A case that pits the interests of deer and elk against a rock quarry operation near Eagle Point is due to go before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals on June 25.

State wildlife officials contend that the quarry’s proposed expansion would harm deer and elk habitat, although Freel Ranch Quarry representatives contend damages would be offset by their offer to pay $1,000 per excavated acre in order to provide wildlife enhancement. The company also has offered to stockpile topsoil that would be placed on the quarry floor when excavation was done.

Jackson County commissioners in January gave their approval for the expansion and a related rezoning, subject to conditions and state approvals, but the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, through the Oregon Department of Justice, appealed to LUBA.

Since then, more than 500 pages of petitions and response briefs have been filed with LUBA, including ODFW’s 131-page petition for review and Freel’s 166-page petition for review. Though the county made the decision that’s at issue, Freel is allowed to intervene.

Jackson County, meanwhile, has filed a 12-page brief, which asserts that the quarry is within a designated deer and elk winter range map “overlay,” even though Freel argues otherwise. Joel Benton, county legal counsel, said on Tuesday that he expects to participate in the upcoming hearing, which can be viewed online.

At times, the county leaves it up to applicants to argue the cases, even though the county is the named respondent in an appeal.

“The applicant also has an interest,” Benton said. “He also has a right to appear. We don’t file a brief in every case.”

LUBA staff have filed their own brief, at 79 pages.

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 3 gave final approval for a rezoning to help clear the way for Freel & Associates of Medford to expand the quarry, located at 16568 Highway 62, about halfway between Eagle Point and Shady Cove. The quarry, in operation since 2013, is within a 1,343-acre property that has 155 of its acres currently zoned for aggregate removal. The action by commissioners would designate an additional 324 acres as a significant aggregate resource. The company intends to mine an acre at a time, eventually creating 40-acre pits.

After about three hours of testimony and discussion at a Nov. 15 hearing, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the company’s request. Rick Dyer, chairman of the board, said later he is satisfied that conditions placed on the company will protect wildlife habitat while providing rock for construction projects.

“Both uses are important,” he said.

The planning commission previously voted 3-2 to deny the quarry expansion, citing staff and ODFW concerns, but Dyer said that commissioners at their Nov. 15 hearing were considering new information, including the company’s offer to pay $1,000 per excavated acre to provide wildlife enhancement.

In the end, Dyer said, the arguments weighed in favor of the quarry, which he said will supply relatively low-cost rock for building projects.

“The mitigation measures allowed both uses to take place by mitigating the impacts,” he said.

ODFW, meanwhile, took issue with the quarry’s proposed expansion.

Dan Ethridge, an assistant district wildlife biologist with the agency, authored a six-page letter to the county on Nov. 13, writing that quarry operations were within an area designated as “especially sensitive winter range habitat” and that the mining activity would disturb and displace wildlife.

“ODFW is concerned that the conflicts to big game habitat due to the direct loss of habitat and indirect impacts associated with the mining operations have not been adequately evaluated,” Ethridge wrote.

Ethridge recommended that the company provide an analysis of economic, social and environmental impacts, and that a conservation easement be put in place that would ensure third-party monitoring of measures to restore the land, although the company rejected that idea. Neighbors of the quarry have expressed concerns. At the Nov. 15 hearing, six Eagle Point residents raised issues that included oversight, dust, water quality, diminishing wildlife and loss of property value.

The LUBA hearing, set for 1 p.m. June 25, will be available for viewing on YouTube, at bit.ly/4elGsQS.