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 activities, asserting they had supported local mills, job creation and wildfire mitigation. The presentation referenced federal law and regulations, including the Organic Act of 1897 and the Weeks Act of 1911, and cited coordination requirements under NEPA and Code of Federal Regulations sections discussed during the presentation.

Patrick said the county had received recent positive outreach from the U.S. Forest Service regional office: “She supports our stewardship plan 100% and looks forward to meeting with us to develop this plan,” he said, attributing that statement to a conversation with Jackie Buchanan, identified in the presentation as a regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service.

Presenters told the audience that the county would not fund a large new department from general revenues; instead the proposed structure would start with a department head and one field employee paid from grants and program funds. Patrick and Chamblee outlined potential funding sources including wildland‑urban interface grant programs, Firewise and other federal or state grant streams, and an expectation that value‑added wood processing and small biomass businesses could develop around stewardship work.

Presentation slides cited local and regional wildfire statistics and economic figures to explain the rationale for treatment: presenters said Curry County contains roughly 650,000 acres of federally managed ‘‘proprietorial interest only’’ lands, argued fuels and tree density in parts of Western forests have increased wildfire risk, and described examples from Arizona (including the Wallow and Rodeo–Chediski fires) as case studies of large economic and ecological loss.

County staff and presenters said the next steps would include additional stakeholder meetings, public hearings tied to updates of the county's Community Wildfire Protection Plan and comprehensive plan, and further meetings with the U.S. Forest Service. County materials including references cited in the presentation were linked on countystrong.org, a site presenters said includes reports and supporting documents.

The town hall format moved to public questions after the presentation; many attendees asked about local ecological differences, the county's planned role, funding, and timelines. County officials said they were early in the process and would continue outreach and technical coordination with federal and state agencies.

Background: presenters referenced federal statutes and administrative materials (Organic Act of 1897, Weeks Act of 1911, NEPA/CEQ regulations, and multiple CFR citations read aloud during the presentation) and described stewardship work that Apache County, Arizona, had used as a model. The county presentation emphasized collaboration but said the county would assert oversight where it believes federal coordination obligations have not been met.

Next steps and public record: presenters said additional meetings with the Forest Service were planned and that county staff would post materials and schedule public hearings connected to plan updates. Commissioners did not take a formal vote at the town hall; several speakers said a pair of related resolutions were on a subsequent agenda for potential action.