Curry County hosts town hall on proposed stewardship program for federally managed lands

Curry County commissioners convened a town hall in Gold Beach to present a proposed stewardship and management program for federally managed public lands and to solicit public questions and feedback. Patrick, the county presenter who organized the session, introduced consultant Doyle Chamblee of Veritas Research and Consulting and laid out a plan modeled on stewardship work in Apache County, Arizona.

Patrick told attendees the purpose of the meeting was to “answer questions” and to hear from people with expertise so county officials can make an informed decision. He described a county program that would create a stewardship committee, pursue federal and state grant funding, update the county's wildfire and comprehensive plans, and establish a small county natural resources office funded by outside grants rather than the county general fund.

Consultant Doyle Chamblee described his work in Arizona and his role advising counties on collaborative stewardship agreements with federal agencies. Chamblee and Patrick cited results from Apache County's stewardship…