The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument protects 113,507 acres of federally owned land — the equivalent of about 117 square miles — southeast of Medford. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released a draft management plan for the monument that addresses wildfire risk, recreational opportunities and environmental protections, along with other issues.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has scheduled public meetings in Ashland on June 28 and in Medford on June 29 to gather public comment for the first update to the original 2008 management plan for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. An online meeting is set for July 10, too.

The monument, which takes in 113,500 acres, is located generally east of Ashland and almost to the Jackson-Klamath county line. It also extends into Siskiyou County in Northern California.

“We’ll be in listening mode,” said BLM spokesman Kyle Sullivan. “Tell us what you’re concerned about. Give us any information or data you have.”

Sullivan said people have expressed concerns about fuels management, recreation impacts, grazing and other issues. Management plans outline allowable uses.

Earlier this year, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the expansion of the biologically diverse monument, which was created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton and expanded in 2017 by President Barack Obama. Murphy Timber Products, which owns 2,101 acres in the monument, argued in a lawsuit that the O&C Lands Act of 1937 was specifically designed for forest production.

The court ruling, issued April 24, affirmed a 2019 decision by an Oregon federal court that Obama lawfully expanded the monument and that the expansion did not violate the Oregon and California Lands Act. The 9th Circuit Court found that Congress’s original intent under the Lands Act wasn’t limited to just forest production, stating “the statute’s specific reference to watersheds and recreational facilities” also underscores the secondary uses for the land.

The upcoming public meetings are opportunities for one-on-one discussions with resource specialists. The sessions are not intended as a final solution for issues, but they can help inform proposed solutions that will be presented at future public meetings that might take place in January or February, according to Sullivan.

“This will be a consequential document down the road,” he said.

The in-person meetings will be open house-style meetings, while the online meeting will include a presentation as well as question-and-answer period. The meetings are described as “scoping” sessions that can help determine the scope of an environmental review.

Written comments are invited, too. They are due by Aug. 8.

The meetings are as follows:

• 4-7 p.m. June 28 at Pinehurst School, 15337 Highway 66 in Ashland
• 4-7 p.m. June 29 in the cafeteria at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, 3101 McLoughlin Drive in Medford
• 6-7 p.m. July 10 online. Register at bit.ly/3r58N9W

Written comments can be submitted at bit.ly/3Nq2TYR, the project’s website. Mailed comments can be sent to Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument Planning, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504.

For additional information, call 458-246-8861.

Hotter, drier weather prompts rise in fire danger level to moderate

Higher temperatures and drier weather has prompted the Oregon Department of Forestry to declare that fire danger has risen to “moderate” in Josephine and Jackson counties.

That means that, as of Friday, June 23, open fires are prohibited except in campgrounds on 1.8 million acres of state, private, county, city and Bureau of Land Management lands protected by the ODF Southwest District.

Not allowed from 1-8 p.m. daily is the use of chainsaws, grinding equipment, welding equipment, use of spark-emitting internal combustion engines and mowing of dead or dried grass with power-driven equipment.

The U.S. Forest Service issued a statement Wednesday saying that fuels at lower elevations continue to rapidly dry out despite recent rainfall. The agency already has responded to several campfires that have spread to adjacent grass and brush.

Sudden oak death pathogen found at Humbug State Park

An Oregon Department of Forestry stewardship forester has found sudden oak death-infected tanoak trees at Humbug State Park in Curry County, although the infected trees are not within the popular campground, day-use area or most hiking trails.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, which is working to treat the area and stop the spread of the disease, issued an alert June 13 advising hikers to stay on trails between now and December as efforts to eradicate the pathogen take place.

The infected site is about 1.5 miles south of an existing quarantine area around Port Orford. This marks the third confirmation of sudden oak death to the north of a 515-square-mile quarantined portion of Curry County since March 2021, the year in which the infection was first detected in Oregon forest trees.

Federal and state funds are available to cover the cost of treating the new infestation. Crews from ODF and the U.S. Forest Service monitor areas for infestations and respond to new detections.

Deputies, Cub Scouts offer water and boat safety class for kids

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Cub Scout Pack 3062 are hosting a free water and boat safety class for children at 6 p.m. Monday, June 26, at the Upper Rogue Community Center, 22465 Highway 62 in Shady Cove. There will be lessons in water safety and what to do if you become lost. For more information, send an email to TerrazRH@jacksoncounty.org.