National Rivers Month: A bird’s eye view of threats and opportunities for river conservation in the Klamath-Siskiyou
Written by Michael Dotson on June 19, 2024
Boater on the Wild & Scenic Illinois River. Credit: Michael Dotson
June is National Rivers Month, and there are significant accomplishments to share this month around KS Wild’s effort to advance river conservation in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. While we share a lot about the Klamath-Siskiyou’s unique biodiversity and old-growth forests, this area of southwest Oregon and northwest California is also world-renowned for its wild rivers. In fact, you’ll see entire brands – from chambers of commerce to breweries and pizza joints – using “Wild Rivers” as part of their promotions.
The “Wild Rivers Coast” is a largely rural stretch of the California-Oregon coastline between the big cities of Portland and San Francisco, and the region features popular towns and destinations like Klamath, Crescent City, Brookings, Gold Beach & Bandon. Rivers and fishing are the lifeblood of many of these communities, and we see bipartisan support for river conservation throughout the area. This part of the West Coast also features the highest concentration of Wild & Scenic Rivers in the continental United States!
As National Rivers Month comes to an end, we hope to elevate the threats facing our waterways from pollution and development and highlight the opportunities in front of us to advance river conservation across the region.
The Rogue River watershed
Black bear along the Wild & Scenic Rogue River. Credit: Darren Campbell
In 1968, the Rogue River was one of eight rivers nationally to receive designation as a Wild & Scenic River. Today, the Rogue is world-renowned for its steelhead & salmon fishing, as well as a top whitewater rafting destination. The Rogue begins as headwater springs flowing from the base of Mt. Mazama – the old volcano that is now where Crater Lake is located. It flows through one dam site at Lost Creek Lake, northwest of Medford, before making a 200+ mile journey to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach.
I have been fortunate in my own lifetime to experience the joy and exhilaration of whitewater boating on many of the great rivers of the West – from the middle Klamath in California to the Salmon in Idaho and Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in Arizona – and one of my favorite multi-day trips still has to be the Wild & Scenic Rogue. In almost every trip I take down the Rogue, I am met with memorable wildlife encounters. If you take your time to experience the Rogue’s side canyons and trails, you’re likely going to come across black bears, bobcats, otters, kingsnakes, and countless birds of prey. One of the more memorable moments for me happened just last year on a trip as I was making my way through Blossom Bar rapid. A massive salmon jumped out of the water right in front of us and made a huge splash. One could describe it as the Rogue River version of a whale watching tour, and it was another incredible experience on that river!
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The Rogue has its fair share of threats within and outside of the popular Wild & Scenic stretch. Near Medford, commercial jet boat use is proliferating and having an impact on natural resources, fish-spawning habitat, and outdoor recreation. KS Wild and Rogue Riverkeeper have been working with multiple state agencies to address concerns from the public and landowners, and earlier this month, Oregon’s Kitchen Table wrapped up a community engagement project to gauge concerns from local community members about conflicts in the upper Rogue. We are skeptical that the agencies will do anything with recommendations, so we are working with partner organizations to identify steps to hold agencies like the Oregon Marine Board and Oregon State Parks accountable.
Further downstream, the Rogue watershed is home to abundant public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS). This part of the Rogue is popular with hikers, whitewater boaters, and fishing enthusiasts, and in 2019, more than 120 miles of Rogue River tributaries were added to the National Wild & Scenic Rivers system. Despite these new designations, the agencies responsible for stewarding the Rogue’s public lands have failed to update the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) for the Wild & Scenic Rogue. In fact, the Rogue Wild & Scenic CRMP is over 50 years old and hasn’t been updated since it was first passed in 1972!
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KS Wild and Rogue Riverkeeper are working with partners to encourage a much-needed update to the Rogue Wild & Scenic CRMP. An internal report from the USFS and BLM published in 2021 clearly states that the old plans are inadequate for stewarding and restoring the Rogue in the era of climate change. The Oregon BLM is captured by timber interests, which makes it difficult for the agency to focus on promoting activities like recreation and restoration.
To advance conservation of the Rogue and its surrounding public lands, KS Wild continues to advocate for legislation in the U.S. Congress. The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act (SB 440) would create a 100,000-acre Rogue Canyon National Recreation Area on BLM lands downstream of the community of Merlin to the boundary with the USFS at Mule Creek Canyon. Within this new National Recreation Area, we are also hoping to expand the Wild Rogue Wilderness by an additional 58,000 acres.
The Illinois River
Boaters on the Wild & Scenic Illinois River. Credit: Michael Dotson
The Illinois River is the largest tributary to the Rogue River, but it has an identity all its own. The serpentine soils that the Illinois River basin is known for create conditions for a unique set of plants that grow nowhere else in the world.
According to many sources, the Rough & Ready Creek watershed – a headwater tributary to the Illinois – has more botanical diversity than any other landscape in the state of Oregon! While the rare plants are a draw for many naturalists, the Wild & Scenic Illinois is considered one of the most challenging backcountry whitewater trips in North America. From late fall through spring, adventurous boaters can count dozens of riverside waterfalls as they paddle past Darlingtonia fens and through narrow canyons, experiencing the Kalmiopsis Wilderness along the way.
