Another Kalmiopsis and Wild Rivers Coast Mining Proposal

Despite a 2017 ruling by the Obama Administration to put a 20-year moratorium on mining in the headwaters of the North Fork Smith River and Illinois River, a new mining company has emerged with plans to mine for nickel in the Baldface Creek watershed. Read more about KS Wild’s work protecting this region from mining here.

Wild Rivers, Water, Wilderness, Public LandsKlamath SiskiyouJune 4, 2024conservation, environment, ecosystem, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, water, wild rivers, mining, wilderness, southern oregon, northern california, strip-mining, kalmiopsis wild rivers, southwest oregon, josephine county, curry county, kalmiopsis wildlands, kalmiopsis, kalmiopsis wilderness area, smith river, illinois river, hunter creek, watershed, wild rivers coast, clean water, water quality, pacific ocean, serpentine, 1872 mining law, air pollution, smelters, toxic runoff, fishing, gold beach, cave junction, crescent city, salmonidae, salmon, oncorhynchus, native americans, friends of the kalmiopsis, kalmiopsis audubon, native fish society, american rivers, american whitewater, wild and scenic rivers, smith river alliance, off-road vehicle, steelhead, rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, smith national recreation area, ORV, forest service, nickel mining, nickel strip mining, top story

Restore & Protect Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area

Defending the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area, on the edge of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, is a high priority for KS Wild’s stewardship program. Teams of volunteers have worked for years to clean up illegal dumping sites and protect the botanical hotspot from illegal off-highway vehicle use (OHV). Our goal is to install gates to prevent further degradation, and allow for an orderly managed botanical area.

StewardshipGuest UserJune 7, 2019stewardship, kalmiopsis wilderness area, illinois river

Kalmiopsis and Wild Rivers Coast Protected from Mining!

We are celebrating the recent victory to protect some of our most prized rivers from proposed industrial strip mining for a period of 20 years. We are hopeful that this victory will stand, even in the Trump administration.

Wild Rivers, Water, WildernessKlamath SiskiyouJanuary 20, 2017conservation, environment, ecosystem, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, water, wild rivers, mining, wilderness, southern oregon, northern california, strip-mining, kalmiopsis wild rivers, southwest oregon, josephine county, curry county, kalmiopsis wildlands, kalmiopsis, kalmiopsis wilderness area, smith river, illinois river, hunter creek, watershed, wild rivers coast, clean water, water quality, pacific ocean, serpentine, 1872 mining law, air pollution, smelters, toxic runoff, fishing, gold beach, cave junction, crescent city, salmonidae, salmon, oncorhynchus, native americans, friends of the kalmiopsis, kalmiopsis audubon, native fish society, american rivers, american whitewater, wild and scenic rivers, smith river alliance, off-road vehicle, steelhead, rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, smith national recreation area, ORV, forest service

A Closer Look: Kalmiopsis Rivers

Regularly visited by botanists, it boasts the highest wildflower diversity in Oregon. Fisher folk appreciate the habitat it provides for steelhead and cutthroat trout, and it is well known by locals for always running clear. Before entering the Wild and Scenic Illinois River, it flows through a rugged, beautiful wilderness landscape. Part of this area, the South Kalmiopsis Roadless area was recommended as an addition to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in 2004.

Wild Rivers, Water, Wilderness, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouSeptember 1, 2015conservation, environment, ecosystem, biodiversity, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, wildlands, wilderness, wild rivers, water, mining, kalmiopsis wild rivers, kalmiopsis rivers, rough and ready creek, botanticals, wildflowers, oregon, fishing, fish, steelhead, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus clarkii, wild and scenic rivers, illinois river, south kalmiopsis roadless area, kalmiopsis wilderness area, nickel mining, strip-mining, nickel strip mining, north fork smith river, tributary, national wild and scenic smith river, smith river, smelters, gasquet, crescent city, hiouchi, california, red flat nickel corp, baldface creek, hunter creek, pistol river, wild rivers coast, chinook salmon, coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, winter steelhead, costal cutthroat trout, watershed, clean water, community, north fork pistol river, headwaters

Klamath-Siskiyou: forests of Fire

The forests of the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains are dependent upon fire. For millennia, lightning storms have ignited blazes that sparked the unique plant communities, tree composition and biodiversity that define the region. Our forests are evolved to accommodate the regenerative force of fire.

Wilderness in the Klamath-Siskiyou

The Klamath-Siskiyou region is home to the largest expanse of wildlands on the West Coast. Some of these pristine wild areas are protected under the Wilderness Act as Wilderness Areas, but many other wilderness-quality lands are unprotected and face a variety of threats including logging, road-building, over-grazing, and irresponsible off-road vehicle use.

Wilderness, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouSeptember 1, 2014conservation, environment, ecosystem, ks wild, klamath-siskiyou, biodiversity, wildlands, wilderness, west coast, wilderness act, wilderness area, forests, logging, salvage, forestfire, wildfire, grazing, cattle, road-building, off-road vehicle, habitat, wildlife, community, southern oregon, northern california, old-growth forest, wild rivers, mountians, geology, glaciers, climate, wild rogue river, cascade mountians, headwaters, rogue river, umpqua river, klamath river, grassy knob, rogue-umpqua divide, sky lakes, copper salmon, siskiyou wild rivers, salmon, salmonidae, oncorhynchus, elk river, sixes river, illinois river, wild rogue wilderness, water, mining, rivers, kalmiopsis, chetco river, north fork smith river, wild and scenic rivers, kalmiopsis wilderness area, soda mountian, great basin, wildflowers, coniferae, conifer, coniferophyta, red buttes, siskiyou, alpine, lakes, siskiyou mountains, russian wilderness, marble mountian, castle crags, marble rim, trinity alps, chanchelulla, yolly bolly, klamath mountians, southern klamath range, klamath range, granite, backpacking, rafting, explore, hiking

Kalmiopsis Wilderness

The mountains of the Kalmiopsis emerged from the ocean floor as result of geological uplift (rather than volcanism) and have been subject to folding and faulting ever since. As a result, the unique soils are packed with heavy metals including nickel, iron, chromium, and magnesium that make life hard for most plant life. To survive in this environment plants have had to evolve and adapt to get by in circumstances that would normally kill most flowering species. More than any other wilderness in the region, the Kalmiopsis is the home of oddball survivors.

Wilderness, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouJuly 1, 2014conservation, environment, ecosystem, ks wild, klamath-siskiyou, biodiversity, kalmiopsis, kalmiopsis wildlands, kalmiopsis wilderness area, kalmiopsis wilderness, geology, mountians, kalmiopsis mountains, kalmiopsis rivers, kalmiopsis wild rivers, uplift, plate tectonics, folding, faulting, heavy metals, nickel, iron, chromium, magnesium, Kalmiopsis leachiana, heath, wild rivers, wild and scenic rivers, illinois river, wilderness, wildlands, chetco river, north fork smith river, headwaters, forests, logging, salvage, forestfire, wildfire, water, mining, road-building, watershed, roads, illinois river trail, forest service, backpacking, rafting, smith river, california pitcher plant, cobra lily, cobra plant, Darlingtonia californica, pitcher plant, carnivorous plant, biscuit fire, fire, oregon, california, southern oregon, northern california, fire dependant, knobcone pine, Pinus attenuata, Pinus tuberculata, hiking, tanoak, tanbark-oak, Notholithocarpus densiflorus, nickel mining, off-road vehicle, botany, botanticals

Our mission

Subscribe

Contact us

Take your support to the next level and create a Facebook fundraiser for KS Wild! Click here to learn how.