MEDFORD, Ore. — People who attended a public hearing on a proposed expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument were split on the issue.
The Mail Tribune reports that more than 400 people attended a public hearing held by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in Medford. The commission held their own hearing after a meeting called by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in Ashland attracted mostly expansion supporters.
Merkley and fellow Democratic Senator Ron Wyden have proposed doubling the size of the monument, which was created in 2000.
At Thursday’s hearing supporters of the expansion say it will protect the environment and improve recreation and tourism. Detractors say logging cutbacks on federal land in the monument would mean less revenue for counties.