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Since the 1980s, mining speculators have had their sights set on nickel mining in the Illinois River watershed. Similar speculation threatened the neighboring Smith River watershed in California at the same time, but pro-active legislation helped stymie mining in that portion of California in the 1990s. Despite Wild & Scenic protections along 54 miles of the Illinois River, old mining claims still linger due to outdated policies still in place from the 1872 Mining Law. In 2017, KS Wild joined with local communities and conservation partners to help secure a 20-year moratorium on mining in places like the Rough & Ready Creek watershed (within the Illinois River basin), but permanent protection has stalled out as Congress has become more partisan around public land protections. In recent months, a new mining outfit called Homeland Nickel has revived efforts in the Illinois River watershed to mine for nickel near Eight Dollar Mountain. The company has laid claim to more than 100 sites in the area, with the hope they can find economically viable sources of nickel.
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KS Wild and partners at Friends of the Kalmiopsis and Kalmiopsis Audubon are working extensively on several campaigns to protect the water quality, rare plants, and wild fish habitat in the Illinois River watershed. The Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act that mentioned earlier also includes a permanent ban on mining in the headwaters of the Illinois River at Rough & Ready Creek. Senator Wyden’s newly introduced River Democracy Act also includes hundreds of miles of new Wild & Scenic River designations for tributaries of the Illinois and would also include a permanent mining ban around serpentine wetlands in the area.
At the state level, Oregon’s Dept. of Environmental Quality has recently announced that they will consider the Wild & Scenic Illinois River as part of a 2025 rulemaking effort to designate the waterway as an Outstanding Resource Water under the Clean Water Act. Stay tuned for ways you can engage on this state level campaign to protect the Illinois River’s water quality and fish!
North Fork Smith River and other Coastal Waterways
Rapids on the North Fork Smith River. Credit: Michael Dotson
Just over the ridge from Rough & Ready Creek and the Illinois River drainage is the North Fork Smith River. The Smith River is California’s largest undammed river system, and some of its headwaters begin in the far southwestern corner of Oregon. The Oregon portion of the Smith is remote and hard to access, but there are special places like Lemmingsworth Gulch Natural Research Area in Curry County, where visitors can experience the unique serpentine landscape.
The North Fork Smith is also home to a popular winter-spring whitewater run, which will challenge even some of the most accomplished paddlers. The scenery is unmatched, and one can expect to count over 100 waterfalls along the stretch of river, especially during spring runoff.
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The Oregon portion of the North Fork Smith River does not have the same National Recreation Area status as the California portion of the watershed, so nickel mining remains a key threat for this watershed. Similar to other coastal watersheds like Hunter Creek and Pistol River further north, Homeland Nickel has also set its sights on mining claims in the upper parts of Baldface Creek. KS Wild and partners are currently tracking new plans of operation being proposed for the Cleopatra Mine in the North Fork Smith, and we will be working to stop any development of mines that pollute our waterways and leave toxic legacies for future generations. The 1872 Mining Law makes it possible for companies – domestic or foreign – to take over public lands for private interest.
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Similar to the Illinois River, the Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act would also permanently ban mining in the Oregon portion of the North Fork Smith (approximately 55,000 acres). Further north in Curry County, Hunter Creek would also receive similar protections. Alongside Senator Wyden’s Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act, Senator Merkley has also introduced legislation to expand National Recreation Area status to the entirety of the Smith River watershed. His Senate Bill 162 is similar to a House bill introduced by Representatives Val Hoyle (OR) and Jared Huffman (CA). Along with expanding the Smith River National Recreation Area into Oregon, these bills also designate 75 miles of tributaries as Wild & Scenic.
From a tour of the Irongate Dam Removal on the Klamath River. Credit: Michael Dotson
Klamath River
There may be no river in the world that is getting more attention in the media these days than the Klamath River. Rightfully so. After decades of advocacy from local Tribes, four major dams are being demolished on the upper Klamath River in 2024! By the end of this year, we expect to see hundreds of miles of new spawning habitat open up above the dams that have not been accessible to migrating fish for more than a half-century.
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Even with the dams coming down on the Klamath, drought and climate change are major threats to the river ecosystem. Agricultural water diversions in key tributaries like the Shasta and Trinity Rivers have robbed the river and fish of its water, so man-made threats are still front and center.
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Tribal-led efforts have taken center stage in restoring the Klamath. KS Wild has the pleasure of sharing an office with Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, an Indigenous-led organization that is helping lead the way on dam demolition and river restoration. The Yurok, Karuk, and Klamath Tribes are also taking the lead and activating their communities to help with long-term restoration efforts for a river that has provided food and sustenance for millennia.
At KS Wild, we encourage you to take action for these rivers in our backyard and to speak up for rivers that are in your ‘backyard.’ If you wish to experience one of the wonderful rivers that our region has to offer, you can also check out our Rogue River rafting trip in September with ROW Adventures or our raft-supported Rogue River Trail hike every year in May. This is an annual benefit for KS Wild’s Rogue Riverkeeper program, and it presents a great opportunity to experience some of the wild landscapes of the Klamath-Siskiyou.
We hope to keep these issues front and center with land managers and elected officials, and we are excited to see that the 2025 National River Management Society symposium will be held in Ashland, Oregon, on April 8-10 next year.