Salem, Ore.- Oregon Governor Kate Brown is calling on the White House to preserve the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The Governor released a statement late Thursday after reports Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended President Trump reduce the size of the monument covering parts of southern Oregon and northern California.
“I am deeply concerned about the future of Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument,” Governor Brown said in a statement released to the media. “Although the Secretary of the Interior has yet to publically release recommendations for potential changes to national monuments, the signal from D.C. is that Oregon’s public lands are in the crosshairs of the federal administration.”
The statement goes on to say:
“Just as I did when we met last month as part of his tour of the monument, I again urge Secretary Zinke to let science and data drive boundary and land management decisions of our public lands. For too long, politics has stood in the way of common sense policies that balance the needs of our rural economies with sustainable management practices that preserve our natural wonders for future generations.
Oregonians have a proud tradition of environmental stewardship, and any scale-back of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument could have devastating impacts on health of the old-growth forest lands and incredible array of species that rely on the land’s habitats. In the face of new threats to Oregon’s public lands and our natural resources, I call on Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to consider all legal options necessary to defend our Oregon values, and to be ready to challenge any overreach of executive power.”
President Trump ordered a review of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, along with several others, after the last three presidents expanded monument lands under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
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