SALEM (AP) — Sparks
flew Monday during a
hearing attended by
ranchers and
environmentalists in
the state Capitol on
a proposal to turn
2.5 million acres of
canyonlands and
desert in
southeastern Oregon
into a federally
protected monument.
Cattlemen said their
livelihoods could be
threatened.
Malheur County
Sheriff Brian Wolfe
told a panel of
state lawmakers that
he was worried armed
outsiders would
exploit the
situation, with
families in the
remote area having
been involved in
cattle business for
generations and
being suspicious of
the federal
government and what
restrictions it
might impose.
“If a monument
is declared in
Malheur County,
I am concerned
about people
from outside the
county who will
come with their
own agendas ...
and I fear that
they will not be
reasonable,”
Wolfe said.
Declaring the
Owyhee
Canyonlands, an
area known for
its spectacular,
stark scenery
and used by
fishermen,
rafters,
ranchers and
others, a
national
monument would
require no
legislation.
President Barack
Obama could
endorse the
proposal, but it
would go through
the U.S.
Department of
Interior first.
In a statement
to The
Associated
Press, the
department said:
“No
recommendations
have been made
from Interior to
the White House
about this
proposal but we
know that this
is an important
issue to many,
and we continue
to carefully
consider all
input about how
to best manage
these lands for
current and
future
generations.”
Packed
hearing room
The hearing room
in the Capitol
was so packed
with its
supporters and
opponents that
some had to go
into an overflow
room and watch
the proceedings
on TV.
Many drove for
seven hours from
the region —
where ranches
are often beyond
the reach of
cellphone
service and even
dropping off the
mail means a
long drive — to
attend the
informational
hearing of the
House Interim
Committee On
Rural
Communities,
Land Use and
Water.
Standing in a
lobby after the
hearing in their
cowboy hats,
boots and jeans,
about a dozen
ranchers
predicted their
grazing rights
would be
eliminated if
the monument is
created. They
said the
proposal is
vague.
Asked if
they might
stage a
takeover or
put up other
armed
resistance,
the ranchers
chuckled and
emphatically
said no.
Environmentalists
and some
area
residents
who also
came to
testify
predicted
degradation
of the
canyonlands
if they
aren’t given
federal
protection.
They cited
threats from
oil and gas
leasing,
from gold
and uranium
mining and
from
population
pressures,
with
fast-growing
Boise,
Idaho, not
far away.
They said a
patchwork of
protection
provided by
various
agencies has
no
permanence.
“These
layers of
protection
come at the
whim of
whatever
government
comes next,”
Julie Weikel,
who has
explored the
area for
years, told
a news
conference
as she urged
permanent
protection.
Elias
Eiguren, a
rancher
whose Basque
great-grandfather
came to the
Canyonlands
to raise
sheep,
predicted
that grazing
rights for
ranchers
would wind
up being
litigated if
the land
became a
monument,
affecting up
to 30,000
head of
cattle of
Malheur
County’s
total of
70,000.
The
opponents
have asked
Oregon
politicians
to pressure
Obama to
reject the
proposal.