Logging company had sued seeking to overturn 2017 monument expansion

By Damian Mann for the Rogue Valley Times

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday upheld the expansion of the biologically diverse Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

Originally created in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, the monument was expanded in 2017 by President Barack Obama to 114,000 acres.

The court ruling affirms a 2019 decision by an Oregon federal court that Obama lawfully expanded the monument and that the expansion did not violate the Oregon and California Lands Act.

“The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is a great gift to present and future generations,” said Dave Willis, Soda Mountain Wilderness Council chairman. “We’re very glad this court saw fit to not let the logging company take any of this gift away.”

Murphy Timber Products, which owns 2,101 acres in the monument, argued in its lawsuit that the O&C Lands Act of 1937 was specifically designed for forest production.

The 9th Circuit Court found that Congress’s original intent under the Lands Act wasn’t limited to just forest production, stating “the statute’s specific reference to ‘watersheds and recreational facilities'” also underscores the secondary uses for the land.

Joseph Vaile with the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild) said the latest legal victory “is a strong signal that the courts see that there is more than one value for (Bureau of Land Management) lands in Oregon.”

He said the monument was created to protect an area with a significant biodiversity, located at the convergence of three different ecological regions: the Klamath Mountains, the Cascades and the Great Basin.

While logging in the monument is still possible, it would have to be based on ecological efforts and would be limited in scope.

“There wouldn’t be any clear-cutting,” Vaile said.

Julie Weis, Murphy’s attorney with Portland-based Haglund Kelley LLP, could not be reached for comment Monday on the court decision.

Murphy could ask for a new hearing from the 9th Circuit and could possibly appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The creation of the monument has had its share of supporters and detractors over the years, spawning lawsuits that have dragged on for years.

Another lawsuit that is pending in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals was filed by the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry group, as well as counties that have forests from the Oregon and California Lands Act.

“We’re pleased the 9th Circuit affirmed that the president, regardless of political affiliation, is not above the law,” said Travis Joseph, president of the American Forest Resource Council, in a written statement Monday.

“Presidential proclamations made under the Antiquities Act that cut out the public from the process and fail to provide any environmental review before decision-making are, in fact, reviewable by courts. That’s a win for the American public by ensuring better accountability and transparency.

“The divided ruling also demonstrates the clear legal conflict between the O&C Act and the Antiquities Act. A United States District Court Judge in D.C. nullified the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument as an illegal overreach, and that decision is currently pending before the D.C. Circuit. The 9th Circuit is also divided. Given these conflicts, the fate of the O&C Lands, the CSNM, and the future management of these unique forests and the communities that depend on them may ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.”

Susan Jane Brown, with the Western Environmental Law Center, said the two cases are separate because Murphy originally took its suit to the Oregon courts, while the American Forest Resource Council pursued its case in the federal courts.

If the D.C. court issues a ruling that varies from the 9th Circuit Court, the case could eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Brown said.

The 9th Circuit does send a strong message about the strength of the legal argument for creation of the monument, she said.

“Confirming BLM’s discretion to manage the O&C Lands for conservation values is essential to ensuring these lands will continue to provide ecosystem services for future generations,” Brown said.

Local residents and conservation groups have declared support for the monument along with two consecutive Oregon governors and both of Oregon’s U.S. senators. Tribes, business owners, scientists, hunters and anglers have sought to protect this area, which is mostly in Jackson County but straddles a small portion of Siskiyou County in California as well as Klamath County.

The monument is a mix of forest, meadow and oak grasslands at the junction of the Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected]. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.