Dear Colleague,
This email is LAST CALL INVITATION to join the list of over 125 professional
scientists in signing a letter to support the expansion of the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (hereafter “Monument” or NM), enacted by
President Obama on January 12, 2017. The Cascade-Siskiyou NM is located in
southwest Oregon and adjacent California and is the only unit of BLM’s
National Conservation Lands created explicitly to protect an area of
outstanding biological diversity.
In late April President Trump directed Interior Secretary Zinke to review a
number of national monuments established by previous presidents under the
Antiquities Act and make recommendations about their potential future. The
Cascade-Siskiyou NM is one of the monuments that will be scrutinized, and
there is increasing concern that the administration will move to reduce or
eliminate the recent expansion – and possibly even the original June 2000
Monument, as well – in the next several months. Given this imminent threat,
it’s critically important to let federal policy makers know that there is
strong and widespread scientific support for protecting this ecologically
unique and diverse area.
Please review the letter below in support of the retaining the
Cascade-Siskiyou Monument expansion, and let us know if you are willing to
become a signatory. All those willing or interested in becoming signatories
to the attached letter should send correspondence regarding this invitation
to efro...@gmail.com NO LATER THAN 16, 2017 (earlier is preferable). Please
provide name, title, affiliation(s), city and state as they should appear on
the letter. We greatly appreciate your attention and support regarding this
issue, and hope to hear from you in the coming weeks.
The Honorable Ryan Zinke, Secretary
Monument Review, MS-1530
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20240 June 17, 2017
RE: Scientific Support for Expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
Dear Secretary Zinke,
As professional scientists with extensive experience in ecology, natural
resource management and other related disciplines, we write to express our
strong support for maintaining the recent expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument (hereafter Monument) in southwest Oregon and adjacent
California, as enacted by presidential proclamation in January 2017.
The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, originally established as 52,947
acres in June 2000, is unique among the BLM's National Conservation Lands in
that it was designated specifically to preserve an area of "remarkable
biological diversity." Sitting at the crossroads of four distinct ecoregions
and encompassing a wide range of topography, climate and geology, the
greater Cascade-Siskiyou landscape is recognized as one of the most
biologically diverse places in North America. The original Monument
proclamation describes it as an "ecological wonder" that is "home to a
spectacular variety of rare and beautiful species of plants and animals,
whose survival in this region depends upon its continued ecological integrity".
Over a decade after the Monument was initially established, mounting
scientific evidence and professional opinion indicated that the original
boundaries were too small to ensure persistence of the many biological
"Objects of Scientific Interest" that the Monument was originally
established to protect. As summarized in a 2011 interdisciplinary report,
there are several reasons why previous boundaries were unlikely to sustain
the ecological integrity of the Monument over the long term:
• Many special-status plant and animal populations, as well as high quality
examples of the area's biotic communities identified as Objects of Interest
in Monument's proclamation, remained outside existing boundaries, where they
were vulnerable to incompatible management;
• Some boundaries were based solely on administrative rather than ecological
criteria (e.g., the Oregon-California state line), which over time, would
likely compromise the integrity of the Monument's terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems;
• Climate change in the region is altering the distributions of plants and
animals that are the focal points for conservation, in some cases likely
pushing them outside of original Monument boundaries, and;
• The population of southwest Oregon is growing rapidly. As a result, more
areas immediately adjacent to the Monument are facing increased development
or intensive land use pressures (e.g., logging, residential expansion, water
diversions) that are likely to undermine long-term persistence of the
Monument’s biological resources.
Without Monument expansion, the bulk of scientific evidence strongly
suggested that some of the area's important biological values were at high
risk of irreversible degradation and loss.
After considering these issues within the context of a much broader public
review process, President Obama expanded the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument by
47,660 acres, including BLM lands in both southwest Oregon and adjacent
California. It is important to note that this boundary enlargement was
considerably smaller than what had previously been recommended by an
interdisciplinary group of scientists. Nevertheless, the end result is that
revised Monument boundaries are now better aligned with what is necessary to
likely sustain the area's critically important Objects of Interest. We
specifically endorse and applaud expansion of this Monument because it:
• Generally includes those areas identified by scientific assessments as
being most essential to sustain the area's outstanding biodiversity;
• Contains many biological "Objects of Interest" that were highlighted in
the original proclamation but under-represented within previous Monument
boundaries;
• Is likely to play a vital role in maintaining ecological integrity of the
landscape the Monument was established to protect, and;
• Improves landscape and watershed connectivity with nearby federal lands, a
factor that is crucial for sustaining populations of wide-ranging species
and creating greater resilience in the face of climate change.
On April 26, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13792 requesting
you to review many national monuments designated or expanded by previous
presidents under the Antiquities Act, including Cascade-Siskiyou. As part
of this review process now underway, we write to share with you our
professional judgement that the recent expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument is scientifically well-supported. The expansion contains
an outstanding diversity of plants, animals and natural communities that
clearly qualify as "Objects of Scientific Interest" under the Antiquities
Act, and represents a necessary step to safeguard the numerous biological
and other values for which this landscape has been widely recognized.
We believe that reducing the boundaries or diminishing any aspect of the
expansion would greatly reduce the likelihood of achieving the conservation
goals for which the Monument was originally established. Therefore, as
natural resource scientists who recognize the importance of conserving our
nation's biological treasures for the benefit of present and future
generations, we urge you to maintain the current Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument in all respects.
Sincerely yours,
SIGNATORIES APPEAR HERE (CURRENT NUMBER IS 126)
