The U.S. Supreme Court today denied requests by the timber industry to review and potentially reverse the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwest Oregon.

In response, Kristen Boyles, Earthjustice, and Susan Jane Brown, Silvix Resources (attorneys for conservation groups defending the Monument) issued the following statement:

“Two federal appellate courts previously ruled against the timber companies that attacked the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and its streams, fish, wildlife, and recreation.  Monument supporters have fought for decades to protect this special place, renowned for its remarkable biodiversity.  The Supreme Court’s order shuts down timber’s transparent greed.”

Background

Originally designated in 2000 by President Clinton, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument includes distinct ecoregions with a wide range of topography, climate, and geology, and is widely recognized as one of the most biologically diverse places in North America. It is an important ecological link for wildlife migration, genetic dispersal, and the process of evolution in the Pacific Northwest.

President Obama expanded the Monument in 2017 based on recommendations from numerous scientists and strong support from local residents, tribes, conservationists, local business leaders, hunters, anglers, local, state, and federal elected officials, and others, including both Oregon’s U.S. Senators and consecutive Governors.

The expanded Monument now consists of almost 114,000 acres of forest, meadow, and oak grasslands at the junction of the Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains in southwestern Oregon and northwestern California.