At its Tuesday, Sept. 11 meeting, the board will consider the adoption of a Memorandum of Agreement between the U.S. Forest Service, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), the Bureau of Land Management and the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC), a group that represents the state’s 58 counties.

The proposed agreement between the federal agencies and CSAC and RCRC would only affect Lassen County if the board of supervisors approve it, and according to documentation from the coordination council, the agreement would weaken the county’s position by subordinating the county’s plans to those of the federal government, making this an issue of local control.

We agree with the council and supervisors Wosick and Pyle that local input is vital when making land use decisions in Lassen County and commend them for their leadership on this issue.

The board will discuss the agreement at its Tuesday, Sept. 11 meeting and hold a workshop on the coordination process at its Tuesday, Sept. 18 meeting.

We encourage the public to get involved and support the board’s efforts to ensure we decide how our local lands are used rather than leaving those decisions to some bureaucrats from Washington, D.C.