Oregon Public Broadcasting

More than eight years after the Clinton Administration created the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, the federal Bureau of Land Management Thursday released a final plan to manage it.

The plan intends to protect the monument’s biological diversity by restricting human access. That means closing roads, and tightly regulating activities, like snowmobiling and logging.

Dominic Della Salla is with the Ashland-based National Center for Conservation Science and Policy.

He  says the plan is not restrictive enough, particularly on livestock grazing. He says President Clinton’s presidential proclamation was clear.

Dominic Della Salla: “If livestock was found to be incompatible with protecting the monument’s special features, then the cows had to go. Now, it’s been eight years since, there have been numerous studies in that monument, including by the BLM itself, and they’ve all concluded that the grazing is impacting the monument’s rare species.”

The BLM says the final plan postpones any further restrictions on grazing practices until this winter.

Officials say the rules could change in the future.  They also say that ongoing discussions with interest groups and landowners could guide other aspects of management.