Letters of Support for the Cascade-Siskiyou

Obama should add protection to Cascade-Siskiyou

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Revs. Staccato Powell and John Walter Boris Right now, one part of God's creation is particularly in need of our attention and stewardship: The area surrounding the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwest Oregon. This national monument is special to Oregon and to our nation. Established in 2000, the monument is one of the most biodiverse places in the country. Although it remains the only monument in the country designed specifically for the protection of biodiversity, its original boundaries were significantly constrained. Over the last several years, a growing number of scientists who study the diversity of God's creatures and plants in this special place are telling us we need to do more to protect it. God's creation in this area counts on a patchwork of vital habitats and watersheds that remain unprotected. God's creatures serve a purpose in the whole of creation, and each has intrinsic value. The Psalmist declares to God, "In your wisdom, you made them all. The earth is full of your creatures." Redirecting water resources away from habitats, water pollution, or habitat loss in certain places could mean loss of certain species forever. When we allow species extinction to happen, we do not know the...

First the Hudson’s Bay Co. came for the fur. Then miners arrived looking for gold, followed by timber barons drawn by trees.

Because we live in the West, conflicts and squabbles over land owned by the federal government and the state are inevitable, and the last few years have offered a bountiful

Cap coaches' contributionsI am a PERS recipient with almost three decades of service as a high school teacher. I offer the following as a possible fix for the PERS crisis in Oregon.We need to remember the amount of that person’s retirement under PERS is dictated by how much he was paid. When we pay university football coaches $1.5 million to $2 million or more a season, then contribute 12 percent or more to PERS on his behalf, it is easy to see how Mike Bellotti, ex-football coach at U

By Michael C. Blumm President Obama's expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was a long time coming. In 2000, President Clinton designated the monument as the first and only national monument whose purpose was to protect an area of outstanding biological diversity. Because of its location at the crossroads of three ecoregions--the Cascades, Klamath-Siskiyou, and Great Basin--the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument is home to a unique mix of species. The area serves as a biological "land bridge," providing a gateway through and between these three ecologically distinct regions. In 2011, an interdisciplinary scientific group concluded that population pressures, adjacent land uses, and climate trends made the current boundaries inadequate to safeguard the biodiversity the monument aimed to protect. This review culminated in a letter signed by 85 scientists calling for the monument's expansion. After more discussion, debate, introduction of Senate legislation protecting the area, more research, and public meetings, the Obama Administration finally expanded the monument's boundaries, although not to the extent recommended by scientists. The expansion was welcomed by many in the local community and beyond. The mayors, city councils, and chambers of commerce in the two cities closest to the monument unanimously supported the expansion. So did the state...

Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pushed back Monday on new threats from the Trump Administration that could jeopardize Oregon’s newly expanded Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

It's no doubt overly optimistic to think President Trump will care that 18 reptile and amphibian species were found in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument during a "BioBlitz" day in portions of the monument on May 20. But it is important and does reinforce the value of the monument, not only for its ecological impact, but also for the educational opportunity it provides.Led by members of a Southern Oregon University herpetology class, more than 75 people (including local high school and