(ASHLAND, Oregon) — The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, situated along the California-Oregon border, will maintain its current acreage after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear two challenges to its expansion on Monday.
Several logging interests and Oregon counties petitioned the high court to overturn a 2017 addition to the monument. They contended that President Barack Obama’s designation was improper, citing previous Congressional allocations of the land for timber harvests. The challenges also raised broader questions regarding the president’s authority to unilaterally create national monuments under the Antiquities Act. Critics of the 1906 law have voiced concerns about executive overreach. However, the Supreme Court chose not to address this issue.
“The monument and its expansion, it’s now the law of the land,” stated Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice, representing groups advocating for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument expansion.
Established in 2000, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument safeguards a unique ecological intersection of the ancient Siskiyou Mountains and the younger volcanic Cascades. The region’s biodiversity supports a range of plant and animal species, from cacti to old-growth fir forests and desert snakes to salamanders. The monument’s expansion, which occurred approximately seven years ago, added about 48,000 acres (19,400 hectares), bringing the total area to 114,000 acres (46,100 hectares). Despite its remote location, the monument attracts visitors interested in activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, skiing, and snowmobiling.
Although the majority of the monument lies within Oregon, approximately 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) extend into California, bordering the Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area.
Petitions against the monument’s expansion were submitted by the American Forest Resource Council, a trade group representing logging companies, along with a coalition of Oregon counties and the Murphy Company, a timber supplier. They argued that the Antiquities Act should not override federal regulations aimed at preserving timber harvests on Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands, also known as O&C Lands. Originally designated for constructing a railroad between San Francisco and Portland, these federal lands were later returned to the government with specific conditions.
The Supreme Court’s decision maintains the current boundaries of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, marking a victory for conservation advocates and ensuring continued protection of this ecologically significant area.
