Diversity Follows Fire

Fire is so important to the world-renown forest diversity of the Klamath-Siskiyou that it is recognized as the keystone ecological process. Here in the KS, forests with fire are healthy forests!

Forests, Public Lands, Wilderness, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouOctober 12, 2017forestfire, fire resilient, wilderness area, wildlands, kalmiopsis wildlands, biodiversity, trees, fire, wildfire

Exploring the Little Grayback Mountain Trail

Looking for an early spring antidote to cabin fever? The Little Grayback Mountain trail may be just the ticket.

Applegate, Public Lands, WildlandsGuest UserApril 27, 2017wilderness, little grayback mountain, hiking, Applegate, explore

Land of Wild Rivers

Few experiences are more evocative of the Pacific Northwest than the sight of a salmon leaping a waterfall. People gather to watch as they make their way to ancestral spawning grounds each year at Rainie Falls on the Rogue River or the mouth of Wooley Creek on the Salmon River. Some rivers of the Klamath-Siskiyou are strongholds for wild salmon, including the federally listed Northern California/Southern Oregon Coho Salmon

Water, Wild Rivers, Rogue Riverkeeper, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouApril 4, 2017environment, ecosystem, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, biodiversity, water, wild rivers, rogue riverkeeper, rogue river, watershed, klamath river, illinois river, trinity river, upper sacramento river, smith river, chetco river, coho salmon, chinook salmon, steelhead, rainbow trout, green sturgeon, pacific lamprey, cutthroat trout, imperiled species, oncorhynchus, Acipenser medirostris, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus kisutch, Oncorhynchus clarkii, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, western siskiyou mountains, siskiyou mountains, southern oregon, oregon, wild and scenic rivers, national forest, rough and ready creek, baldface creek, dams, mining, toxic runoff, gold, pollution, riparian, urban development, logging, road-building, clean water, west coast, pacific northwest, rainie falls, wooley creek, salmon river, northern california/southern oregon coho salmon, wildlands, clean water act, kalmiopsis, nickel strip mining, strip-mining, 1872 mining law, bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, federal energy regulatory commission, pacific connector pipline, rogue climate, climate, conservation, Lampetra tridentata, Entosphenus tridentatus

The Big, Wild 5

Unlike most of North America, we are extremely fortunate to live in a region in which five major wildland complexes have thusfar survived the pressures from logging, mining and road construction. It is our job and responsibility to protect these special places for the those who come after us and for their intrinsic value.

Wilderness, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouMarch 28, 2017conservation, environment, ecosystem, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, biodiversity, big 5, big five, major wilderness complexes, forests, logging, mining, road-building, kalmiopsis, west coast, kalmiopsis wildlands, kalmiopsis mountains, serpentine, soil, serpentine soil, geology, plate tectonics, forest service, clearcutting, nickel strip mining, strip-mining, smith river, biscuit fire, wildfire, forestfire, roadless areas, illinois river, chetco river, north fork smith river, high siskiyous, east fork illinois, siskiyou fork smith, clear creek, dillon creek, blue creek, klamath river, high siskiyou wildlands, watershed, water, wild rivers, refuge, transition zones, climate, salmon, salmonidae, oncorhynchus, steelhead, rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, red buttes, siskiyou crest, mountians, corridor, klamath mountians, oregon coast range, cascade mountians, land bridge, wildlife, cattle, grazing, marble mountains, old-growth forest, alpine meadows, limestone, marble, tribes, tribal governments, native americans, fire dependant, fire resilient, fire suppression, clean water, wooley creek, shackleford creek, salmon river, scott river, trinity alps, water quality, wildflowers, fire management

Cascade-Siskiyou Monument Expanded

After four local public hearings and thousands of letters to elected officials, support for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument has been heard! On Thursday, January 12, 2017, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to expand the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon.

Cascade-Siskiyou, WildlandsKlamath SiskiyouJanuary 12, 2017conservation, environment, ecosystem, klamath-siskiyou, ks wild, biodiversity, cascade-siskiyou, cascade-siskiyou monument, monument, cascade-siskiyou national monument, antiquities act, southern oregon, wildlands, logging, salvage, forests, forestfire, wildfire, watershed, public lands, oregon-california border, north america, wildlife, great basin, sierra nevada, siskiyou mountains, cascade mountians, corridor, climate, pilot rock, horseshoe rance, lower jenny creek, california, oregon, northern california, rogue valley foothills, casacade mountain range, little hyatt lake, moon prairie, hoxie creek, upper jenny creek, grizzly peak, surveyor mountain, tunnel creek wetlands, wetlands, tunnel creek, public land, department of interior, ashland, talent, clean water, old-growth forest, soda mountain wilderness council, rogue valley audubon society, wilderness society, conservation lands foundation, friends of the cascade-siskiyou national monument

Fire on the Land: A Keystone Ecological Process

A suite of species depend on fire for their life cycles. Healthy stands of white and purple Ceanothus burst forth after fire and provide for a suite of pollinators. Knobcone pines love the heat that enables their cones to release seeds. Black- backed woodpeckers thrive by foraging amongst blackened snags. Fire is as necessary as water is to the local forest ecosystem.

Kalmiopsis Tales: Rugged Mountains, Long fights & Wild Women

Long fights with no reward can feel tiresome and unrewarding after awhile. That’s why this May we held the first annual Return to the Wild, a rustic retreat along the Illinois River for female activists from around Southwest Oregon. Elders told stories of past trials and triumphs, we bonded and benefited from the therapy of nature, and were reinvigorated for our work ahead.

This Land is Your Land Stewardship and Our Public Lands

Environmental stewards can operate in a variety of ways: as practitioners, donors, and doers. Our staff works hard each day as practitioners, working directly with government agencies and stakeholders to promote best practices in the management of our public lands. Foundations and community members serve as vital donors, providing financial support for our work. The doers are all of you—KS Wild members, volunteers, interns, and partners—who take part in our work, voice your support for public lands, or even just get out on a hike.

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

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

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