Speak Up for Biodiversity

On April 5, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its Draft Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. This kicked off the 90-day public comment which ends on July 5, 2024.

We highly encourage you to review the draft plan and submit comments, which you can do at this website. The draft RMP story map found HERE makes navigating this process easier.

BLM will host four public meetings on the proposed plan during which you will have an opportunity to speak with BLM specialists to learn more about the draft plan.

  • May 8, 6:00 - 7:30 PM (Virtual Meeting) – Register at this HERE

  • May 14, 5:00 - 7:00 PM at the Medford Armory – Come at any time.

  • May 16, 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Klamath Community College, Building 4 – Come at any time.

  • May 18, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Pinehurst School – Come at any time.

How to Comment

If you do comment, please take the time to make yours substantive as these are the types of comments that make the most difference and can move the needle toward conservation and protection. A substantive comment can include:

  • Issues that the BLM failed to consider in the draft and should analyze.

  • Resources and ideas for how the BLM might analyze issues.

  • New research and/or studies that should be considered and support your points.

  • Questions asking for clarification when something doesn’t make sense to you.

our concerns and recommendations

Below are some of the concerns and recommendations we had during the June 9 - August 8, 2023 scoping phase of the Resource Management Plan (RMP) revision process. We are currently reviewing the draft RMP and will add our concerns about the draft RMP here when we have them compiled.

  • We would like to see the continuation and expansion of land acquisition with an emphasis on habitat connectivity and protection. We strongly support continued land acquisition in the Monument from willing sellers. We would like to see BLM seek funding from additional sources to buy land.

  • We support the active prevention of illegal livestock trespassing. Cows and feral horses continue to trespass frequently onto Monument lands in ecologically-important areas where they have a negative impact on biodiversity and habitat health. We would like to see the fundamental issues that cause the trespassing adequately addressed.

  • We recommend beaver protection be prioritized and habitat restoration efforts continued. Practices such as logging, livestock grazing, water diversion, beaver trapping and hunting have led to a significant decrease in the beaver population in the Monument over the decades. We would like trespass cattle and horses kept out of sensitive beaver habitats permanently. We would like the BLM to continue to work with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and political partners to ban beaver trapping and hunting in the Monument.

  • We recommend that the pine plantations be thinned and managed to reduce wildfire risk and set them on a trajectory to become viable old growth stands. There are 70 plantations consisting of many hundreds of acres in the Monument.

  • We would like non-essential roads in the Monument to be closed. In some areas in the Monument, there are five miles of roads per one square mile of land. Roads spread noxious weeds, disturb and kill wildlife, and increase the risk of wildfire. The BLM does not need the network of former logging roads in forested areas. We would like the BLM to identify the essential roads within the Monument and determine the most effective way to close the rest.

  • Legal grazing allotments within the Monument are at odds with the protection of its biodiversity. Per the requirements outlined in Proclamation 7318, the BLM conducted a series of studies to determine the impacts of livestock grazing in the Monument. These studies showed that livestock grazing is not compatible with the protection of the objects of biological interest in the Monument. There are still grazing allotments in the Monument. We would like the BLM to take further action to retire the existing leases. If leases cannot be retired, we would like the BLM to hold grazing lessees accountable to Monument protection standards.

  • We would like the BLM to provide documentation of RMP implementation in a way that is transparent and accessible to the public.