Stories and Insights from KS Wild

While descendants of OR-7 carry the Rogue Wolf Pack legacy, wolf conservation is still in flux across the region and country. Click to learn more.

Our Public Lands and You (PLAY) Program volunteers are working with the US Forest Service (USFS) to protect important botanical spaces on the Siskiyou Crest. Read more about this work here!

Have you ever wondered if civic engagement is even worth it when it comes to protecting the forests and rivers you love? The extractive industries are so powerful, the land management agencies are so bureaucratic, the court system is so difficult to navigate, and climate change is so daunting that submitting a heartfelt public comment about a timber sale can feel like an act of futility. Yet it is persistent involvement from everyday people that makes a real difference for wildlife and watersheds.

KS Wild is known for holding federal land managers accountable and challenging timber sales that threaten harm to wildlife and watersheds, so it's a big deal when we give the BLM their flowers for doing the right thing…

The Bureau of Land Management recently published an EA and solicited public comment for the South Clark Forest Management Project, which would have increased wildfire hazard by logging the proposed 2,238 acres outside of Butte Falls, OR. The BLM, however, has course corrected this project in a win for wildfire resilience. Click to read more.

The Medford District Bureau of Land Management's old-growth logging program is relentless and uncompromising. Currently, the 8,150-acre "Last Chance" timber sale calls for logging most of the remaining mature and old-growth forests in the foothills between Sunny Valley and Galesville. Click to learn more.

Fire and disturbance have always been a natural component of the earth's ecosystems. There are some plants that rely on fire to continue their next generation of life. Click to learn more.

Learn more about KS Wild’s work protecting the imperiled Mardon skipper butterfly habitat in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

Wildfires are producing intense smoke this summer that can pose serious health risks. Please protect yourself and those you care for from excessive smoke, especially those that have sensitive respiratory systems. Read our blog post if you want to learn more about smoke resources.

The northern spotted owl is a Pacific Northwest forest icon. The species relies on old-growth forests to survive, and much of its habitat is threatened by loss of habitat and habitat fragmentation due to logging. Learn more about this imperiled species of the PNW in this blog.

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. Read this blog to get a deeper understanding of the threats and opportunities for wild rivers across the region.

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.

We spent a week hiking the Rogue River National Recreation Trail with a group of determined hikers and the raft support of our friends at ARTA. Read the full report here.

In this guest blog, our friend Harry Fuller recounts his field trip with KS Wild in search of great gray owls. Though no owls were spotted, 28 other species were.

Last week, I ventured into the field with George, our Conservation Director, to groundtruth a Medford District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) timber sale called Mill Rat within the Poor Windy project just north of Grants Pass, Oregon. What we found was heartbreaking. Click to read the full field report.

Wildflowers are abloom at Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area! See which flowers we saw and identified on our April hike last week.

The Biden Administration has announced a federal rule for how the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) mission addresses the climate and biodiversity crises, attempting to re-balance BLM’s multi-use mandate for managing public lands, which for decades has favored resource extraction over any other use.

The Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to propose timber sales and contend they are retaining (rather than logging) old-growth, and conservation organizations and the BLM’s neighbors will argue that the BLM is in fact logging old-growth. So, who is right and what’s behind the conflicting claims?

For the past 7 years, the timber industry has filed numerous lawsuits with the goal of reopening these lands for logging. The legal attempts extended from Medford federal courts and made it all of the way to the Supreme Court this winter before the highest court in the country declined to hear their case earlier this month. 

Following years of public concern and successful op eds and appeals, the Bear Grub timber sale is canceled (again)! Read more about the decision here.

Serious barred owl encroachment on northern spotted owl habitat has led the US Fish and Wildlife Service to propose a management plan to right the dynamic. Read more about the need for the plan and what the implications could be if the situation is not addressed.

Life isn’t easy for a Pacific fisher; avoiding poisons, traps, and climate change. Ms. Carnivora Pennanti Fisher tells her story of struggle with her fisher kits in this journal entry.

With the fire season in the rearview mirror, we offer this recap of the 2023 wildfires in the Klamath-Siskiyou region. Read more about each fire and gain access to resources for your own wildfire safety.

KS Wild’s Executive Director recently visited the Irongate Dam, one of four dams set to be removed by 2024 to create a free-flowing Klamath River. Read more about his experience here.

The Northwest Forest Plan is the largest, truly science-based forest and ecosystem management plan in the country, affecting 19 million acres of public lands across western Washington, Oregon, and northern California, and it’s getting an update. Learn more here.

As numerous fires continue to sweep through northern California, resources are being compiled to issue aid to aid our community members, provide up-to-date information on evacuations and road closures, and supply smoke and fire updates.