Coalition

Over in Idaho we know about the proposal and opposition to declare the Boulder, White Cloud wilderness area as a national monument. It was proposed by Obama and opposed by a wide range of interested parties spanning the gamut from ranchers to avid outdoorsman. Well guess what? It is happening in Oregon as well, this time with a proposed 2.5 million acre national monument in the area of the Owyhee Canyonlands. It's an Obama proposal and is opposed by members of the Owyhee Basin Stewardship Coalition. One member of the coalition is cattle rancher Elias Elguren who says "The canyonlands proposal would encroach upon 100 percent of my land. If this went through, I would need to reconsider my entire business."

"We do not want a national monument in Malheur county. That is our immediate goal right now." Those words are spoken by the chairman of the coalition, Steve Russell. "We have set this coalition up in order to advocate for natural resource-based businesses in Malheur County. Any type of business that makes their living from natural resources like grazing, logging, farming. Anything that makes her living to do with off the land. The way I see it, it is taking away our ability to make a living."