KS Wild Works for the Illinois Valley!
Written by George Sexton, January 27th, 2023
The Wild Rivers Ranger District (in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest) has it all—botanical hotspots like $8 Mountain and Fiddler Gulch, big wildlands in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, regional wildlife connectivity on the Siskiyou Crest, and some of the wildest rivers in the lower 48. Simply put, the Illinois Valley and the Wild Rivers Ranger District are at the very heart of KS Wild’s mission to protect wildlands, wildlife and watersheds.
Post-Fire Slater Management
The Slater Fire burned hot and fast due to extreme winds, extreme heat and extreme drought driven by climate change. Many of the old-growth forests along the Siskiyou Crest near Bolan Lake and north through the Althouse Creek Watershed burned at stand replacing intensity. Following the fire, KS Wild worked to ensure that when implementing post-fire roadside “hazard” tree logging the Forest Service: (1) Kept heavy equipment out of the riparian reserves; (2) Protected botanical areas; (3) Retained large course woody debris and legacy snags for wildlife habitat; and (4) Limited logging on the downhill slope of impacted roads.
Briggs Valley Timber Sale
Throughout the timber sale planning process for the Briggs Valley project KS Wild advocated for protection of Northern spotted owl habitat, riparian reserves, hiking trails, and recreational facilities while encouraging the thinning of existing tree plantations and the utilization of prescribed fire for restoration. Not all of our efforts were successful but we influenced the timber sale for the better. Currently we are engaged in implementation monitoring as the timber sale proceeds.
$8 Mountain Botanical Area
Years of community-based clean up and restoration work have paid off and the $8 Mountain Botanical Area looks better than it has in years. The trash is gone. The native plants are thriving. Off road vehicle damage has been substantially reduced and this special place is blooming and thriving.
Port Orford Cedar Gates
We are lucky to live within the narrow range of the magnificent Port Orford Cedar conifer species that is associated with riparian areas with serpentine soils. KS Wild annually works to ensure that seasonal cedar gates are closed and signed to protect this endemic native species from a root disease that is often spread by muddy wet weather motorized traffic.
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve
KS Wild lead the effort to expand the Monument by ten-fold and to get the cows out of the Bigalow Lakes Basin. Now we are working with the Park Service on a fire management plan to help the fire-evolved old-growth forests adjust to climate change and a hundred years of fire suppression/exclusion.
Renegade Mining
We’re keeping a close eye on sporadic illegal renegade mining that occurs in salmon and steelhead habitat along Sucker Creek, Silver Creek and Briggs Creek.
IV FROG
KS Wild participates in the Illinois Valley Fire Resiliency Oversight Group, a collaborative focused on working across land ownership with several state and federal partners and local community groups to advance community fire protection and federal land conservation management. Through this entity KS Wild is connecting rural residents to wildfire planning and preparation resources. This is also a space for conservation advocates to influence Forest Service upcoming Service projects in the Wild Rivers Ranger District.
Upper Illinois Project
This upcoming project includes areas burned by the Slater Fire and surrounds the Caves National Monument and Preserve. Though in the early planning phase, KS Wild has been part of discussions to help shape the project to focus on wildfire management and protection of old-growth forests.
Defending the South Kalmiopsis from Mining
The south Kalmiopsis wildlands contain the headwaters of the premier wild rivers in the West: the Smith and Illinois. Sparkling emerald water flows through forested canyons, but mining companies want to excavate a series of nickel strip mines in the pristine waters. The devastating proposals would turn these watersheds into a wasteland of haul roads, ore smelters, and piles of toxic mining waste. In 2017 the Obama Administration announced these wild rivers were officially protected for 20 years under a "mineral withdrawal," effectively blocking industrial strip mining. KS Wild continues to work with the local supporters, the organizations, and the elected officials, to make this temporary ban permanent by passing the Southwest Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act.
Would you like to become a steward of the Illinois Valley? Sign up to join our stewardship program, and we’ll update you on upcoming events we could use your help with!
