To: U.S. Department of the Interior

Defend the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument!

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon and California is one of the nation's most critically important strongholds of biodiversity. The Monument’s recent expansion signed by President Obama is the first and only time such an area was designated solely to protect biodiversity.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, please uphold the decision to expand the Monument and honor the wishes of the stakeholders who advocated for it: President Obama; Oregon’s Governor Brown and Senators Wyden and Merkley; the mayors, city councils, and chamber of commerce boards of nearby Oregon cities Ashland and Talent; and the landowners of more than 14,000 acres of land adjacent to the monument.

Why is this important?

In January 2017, President Obama added 48,000 acres in Oregon and California to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Two separate lawsuits were filed opposing the expansion of the monument in February 2017, both citing impact on the timber industry. The Western Environmental Law Center intervened in both lawsuits to defend the expansion.