With the final recommendations by Secretary Zinke and Congressional Greg Walden asking Donald Trump to reduce the size of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument to facilitate more logging, it behooves Oregonians to work towards increasing the protection of this unique area.
It is well established that many national monuments designated by Presidential proclamation eventually become national parks. So it’s time for Oregon’s Senators, Merkley and Wyden to issue a counter-assault and introduce legislation into the Congress to create a much expanded Cascade Siskiyou National Park.
There are many good reasons to establish a Cascade Siskiyou National Park. The first is its unique biological attributes. At the crossroads of several major ecosystems including the Great Basin, Cascades, and Siskiyou/Klamath regions, the CSNP would help to preserve the area’s special biological attributes which include fine stands of old growth forests. National Parks are the “gold standard” for conservation.
A second reason, that Zinke and Walden who are nothing more than puppets of the timber industry overlooked is economics. Surprising to some, despite the way Oregon’s politicians like Walden bend over backward to increase logging on Oregon public lands, the timber industry’s contribution to jobs is relatively insignificant these days.
For instance, in 2015 the timber industry directly or indirectly accounted for 36,000 jobs or 2.4% of the job in Oregon. Worse for timber is that employment is declining for a host of reasons including automation, competition with wood products in other regions, and shipment of raw logs overseas.
By contrast, Tourism and tourism-related employment in Oregon is increasing. Furthermore, this sector was responsible for 244,437 Oregon jobs or 16% of all jobs in the state. In other words, tourism and tourism-related industry already provide 8 times more employment than the timber industry.
And before one dismisses tourism jobs as nothing more than flipping burgers, think again. Many entrepreneurial businesses are created with good incomes for owners and workers.
And while tourism and outdoor recreation are critical to the state’s economy, these statistics understate the real value of protecting Oregon’s landscape.
Many people unconnected to tourism and the outdoor industries relocate to Oregon to run their businesses or retire attracted by the natural landscape. People like living near national parks, wilderness areas, and other protected landscapes. These “Footloose” entrepreneurs and retirees bring their money with them and spend it locally.
So Zinke, Walden, and Trump are destroying one of the special places in Oregon to “maybe” provide some short-term jobs in the timber industry.
Third, despite the abundance of spectacular landscapes in Oregon, the state is far behind other states in terms of lands protected in the National Park System. For instance, California has 28 national park units, Washington has 18, and Oregon has only 5. And really the only park unit of any significance is Crater Lake National Park.
It is well established that national parks are important for stoking economic activity.
While Presidents can declare national monuments, only Congress can establish a national park.
So I am calling on Oregon’s senators to sponsor legislation that not only restores all the acreage within the Obama national monument but expand the boundaries to protect even more of this unique landscape by including the Siskiyou Crest area west of I-5 and the Wild Rivers coast lands surrounding the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
Such a bold and large park would put this on a par with other large parks in the region like North Cascades, Olympic, and Yosemite. I guarantee that the people of Medford, Ashland and other nearby communities as well as Oregon, in general, will benefit from the creation of a Cascade Siskiyou National Park
George Wuerthner has published 38 books including Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness as the Foundation for Conservation.
George Wuerthner is an ecologist and writer who has published 38 books on various topics related to environmental and natural history. Among his titles are Welfare Ranching-The Subsidized Destruction of the American West, Wildfire-A Century of Failed Forest Policy, Energy—Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth, Keeping the Wild-Against the Domestication of the Earth, Protecting the Wild—Parks, and Wilderness as the Foundation for Conservation, Nevada Mountain Ranges, Alaska Mountain Ranges, California’s Wilderness Areas—Deserts, California Wilderness Areas—Coast and Mountains, Montana’s Magnificent Wilderness, Yellowstone—A Visitor’s Companion, Yellowstone and the Fires of Change, Yosemite—The Grace and the Grandeur, Mount Rainier—A Visitor’s Companion, Texas’s Big Bend Country, The Adirondacks-Forever Wild, Southern Appalachia Country, among others.
He has visited over 400 designated wilderness areas and over 200 national park units.
In the past, he has worked as a cadastral surveyor in Alaska, a river ranger on several wild and scenic rivers in Alaska, a backcountry ranger in the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, a wilderness guide in Alaska, a natural history guide in Yellowstone National Park, a freelance writer and photographer, a high school science teacher, and more recently ecological projects director for the Foundation for Deep Ecology. He currently is the ED of Public Lands Media.
He has been on the board or science advisor of numerous environmental organizations, including RESTORE the North Woods, Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Association, Park Country Environmental Coalition, Wildlife Conservation Predator Defense, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Western Watersheds Project, Project Coyote, Rewilding Institute, The Wildlands Project, Patagonia Land Trust, The Ecological Citizen, Montana Wilderness Association, New National Parks Campaign, Montana Wild Bison Restoration Council, Friends of Douglas Fir National Monument, Sage Steppe Wild, and others.
Comments
Great idea, George ! Think no small thoughts !
It is just a matter of time. When Mr Robert Mueller of the FBI reaches the truth; When it comes about the intent of this administration. This is president is from new York a real land grabber and thief. Under the guise of being a builder.
We must All be at the Ready to defend any National Park in the North west or any other region of the US. It does not belong to the politicians.