Residents of Crook County, Oregon, have a new opportunity to influence how federal lands are managed in central and eastern Oregon. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting applications for two regional public‑lands advisory committees: the Deschutes/Ochoco Resource Advisory Committee and the John Day‑Snake Resource Advisory Council.

What the committees do

The Deschutes/Ochoco Resource Advisory Committee operates under the Secure Rural Schools program and advises the Secretary of Agriculture on project recommendations and funding allocations for public lands in central Oregon. The John Day‑Snake Resource Advisory Council provides recommendations to the BLM’s Prineville District, Vale District Baker Field Office, and several national forests, including Deschutes, Umatilla, Wallowa‑Whitman, Malheur and Ochoco.

How to qualify

Applicants must be Oregon residents and demonstrate relevant qualifications through education, training, knowledge, or experience. The Secretary of the Interior appoints members to three‑year staggered terms on the 15‑member John Day‑Snake council, with one‑third of the seats expiring each year. The council meets quarterly in various communities within its boundary, typically holding two‑day sessions that are open to the public and include comment periods and occasional field tours.

Member composition

Membership on the John Day‑Snake council is divided equally among three interest categories:

• Commodity interests – five seats for grazing permittees, commercial timber, energy and mining, developed recreation or off‑highway vehicle groups, and transportation/rights‑of‑way.
• Conservation interests – five seats for environmental organizations, historic and cultural groups, conservation groups, and dispersed non‑commercial recreation advocates.
• Community interests – five seats for state resource agencies, Indian Tribes, natural‑science academicians, the public‑at‑large, and at least one elected official.

Regular council discussions cover land‑management plans under the National Environmental Policy Act, recreation fees, land restoration after wildfires, off‑highway recreation options, John Day River Basin planning, and noxious‑weed control.

How to apply

Nomination forms for the Deschutes/Ochoco Resource Advisory Committee are due by November 12, 2026. Application forms for the John Day‑Snake council have not yet been released. Interested residents can contact Lisa Clark, Deschutes field manager for the BLM’s Prineville District, at 541‑416‑6700 for more information.

More details and past meeting minutes are available on the BLM website: BLM Resource Advisory Council page.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.