Not to be outdone by other angry rural counties in
the West, Lake County, Ore., wants to buy the 1 million acres of
Forest Service land within its boundaries. Officials of the county
in south-central Oregon say they’re frustrated by a federal
bureaucracy that has slowed timber harvesting and hurt the local
economy. To make the purchase, county commissioners pledged to pay
the government $5 million a year for more than 100 years. The
purchase price would come from new timber
sales.
“I don’t think we’re very supportive,”
said Forest Service spokesman Chris Holmes, in The Oregonian.
Holmes doubts the county could replace the fire control, wildlife
and recreational programs the agency has established. The local
committee that formulated the takeover pitched it in a letter to
Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas; he responded by writing
commissioners that their proposal was currently illegal. However,
Thomas said he was willing to work with local representatives to
improve forest plans.
The county needs an act of
Congress to authorize its purchase of public land. A supporter of
such a bill is an Oregon congressman, Wes Cooley, R, who says “the
federal government is a lousy neighbor.”
*Shea
Andersen
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Move over, Catron County.
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