Protecting What We Value

Sometimes being in the right place has everything to do with doing the best work

Sometimes being in the right place has everything to do with doing the best work

With So Many Threats to Public Lands How Does KS Wild Prioritize What to Work On?

For over 20 years KS Wild has been a voice for the wildlands, wildlife and watersheds found on over 8 million acres of public lands. We strive to protect and restore forests and watersheds that stretch from Eastern Oregon to the Coast and down through Northern California. Anytime the Forest Service proposes a project that will impact public lands the Rogue River or Klamath Watersheds we make sure that we know what the agency is doing and we work hard to encourage actions that will restore watersheds and ecosystems while standing steadfast against proposals that will harm our forests.

Taking a Big Picture View

KS Wild started in a Yurt near Williams Oregon with a focus on protecting the old-growth forests in the area, especially the ancient forests associated with the nearby Siskiyou Crest Mountain Range. The Siskiyou Crest remains the heart of our “coverage area” as we believe that its unique west-east orientation (most mountains ranges run  north-south) combined with its spectacular biodiversity make it a crucial corridor for wildlife.

We now defend public lands throughout Southern Oregon and Northern California. In particular we monitor and protect public lands in the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Fremont-Winema, Six Rivers, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity National Forests. We also protect forests and watersheds managed by the Medford District BLM and the Klamath Falls Resource Area. It’s a lot of ground to cover.

GS getting immersed in the environment to do some writing

GS getting immersed in the environment to do some writing

How We Decide Where to Focus

Here the first questions we ask when taking a look at federal land management proposals:

  • Does the project impact wildlands that serve as wildlife or botanical hotspots?
  • Will aquatic values like clean water or imperiled fish habitat be impacted?
  • Does the project increase the resiliency of nearby communities and encourage a sustainable relationship with public lands?
  • Will the project harm threatened or at-risk wildlife species?

Collaboration vs Confrontation

KS Wild works to empower local communities to have a meaningful say in what happens in their backyard forests. Love Where you Live and Defend What You Love is more than a slogan to us. When we can, we like to work with federal land managers to encourage and facilitate projects with a restoration focus. But when the Forest Service or BLM propose logging, mining or grazing activities that will harm forests and watersheds, we work to modify, slow or halt them.

We also work hand in hand with our conservation allies in partnerships to encourage sustainable practices on public lands. In particular we value our allies at Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Lomakatsi, the Klamath Forest Alliance and the Environmental Protection Information Center, The Western Environmental Law Center, and Earthjustice among many others.

Klamath Siskiyou