Wildlands At The Crossroads

The rare beauty of our Klamath-Siskiyou wildlands provides the type of inspiration that great poets, painters, and adventurous explorers thrive on. These wildlands sustain local communities with clean water and other ecosystem services. They are the pride of local residents, and a major attraction for visitors and new residents looking for a higher quality of life. Every year, tens of thousands of visitors come to southern Oregon and northern California to experience this treasure trove of craggy peaks, wild rivers, and ancient forests.

Our wildlands are ancestral forests persisting in pockets across the landscape like windows to the past, and remain as a stronghold for biodiversity. They are the few pristine rivers that lessen the impacts of dams and pollution in intensely developed landscapes. They are the rugged mountains that serve as a refuge for species in a changing climate.

Holding Strong, Yet Urgently Need Connection

As species are being forced to adapt to the rapidly changing climate, we work toward a more interconnected and resilient landscape of wildlands. Ecological research in the last couple of decades has come to stress the importance of habitat connectivity and permeable landscapes that allow for migration of species, genetic exchange, and the flow of life.

Today’s wildlands are small remnants of a once-interconnected landscape that developed for millennia. Some of these pristine areas are protected as Wilderness Areas or through other administrative designations, but many other wilderness-quality lands face a variety of threats from human development. As species are being forced to adapt to the rapidly changing climate, we work toward a more interconnected and resilient landscape of wildlands.

Wrangle Camp Fencing Project on the Siskiyou Crest

We are thankful for the strong community network that is ready to participate in conservation actions. This past summer, we worked with the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and the Northwest Youth Crew to protect sensitive meadow habitat from off-road vehicle damage. As the youth completed the fencing project, long-time visitors to the historic camp drove up and thanked everyone for their work. We hope for this collaboration to serve as a precedent for more public engagement on the land and to foster a larger community of stewardship.