This is an article I found on the Blue Ribbon site, I found interesting.
Access Issues at the Forefront of Cascade Siskiyou Monument Planning
by Adena Cook,
BRC Public Lands Consultant
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(left to right) Dave Lexow, Adena Cook and Chuck Steahly at Pilot Rock. I was on my way to Soda Peak. Just minutes before, I had landed at the Medford, Oregon airport. Picked up by Motorcycle Riders Association members Dave Lexow and Chuck Steahly and accompanied by People for the USA leader Jerry Lehman, I was seeing for myself the controversial Soda Peak Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Managed by the BLM, it's the "crown jewel" of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.
We drove on the four-wheel drive road all the way up to Soda Peak which marks the highest point in the WSA. It's also a communications site, with a cluster of dishes and antennae at the top.
I could look across Klamath Basin to magnificent Mount Shasta in the distance. Looking down the ridgeline, I could see Pilot Rock, our destination, in the distance. A four-wheel drive road connects the two points and offers inspiring views all along the way.
Chuck negotiated the narrow rough road in his full-size, six-man pickup, the tires almost wider than the tread. Dave told about the club's enjoyable family rides along the road, and I could see how much fun it would be on my ATV. The Ridge Road forms a border of the WSA. Roads in the WSA have been closed.
The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was declared by President Clinton on June 9, 2000. It is located in Jackson County, Oregon, on Oregon's southern border with California. It consists of 52,987 acres of federal land administered by the BLM. There are 32,222 acres of non-federal land, mostly private property, interspersed among the Monument boundaries.
Secretary Babbitt first visited the area on October 28, 1999. The Ashland (OR) Daily Tidings, on October 28, reported on the visit and quoted Babbitt, "But I don't have any proposal (for the ecological emphasis area), I just have a lot of questions. I'm on a trip here to have a look at a lot of issues."
These kinds of visits exemplified what passed for a public process as national monuments were designated by President Clinton. The formal NEPA process underway for the Cascade Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area was trumped by the monument designation.
Management problems remain as a result. A major issue is the intermingling of private and monument property. Within the monument area, there are 85,173 acres of land across all ownerships; 52,947 are monument property. Some monument parcels are small plots intermingled with private lands; some parcels of private land are intermingled with monument.
Access and recreation management problems also remain. A popular jeep road, the Schoheim Jeep Road, was mandated closed to vehicles, even bicycles, as a result of the monument declaration. This jeep road, originally built in 1964 as a necessary fire access road, had been a subject of controversy. The BLM's EIS process was taking all relevant information on this historic road into consideration when the monument declaration established the closure.
We arrived at Pilot Rock. The four-wheel drive ridge road ends at a trailhead (closed to motorized) that leads to the base of the rock. People do scramble climb to the top. We could see tiny figures on their way. A higher standard road leads down to Interstate 5.
The road beyond Pilot Rock into the WSA was tank-trapped closed. In fact, it was the top end of the famous Schoheim Road.
Will HisleBeard, MRA President, later discussed the background of the Schoheim Road, "The Schoheim Road was built in 1964 by Curt Nesheim, head of the Southwest Oregon Department of Forestry office, in conjunction with Don Schofield, District Manager of the local Bureau of Land Management office, as a stable and necessary fire access road to and through the area. It is the only west to east Oregon connector road south of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Study Area (WSA) between Soda Peak, Pilot Rock, and other areas on the western side of the monument, to the Agate Flats area on the eastern side of the monument. It's always been irreplaceable to local property owners, hunters and other recreationists because it is the sole access route north of the Klamath River for many miles along the WSA boundary and the more extensive outlying territories beyond.
"Green groups spearheaded by the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council (SMWC) have tried for years to get this road closed. They first sought to have the Soda Peak area designated a Wilderness Study Area, which they got. They then worked for a long time to have that WSA designated a Wilderness by Congress. A Congressional designation never succeeded because the area just didn't meet the criteria."
"The Schoheim Road Skirts the WSA's southern edge, and on the northeast boundary is a run of very large steel tower power lines bringing lots of power from the Klamath Joani Dufourd (left) and Adena Cook at the MRI Convention. —photos supplied by Adena Cook River over to Medford and the Rogue Valley. The SMWC successfully appealed a BLM road maintenance permit for the Schoheim which halted necessary maintenance, causing continued and accelerated erosion. It was after this that they got Interior Secretary Babbitt to agree in closed-door monument discussions that a Schoheim Road closure be specifically mentioned in the proclamation.
"Schoheim has always been important for recreation access. It makes me sad to know that if this management strategy sees the light of day, I'll never get to traverse it on a friends hunting trip, or travel it under our typical but ominous Southern Oregon thunderheads on a mid-summer motorcycle club ride, or just plain enjoy exploring its back country charm on a beautiful fall day with my family or friends. It's just not right.
"The BLM has flatly refused to even discuss the Schoheim or public wishes related to it in the monument planning process meetings, saying its closure is singled out in the proclamation and that is it, period. End of story. But the truth is the Schoheim Road is a RS 2477 right of way, and they are obligated to consider existing rights of way in the planning process, just like the monument declaration itself did."
We followed the high standard road back to the highway. Within minutes, we were in the midst of scenic but well-populated small towns in the Rogue River Valley. Later, as I addressed the assembled group at MRA's annual convention, I reflected on my trip and the beauty of southern Oregon. Protecting historic access, a right that pre-dates the monument, is a worthwhile effort.
Monument managers accepted public comment on a draft management plan up to December 19th. MRA spearheaded comment efforts. See their web site at
http://www.motorcycleridersassoc.org for a sample comment letter and additional information on the planning process.
—Adena Cook is a former Public Lands Director for the BlueRibbon Coalition. For questions or comments on this article, she may be contacted through the BlueRibbon Coalition: 4555 Burley Drive, Suite A, Pocatello, ID 83202-1921. Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. She may be contacted directly via email at: <
bradena@sharetrails.org>.
BlueRibbon Magazine, January 2003
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