Counties across Oregon are turning toward a little-known federal policy as a means to have more say in how federal lands in their backyards are managed.

These counties are using “coordination,” an obscure provision in two federal environmental policy laws that require agencies to coordinate with local governments in land use planning.

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“Those are very explicit requirements in our law that federal land managers need to follow,” said David Hayes, a visiting lecturer at the Stanford Law School. “If counties want to suggest alternative approaches, they’ve got to take into account what Congress has told these folks to do.”

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