KS Wild Side
KS Wild Side: The summer’s water quality monitoring results in the Rogue basin
Frances Oyung: It’s great to see that many of our favorite recreation sites had low levels of bacteria in the summer.
November 19, 2025
Frances Oyung: It’s great to see that many of our favorite recreation sites had low levels of bacteria in the summer.
Frances Oyung: Because Bear Creek is the most urbanized watershed in the Rogue basin, many people are unaware that running through their towns and along the interstate we still have important habitat for native fish.
Elizabeth Essex: Gardens catch our attention for various reasons. It might be a striking new plant we haven’t seen before, or the scent of a blossom wafting on the breeze, or the image of a butterfly waving its wings at us! This month, the pergola at 903 Stoneridge Ave. is compelling for its ability to create a garden room much enjoyed by the owners, Christina and David Boenitz.
Haleigh Martin: Eliminating the Roadless Rule would destroy some of the most cherished recreation areas, including 11,337 climbing routes, more than 1,000 whitewater paddling runs, 43,826 miles of trail, and 20,298 mountain biking trails as well as sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest and Appalachian National Trails.
A great, no-cost way to begin preparing your home for wildfire is by creating defensible space, which is a buffer around your home to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and protect your home from catching fire.
Haleigh Martin: Our staff at KS Wild and Rogue Riverkeeper have pulled together a list of our favorite springtime hikes to get you outside and inspired by this incredible region we get to call home.
Haleigh Martin: The festival is designed to inspire and engage your inner activist, to remind you that you hold power to create change and be a critical part of creating the world you wish to see.
KS Wild Side: Along with providing a sustainable supply of timber to rural communities in the Northwest, one of the main premises of the Northwest Forest Plan was to also protect species dependent on old-growth ecosystems, mainly the northern spotted owl, the red tree vole, and the marbled murrelet.
KS Wild Side: With the help of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program, the state of Oregon will see its first wildlife overpass built in Ashland’s backyard. The proposed wildlife overpass is located roughly at mile marker 1.7 on Interstate 5, just north of the California border.
KS Wild Side: As 2024 comes to a close, it’s always nice to reflect on the year, so we bring you a 2024 highlight reel featuring good news and positive updates for public lands and all that live in and enjoy them all across the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion across Southern Oregon and Northern California.
In a reversal of fortune, a proposed 6-acre solar installation on Ashland’s northwest side along Highway 99 appears headed for approval after a public hearing Monday, Dec. 1, before a county hearing officer. The proposal had been tentatively denied by staff, then appealed to the hearing officer by the applicant, Medella Bison Ranch.
With growing concerns over major state budget deficits, stagnating population growth, rising unemployment and new data showing Oregon businesses have started looking elsewhere as they expand, Governor Tina Kotek announced her intention to dig the Beaver State’s business cred out of the basement
Asante Ashland Community Hospital’s birthing center and inpatient surgery will close by spring 2026, leaving only the emergency room and outpatient services, according to plans shared with staff Wednesday, Dec. 3, by Asante, the Medford-based health care provider serving Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Obituary: Mary Linda Jackson passed away on Thursday, Nov. 27, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. A Catholic Mass and Memorial Service will be held on Monday, Dec. 22 in Ashland.
Ask Strider: For Christmas, a reader would rather have pizza in her pajamas than Beef Wellington in her dressing up clothes, but family members feel differently. What to do? And another reader makes Strider wag his tail and think of pancakes.
A potentially dire budget cliff prompted the Ashland City Council Monday to look at possible future cuts to police, fire, the City Band and burial services, along with various ideas to increase revenues. The council held a five-hour “retreat” in its council chamber Monday to hash out ways to avoid expected budget shortfalls over the next three bienniums that ranged from just over $1 million in a best-case scenario to more than $23 million in a worst-case scenario.
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