Oregonians sighed relief when President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13792 directing a review of the Antiquities law and its uses. That act protected the Cascade peaks from federal grab. But the proposed Douglas-fir National Monument is again being pushed by a Springfield based nonprofit under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The Antiquities Act gives the President authority to, by presidential proclamation, create national monuments from federal land to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features.

Douglas-fir National Monument proposes to cover more than 530,000 acres that includes parts of Linn, Marion and Jefferson counties. It would be the largest national monument in Oregon, and 14th largest in the nation.

The Monument mostly includes Willamette National Forest in the Cascade foothills consisting of wilderness areas. However, of concern is the 44,000 acres of private forest, which appears to not be qualified for inclusion.

It’s the age-old argument of the best way to manage forests. Two sides claiming the same outcome. On one side, they claim federal protection ensures that trees mature, burn, and fall as they would naturally. They claim mature Douglas fir stabilizes soil, shades streams, scrubs and sequesters carbon from the air and has the potential to act as a balm on a warming climate.

On the other side, forest management is needed to physically restore forest, reduce wildfires, protect mature growth, foster recreation, and increase carbon sequester with new growth.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The Good Neighbor Authority Agreement was first passed in 2016 as a step for Oregon to enter into cooperative agreements with the United States Forest Service that allows the state to perform forest management and watershed restoration services on National Forest System lands. Jeff Burns, Program Director, said in 2021 that 92-93% of all burned acres were on federal lands, which accounts for 60% of forested lands in Oregon. “Any efforts to reduce wildfire risks in Oregon, must involve federal lands in a meaningful way.”

Designating the Douglas-fir National Monument that would leave the land dormant is not the federal involvement needed to reduce wildfires or preserve mature growths. As director Burns reported, since 2016, significant progress has been made in wildfire risk reduction on federal lands through fuels reduction and forest thinning projects. These kind of results take action.

Officials in Linn County are seeking intervention from Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio. Considering Wyden is in a tight race for reelection, it may not be wise to disappoint voters.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-08-10 10:53:30

Last Update: 2022-08-10 13:04:18