Protection: Thanks to Oregon Gulch Fire Personnel

At the front lines of protecting our Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument during the Oregon Gulch Fire were more than 1500 men and women from state and federal cooperating agencies. Two hundred acres of Monument land were part of the 35,129 acres (as of August 11, 2014) that burned in this fire, which straddled Oregon and Northern California. Lightning strikes and a long drought caused this fire, and these conditions continue to be a serious problem for Southern Oregon.
     We give thanks to our firefighters who risked their lives. Even during their time off, they showed kindness and compassion to all our community members, especially to those who lost their homes and possessions.
     A wildfire makes us vividly aware of the fragility of our homes, community, and natural resources. When they are lost, either through carelessness or by lighting strikes, it takes a long time for the homes and forests ecosystems to rebuild.
     A wildfire urgently reminds us to learn, communicate, and work together as community to protect and conserve our lands—the loss of biological diversity and ecological integrity is real. As a result of this fire, we’ve learned how vital and vast our social network needs to be in an emergency. Timely and well-defined communications helped to coordinate well-trained personnel and equipment across local, states and federal agencies. It also gave up-to- minute data through digital media, including Facebook and Twitter, which was widely accessible.
     As the final mop-up proceeds on the Oregon Gulch Fire, take time to appreciate what our Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument offers---learn why this place is worthy of protection through our Hike and Learn series that continues through September 2014 (see Calendar of Events). Then when you see firefighters, tell them thanks for protecting our lands. 

--Terry Dickey, Chairman
Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

Oregon Gulch Fire photo by Lee Winslow, ODF

Morning Fire Update at Incident Command Post Photo by Jen Warren, ODF IMT 2 PIO

Thanks to agencies in the Oregon Gulch Fire: 
Greensprings Rural Fire Protection District; Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, CALFIRE, Oregon Air National Guard, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Emergency Services, Klamath County Emergency Management, Siskiyou Office of Emergency Management, Oregon Department of Transportation, Keno Rural Fire District, Jackson and Josephine County Fire Defense Boards, Bureau of Land Management, Pacific Power and Light, and private landowners.

Mother’s Day: Gift of Nature

Myrtle Smith, 2009 photo

Our donors know the importance of our Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and what knowledge and joy these wide-open spaces can bring. Recently our friend Christine Smith wrote:  

“It was such a pleasure to be able to make a donation to the Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument in my mother’s name. Myrtle Young Smith loved the outdoors and welcomed every opportunity to explore the beautiful areas in and around Ashland.
     Myrtle was born in a remote area of interior Alaska in 1917 and lived most of her life in Fairbanks before moving to Ashland in 2005. Those years in Alaska were lived close to the natural world. She camped, fished, trapped, and gardened in her younger days. And well into her seventies, we combed the bogs and hills of the Tanana Valley picking cranberries and blueberries. She had her special places to pick, allowing only family members to know.
     My parents both loved to go for long drives and look at the scenery. I continued to take Myrtle for those drives and we explored parts of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument that were accessible with a walking stick until just a couple of years ago. Even at age 96, Mom loved being able to walk outdoors winter months.
     Myrtle loved the wilderness and the woods, the lakes and creeks. Most Mother’s Days were celebrated with a picnic near a creek or river, in Fairbanks and in Ashland. Her love of nature is a wonderful legacy passed on to her four children, their children and grandchildren.”

Your gifts to the Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument help to advocate, protect and conserve our national monument, ensuring that many generations will continue to learn, support and enjoy our National Conservation Lands.   

