Letter of Comments Sent to Bureau of Land Management for Failure to Coordinate and Cooperate with Jackson County Board of Commissioners

On or about April 24, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a Draft Western Oregon Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public comment and analysis. The Draft Western Oregon RMP/EIS sets forth the proposed plan for the management of resources in Western Oregon, including Jackson County, owned or administered by the BLM. Comments in response to the Draft Western Oregon RMP/EIS are due to BLM no later than August 21, 2015.

The process of preparing a RMP/EIS requires that BLM coordinate and cooperate with Jackson County as a local government which may be impacted by the plan. A review of the Draft Western Oregon RMP/EIS indicates that BLM failed to meet the requirements of coordination and cooperation with Jackson County as part of the RMP/EIS process.

On July 15, 2015, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners authorized the Letter of Comments which notifies BLM of their failure to coordinate and cooperate with Jackson County, as required under Federal law, for the development and preparation of the Draft Western Oregon RMP/EIS. The Letter of Comments sets forth comments to the RMP/EIS stating the various requirements which BLM did not satisfy with regard to Jackson County. The Letter of Comments preserves Jackson County’s rights as an affected local government.