re not rigid about that,” Stone said.
It will primarily be a driving tour, but he plans to stop at the Dogwood picnic area and have some discussions.
The purpose of the Oct. 1 field trip is to show people the area and get more support for the proposed monument, Stone said.
A national monument can be established by an act of congress or presidential proclamation.
“Andy Kerr says maybe 10 years to get this because we’ve got to get significant support from groups in Oregon that are likely to be in favor of it,” Sharnoff said in response to a question at his April presentation. “Then we’re in a position to go to the politicians – to Sen. (Ron) Wyden, in particular.”
It is a little early for contact with politicians in Washington, D.C., Stone said.
“When we contact representatives or senators, we want to be able to say there is this level of interest,” Stone said.
To RVSP or for more information, contact Stone at [email protected]. For more information on the monument proposal, visit http://www.douglasfirnationalmonument.org.