'John Day-Snake Resource Advisory Council sets regular business meeting on Oct. 19-20 in Maupin'

The John Day-Snake Resource Advisory Council (JDSRAC) has announced that it will hold its regular business meeting on October 19 and 20 in Maupin, Oregon. The meeting will take place at the Maupin Civic Center and will provide an opportunity for public comment each day. The specific time allotted for public comment will depend on the number of individuals who wish to speak.

The JDSRAC is responsible for advising the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on the management of public lands in the Prineville and Vale District Offices and the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, and Ochoco National Forests. The council consists of 15 members, representing community interests, commodity interests, and conservation interests.

Amanda Roberts, the JDSRAC Designated Federal Official, expressed appreciation for the council's input, stating that their recommendations enhance decision-making regarding public lands management. The JDSRAC also includes a subcommittee that conducts research on selected topics between meetings, presenting recommendations to the full council.

The upcoming meeting in October will cover various agenda items, including recreation fee proposals, updates from different agencies, and discussions on topics such as energy and minerals, timber, rangeland and grazing, recreation, wildland fire and fuels, and wild horses and burros. The JDSRAC was established in November 2021 by order of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and its charter outlines membership requirements and meeting frequency.

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The Resource Advisory Council advises the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on how to manage the public lands for the Prineville and Vale District Offices and the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, Malheur, and Ochoco National Forests. The council is comprised of 15 members, including five individuals who represent community interests, like elected officials, Indian Tribes, State resource agencies, academics, and the public; five who represent commodity interest; and five who represent conservation interests.

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“The RAC plays a very valuable role in public lands management by providing the BLM and Forest Service with critical input on activities throughout central and northeast Oregon. We greatly appreciate the time this diverse group devotes to providing consensus-driven recommendations which enhance our decision making," said Amanda Roberts, the JDSRAC Designated Federal Official.

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The JDSRAC include a subcommittee that researches information on selected topics between meetings. Research topics may be long-standing topics, or time-sensitive. The subcommittee makes no decisions, but is tasked with researching a topic, querying relevant federal agencies for more information, summarizing the collected information and presenting a recommendation to the full JDSRAC, at the quarterly meetings, according to a document detailing the responsibilities of the planning subcommittees of the JDSRAC.

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Information expected to be discussed in the October meeting includes review of recreation fee proposals from the Vale or Prineville BLM Districts and the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman, Ochoco, Deschutes, and Malheur National Forests, as well as updates from a variety of agencies, including the Vale and Prineville Districts of the BLM, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla, Malheur, Ochoco, and Deschutes National Forests.

Agenda items also include: management of energy and minerals, timber, rangeland and grazing, commercial and dispersed recreation, wildland fire and fuels, and wild horses and burros.

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The JDSRAC was chartered in November 2021 by order of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The charter sets out the requirements for membership and frequency of meetings, according to the charter document.

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