Written by Haleigh Martin, December 2023

They say time flies when you’re having fun, and we must’ve had a lot of fun in 2023 because the year flew by! Though we did run into numerous challenges and had to say goodbye to a few of our beloved Salamanders (we love and miss you, Joseph, Kelsey, and Emily!), we have lots to look back on to consider 2023 a year of successes for environmental conservation in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. Let’s take a look at the highlight reel together:

ABANDONED VEHICLE REMOVAL

In 2023, our ForestWatch program launched the Abandoned Vehicle Reporting program, and it was very well received! If you’ve spent time meandering Forest Service roads across southern Oregon or northern California, you’ve likely witnessed an abandoned vehicle dumped off the side of the road or pushed down a hillside. Aside from being an eyesore, abandoned vehicles are also known to leach chemicals into the local water tables and are a fire hazard. After the launch of this program, dozens of folks reported abandoned vehicles across the region, and George, our Conservation Director, has worked hard to connect the agencies with this information to have the vehicles removed!

Do you have an abandoned vehicle to report? Send an email to George with coordinates and photos if you have them!

saving grace for spotted frogs

Frogs around the world are in serious trouble and the Oregon Spotted Frog is no exception. Threatened with extinction and with rapidly declining populations Spotted Frogs need our help. So along with our allies and with special thanks to the Western Watersheds Project, in 2023 we once again prevailed in litigation preventing the cattle grazing of fens and wetlands that provide some of the last, best frog habitat on the Fremont-Winema National Forest. 

Read more about this achievement here.

stewardship efforts at $8 Mtn and Days Gulch Botanical Areas advance

Following 6 years of consistent efforts alongside groups of dedicated volunteers and our partners at the US Forest Service, we have officially wrapped up our active stewardship work at Eight Dollar Mountain and Days Gulch Botanical Areas in Oregon’s Illinois Valley! We’ve built fences, cleaned up garbage, installed signs, blocked illegal roads, planted native seeds, and created a developed path forward for restoration of these two botanically rich and diverse pieces of public land. We will continue to photo monitor our efforts here, and we will be directing our attention towards new stewardship efforts on the Siskiyou Crest!

You can learn more about our 6 years of stewardship work at $8 and Days Gulch here.

The wolverine finally received endangered species act protections

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has officially listed the wolverine as “threatened”! In the 3 decades of conservation efforts to list the wolverine, populations are believed to have dropped to ~300 left roaming the US lower 48. Wolverines are the world’s largest species of the mustelid family, which also includes badgers, weasels, otters and martens. They are one of many species of animals, plants, and insects that face growing survival risk as the climate crisis alters temperatures, impacting mountain snowpack that the wolverine relies upon. We have worked closely with partners on this longstanding project to list and protect remaining wolverines. Though the fight isn't over to sustain the wolverine population in the face of climate change and development, it's an extremely exciting win to see the wolverine officially federally protected. See the press release here.

Old-growth moves closer to federal protection

Our Climate Program has kept a close eye on numerous opportunities for old-growth protection throughout 2023. We worked hard to keep community members informed, organize folks for events, talks, and art nights, and offer petitions and pathways to provide comments to the agencies. The good news is these efforts have paid off big time as 2023 comes to a close. In December, we received news that the US Forest Service announced its Notice of Intent to move forward with updates to the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), the nearly 30-year-old guide that dictates forest management on 24.5 million acres across USFS public lands across Oregon, Washington, and northern California.

This is HUGE news because much has changed over the last 30 years, but the management of crucial forestland across the PNW has remained the same—now outdated. The amendments to the NWFP will focus on wildfire resilience, climate change adaptation, tribal inclusion, sustainable communities, and conservation of old growth ecosystems and related biodiversity. Soon, we will be informing you of another comment period so you can provide your insight on these topics as it pertains to forest management across the KS and beyond. Read more about the Northwest Forest Plan amendments here.

In addition to the NWFP updates, the US Forest Service announced that, following President Biden's 2022 Earth Day Executive Order, they will be amending all 128 forest land management plans across the nation to focus on the conservation of old-growth! The amendment will halt most old-growth logging on these USFS lands, saving the few remaining climate-smart ancient trees. Dig into all things old-growth in the KS here.

Local waterway gets new name: Blue Heron Creek

In October, an ad hoc citizen's group called Save the Phoenix Wetlands and KS Wild’s Rogue Riverkeeper program secured a significant victory that resulted in the official naming of a previously unnamed tributary of Bear Creek in Phoenix, OR. This tributary, now bearing the name Blue Heron Creek, represents a beacon of hope amidst the mounting environmental challenges faced by wetlands and waterways. While Blue Heron Creek is a short 0.2 miles long, the significance of this achievement cannot be overstated. Small streams, wetlands, and springs scattered throughout the region are crucial for maintaining water quality and providing a habitat for native fish and a myriad of wildlife. Water below the surface of the land and seeping and moving above the surface are the small sources that are connected to the larger and easily visible waterways. Unfortunately, many of these waterways remain unnamed and, consequently, vulnerable to threats. Now that Blue Heron Creek has a registered name, it will be taken into account for future development projects and other clean water threats. Read the full writeup about this success here.

Toxic mining proposal halted

KS Wild kicked off 2023 with a successful objection (appeal) of the Discovery Day toxic mining proposal located in the headwaters of the renowned Salmon River located deep in the Klamath National Forest. The area was supposed to be protected as a Late Successional Reserve and a Key Watershed for salmon recovery- not for the production of toxic heavy metal mine tailings. Due to KS Wild' Objection the project was halted. Read the objection here.

trees protected at popular Recreation site lake of the woods

We continued our advocacy for the beloved old-growth forests surrounding Lake of the Woods in the Cascade Mountains on the Fremont-Winema National Forest. First the Forest Service proposed removing half of the old-growth trees in the recreation area. KS Wild stepped in and the project was greatly reduced in size and scope. Then the Forest Service proposed converting forest stands into an additional RV parking lot that would further increase crowding. Again, it appears likely that those plans will be scrapped in favor of keeping the Woods around Lake of the Woods. Check it out here.

All of this work couldn’t have been completed without you. Your support in the form of signing petitions, sending letters, attending events, liking and sharing on social media, and making donations is what makes loacl conservation work like this possible. We want to thank you for believing in this mission and helping us celebrate another successful year of wins. Let’s ride this momentum into 2024!

If you want to help support more conservation victories like these, consider making a donation to KS Wild. Our work is majorly funded by the donations of our supporters, and each dollar goes right to working on projects like the ones listed above.