In April 2024, a debate emerged regarding whether certain counties had entered a Cooperation Agreement with the Forest Service (granting Lead Agency Authority to the Forest Service) or had invoked Coordination (allowing both parties to address their respective concerns together).
Over nine months ago, FAFA requested a copy of the signed MOU designating the Cooperating Agency Agreement for the Environmental Impact Statement preparation for the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision between the US Forest Service and the Blue Mountains Intergovernmental Council (BIC). On Friday afternoon, we received a response. It clearly shows that the counties that signed have entered into a Cooperating Agency Agreement. Out of a 356-page document, more than 211 pages were redacted, leaving approximately 145 pages of information. Click here -> FOIA supplied document regarding Cooperating Agency Agreement.
From these 145 pages, we gathered the following information:
1) The counties that have signed the Cooperating Agency Agreement are Baker, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Columbia, and Garfield.
2) The counties that HAVE NOT signed the Cooperating Agency Agreement are Crook, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Wheeler, Asotin, and Walla Walla.
3) Less than a majority of the counties agreed to participate in the Cooperating Agency Agreement.
4) Baker County appears to have withdrawn from invoking direct Coordination with the Forest Service on the Forest Plan Revision and has allowed the Forest Service to take the lead role moving forward. This assigns the County an advisory-only role and permits the agency to proceed without Baker County's full support. The reason for the County's decision to abandon its Coordination effort and enter into an agreement giving the Forest Service the lead is unclear to us, but it seems to be the path they have chosen.
Grant County has submitted a letter to the Forest Service invoking Coordination on the Forest Plan Revision. We understand that the county anticipates direct one-on-one Coordination in the plan development with the County.
We believe in full disclosure. Therefore, the fully executed Memorandum of Understanding creating the Cooperating Agency Agreement can be found here -> Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision Cooperating Agency Agreement as of 1 28 25
If you live in one of the six counties that signed the MOU, you may want to discuss with your commissioners the significant injustice they have done to you as a resident of the County. They have effectively revoked the counties' individual voice by allowing a group of regulators to speak for them, as more than just counties are signed on to this MOU. Please explain to your county commissioners that you expect them to invoke direct Coordination regarding the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision, as it enables each county to advocate one-on-one for the individual needs of its residents and the counties' goals and objectives going forward.

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