KS Wild Side: “KS Wild’s Public Lands And You Stewardship Program has built a strong seven-year partnership with the USFS’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to help protect Alex Hole, a proposed botanical area at a wetland meadow nestled into the mountains of the Klamath-Siskiyou range at around 7,100-foot elevation.”
KS Wild Side: Rogue Riverkeeper works with volunteers and partner organizations to collect water samples weekly from more than 15 recreation sites and other locations where people commonly enjoy streams, rivers, and lakes, and posts results on the Swim Guide webpage and on the Swim Guide app.
Nicknamed the “Klamath knot,” the Klamath-Siskiyou region ties together many major and diverse ecosystems of the West: Cascadia to the north, deserts to the east, coastal redwoods to the west, and California’s Central Valley to the south. Whether you were already aware of the special biodiversity of the Klamath-Siskiyou or you are feeling newly inspired to get out and explore, consider visiting these four of KS Wild’s favorite spots.
Joseph Vaile: “Currently the USFS and BLM in southwest Oregon are planning timber sales that threaten our old-growth forests. One example is the Medford District BLM. They are about to implement Poor Windy, which targets old-growth trees near Grants Pass along the I-5 corridor. Trees well over 100 years old are marked to be logged.”
To catch a glimpse of the rare Green’s Mariposa Lily in bloom, you can visit the Mariposa Preserve in the early summer around mid-June to the beginning of July. It’s just a short drive south from Ashland to the 222-acre Mariposa Botanical Area, a designated conservation area within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
“Our waterways and the vegetation that makes up the riparian corridors around them need increased protections now more than ever. Rogue Riverkeeper is advocating that stronger setback requirements be added to municipal ordinances to protect these important ecosystems.”
America’s road network, as currently designed, is a major impediment to migration. Fragmentation of habitat caused by roads prevents animals from accessing food and water. For animals both large and small, roads also reduce a species’ long-term viability.
The Private Forest Accord is a huge deal for Oregon’s forests. It is a giant step forward to better protect Oregon’s forests and streams. Forests — the lungs of the planet — can breathe a little easier if the Accord passes the Oregon legislature.
Forecasters are predicting a “multi-day” rainfall event from Friday night through Sunday.
The Historic Ashland Armory will host a two-night event, “Share the Stoke,” to celebrate the premiere of the documentary “Mt. Ashland: More Than a Mountain” from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, and Saturday, Nov. 8. Along with a viewing of the film, the premiere will feature music, food, and other activities.
A debate among Ashland City Councilors is already heating up over a prospective ballot measure that might ask voters to approve a permanent food and beverage tax. The existing 5% food and beverage tax, originally approved by voters in 1993 but renewed several times, provides about $3 million a year in revenue and will sunset in 2030.
Eight Mongolian scientists spent three days along the Klamath River to see how dam removal is changing salmon runs as Mongolia balances river conservation and hydropower ambitions.
Obituary: Retired Lt. Hector Meletich, who passed away on Oct. 15, was a 13-year veteran of the Ashland Police Department where he “wore the badge with honor and brought professionalism and compassion to all he encountered.”
Herbert Rothschild: Vladimir Putin has said he is willing to abide for one more year by the limits on nuclear arms in the New START treaty while another treaty is being negotiated. Our immediate task is to convince Donald Trump to accept that offer. Don’t react to this call to action in a knee-jerk fashion. Trump wants to be seen as an international peacemaker.
(It’s free)