Earth Day: Oregon’s “Ecological Wonder” Gains 930 Acres

We take a moment to give thanks to our private-public partnerships that continue to help protect and conserve the biodiversity of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.
     The Conservation Fund has transferred 930 acres of former Hancock Timber Resource Group Lands to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for protection as part of the Monument, including a stretch of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.
     With the leadership of U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, the U.S. Congress approved funding in Fiscal Year 2012 for the purchase through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a federal land protection program that receives funds from the development of federally-owned offshore oil and gas resources. No taxpayer dollars are used to support the LWCF, which has been protecting forests, natural resources, state and local parks and recreation areas since 1965.
     "We are very pleased with the progress being made to place these important conservation lands at Cascade-Siskiyou into public ownership," said David Kimbrough, Manager, Hancock Timber Resource Group.  "With our Sensitive Lands program and through our strong partnership with The Conservation Fund and the Bureau of Land Management, we are more than halfway there, and look forward to continuing to work together to ensure that the rest of the sensitive lands in this biologically-rich landscape are conserved forever."
     These everyday efforts over the longterm, with our partners can result to enhance habitat connectivity for wildlife and expanding public recreational access. We are grateful for what more we can learn from this area that is considered Oregon’s “ecological wonder.”  Learn more about the transfer.

What Scientific Discovery Tells About Life in the Monument

Biologist Michael Parker, SOU Professor of Biology tells about the Jenny Cree sucker.

Mandy Noel (R), SOU Environmental Education graduate student tells about Fall-in-the-Field.

Volunteer “citizen scientists” and their extra eyes and hands help botanist Darlene Southworth with scientific research. In 2010, Southworth found a rare species of truffles under mountain mahogany trees in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. She was among a panel of scientists to tell about their work during a February 2014 presentation at Mountain Park Nature Center, Ashland.
     Doug Kendig, botanist at the BLM Medford District and coordinator of research in the Monument gave introductions. He explained, “The Monument provides an opportunity to discover and acquire scientific understanding of a relatively undisturbed landscape with unique natural resources and landscape processes in southwest Oregon. We can integrate that knowledge into the larger context of our planet for the benefit and enjoyment of the American public.”
Darlene Southworth, botanist and SOU Professor Emerita reported collecting nearly 700 specimens of mycorrhizal fungi (truffles) associated with oak and mixed conifer-hardwood habitats in the Monument. Her ongoing research will complete species identification to verify rare species and to determine truffle biodiversity in other areas. Volunteers are needed for her 2014 survey team. Learn more and apply.
John Alexander, ornithologist and Executive Director of Klamath Bird Observatory discussed using bird monitoring data to develop bird distribution models and to provide a baseline understanding of the status of birds in the Monument. Results will determine the relative contribution of the Monument towards meeting national and regional bird conservation objectives.
Michael Parker, biologist and SOU Professor of Biology summarized his research on the Jenny Creek sucker, endemic to the Monument and northern California. This sucker is imperiled and at high risk of extinction. This fish exhibits a migratory life history, but little is known about this behavior, which makes it a high conservation priority.
Marcus Lorusso, botanist, discussed Seeds of Success (SOS), a national effort to collect, conserve and develop native plant materials for stabilizing, rehabilitating and restoring lands in the United States. Lorusso collected seed from Monument plants and sent them to the Millennium Seed Bank. SOS teams share a common protocol and coordinate seed collecting and species targeting efforts. SOS is a vital part of the Native Plant Materials Development Program.
Mandy Noel, SOU Environmental Education graduate student, summarized Fall in the Field a daylong field trip for K-12 students in Medford and Ashland public schools.
     What a quiet treasure the Monument offers as we explore, at any age, and share the wilderness of knowledge. 

--Terry Dickey, Chair, Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
 

Thank You for Year End Green Gifts!

Snow on Pilot Rock. Jed Holdorph Photo

Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for participating in support of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument this year. You joined our Hike & Learn programs and discovered the diversity of plants and insects along the trails. You celebrated with us at the Rogue Valley Earth Day and the Greensprings Mountain Festivals.

With your support we were able to: 

• Educate 840 elementary and middle school students about the beauty and biodiversity of the Monument, inspiring them to become the future stewards of our public lands through our partnership with Southern Oregon University Environmental Education.
• Protect fragile habitat for the Mardon Skipper and other butterflies in a reroute of the Pacific Crest Trailhead to Hobart Bluff as a National Public Lands Day project. 
• Win a grant award from the Conservation Lands Foundation to assist us in leadership training, expand community awareness, and better manage the resources and values of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. 

We invite you to join our Friends! With a gift $10, $50, $100 or another generous amount you can help us continue to protect, restore and conserve this special place for generations to come. As one of the Bureau of Land Management’s National Conservation Lands, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is our national treasure. 

Please mail your check to:
Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
PO Box 3495
Ashland, OR 97520

We look forward to welcoming you as a donor / member for the coming year!

--Terry Dickey, Chair
Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

Leave Rocks As You Find Them: Care for Public Lands

Hobart Bluff and view of Pilot Rock. KReynolds photo

Recently, the leaders of a Boy Scout troop vandalized a park by toppling a rock formation in Utah’s Goblin State Park. It appears from their actions that they lacked an understanding of the stewardship ethics of our public lands. Americans value national and state parks and access to our extensive system of public lands. It is clear that these scout leaders were unaware of how to act as land stewards.

There are rules and regulations that govern conduct in our National Parks and Monuments, but a good set of general principles can be found in the “Leave No Trace” principles:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

These seven principles are expanded at the Leave No Trace website, http://www.lnt.org. Under “Leave What You Find” is an important bullet point:

•    Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.

The Boy Scout organization has adopted the “Leave No Trace” teaching as well. This recent incident in Utah is a reminder that all visitors to public lands, whether state parks or national monuments, should review these principles to help protect and conserve these lands for the future.

---Joel Brumm, BLM Assistant Monument Manager, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

New Website Launch: Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument

Welcome to the website (cascadesiskiyou.org) of the Friends of Cascade Siskiyou National Monument! This monument is part of the National Conservation Lands system.

Web Page Home 2013: Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

We are collaborating with the BLM’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument staff to link to their digital resources about the Monument. While at the BLM website, you will also learn how they manage, preserve and protect the Monument and the Soda Mountain Wilderness area that lies within its boundaries. We appreciate our partners and affiliate organizations in this important work. Learn about their organizations and how we work together via those web links.
 
Look through the website and see what we offer and then share this link with others. We’ll be updating the information on a regular basis. Please contact us to support and/or volunteer. Best of all, you’ll meet other volunteer conservationists like yourself.

--Terry Dickey, Chair, Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument

2013 National Public Lands Day: A Trail To Promote Meadow for Butterflies

Volunteers at the 2013 National Public Lands Day. 

Meadow restoration - 2013 National Public Lands Day. Joel Brumm photos

When you’re hiking at the the Hobart Bluff Trailhead, give a shout out of thanks to the volunteers and the Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. They shoveled and moved a lot of dirt on our 2013 National Public Lands Day! BLM Recreation Planner Dennis Byrd inspired us with the day’s project: to construct a new section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to replace part of the trail that traversed a meadow and home to the rare Mardon Skipper butterfly. Volunteers restored the PCT at the Hobart Bluffs trailhead by breaking up the compacted old trail, adding new soil, seeding native grasses and planting shrubbery, and then spreading hay to protect the soil from erosion. New signage alerts hikers to the follow the detour so the old trail can revert to being part of the meadow habitat. We’ll celebrate the joys of our labor when the meadow is filled with butterflies!
     Working with great community volunteers not only made this job memorable, it also improved and protected an important butterfly habitat. Thanks to: Joel Brumm, Asa Cates, Wanda Chin, Marian Crumme, Terry  Dickey, John Galego, Justin Glasgow, Jed Holdorph, Duan Mallams, David McClarnon, Barb Morris, Jim Reiland, Kristi Reynolds, Peter Schroeder, and Ian Tally.
     Mark your calendar for next September when we’ll meet up for 2014 National Public Lands Day. For those of you who like get physical, it’s a great chance to meet new friends to work on a fun project at the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.

--Terry Dickey, Chair, Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument