2023 Nature Camp Kicks Off

Nestled within the lush surroundings of the CSNM, the first Monument Day of The Crest’s Nature Day Camp unfolded on the picture-perfect day of June 28, 2023. As the kids arrived by bus, their excitement was palpable; they were ready to embark on an adventure filled with exploration and discovery. The group, known as the "foxes," consisting of kids aged 6-11 years, gathered together to begin their journey to Hobart Bluff with the Friends’ Interpretive Rangers.

While on the trail, the kids were encouraged to contemplate the concept of an ecosystem. With their curious minds at work, they shared insightful answers, demonstrating their understanding of the intricate relationships between living organisms and their environment. As the group traversed the trail, the kids observed various elements that corroborated their initial responses, reinforcing their comprehension of how ecosystems function.

In addition to becoming familiar with the concept of a healthy ecosystem, the kids learned the potential impacts that can disrupt an ecosystem’s delicate balance including how human activities and natural occurrences can influence the overall well-being of an ecosystem. By understanding the significance of maintaining ecosystem health, these young explorers developed a greater appreciation for their role as stewards of the environment.

At the first viewpoint along the trail, the kids practiced a "sit spot", an exercise that fosters a deeper connection with nature. They found a comfortable spot and quietly observed their surroundings. They absorbed the sights and sounds of the Monument's biodiversity, and captured their experiences and emotions in their personal journals.

As the educational hike drew to a close, the kids returned from their immersive adventure, brimming with newfound knowledge and excitement. The hike had not only provided them with a chance to explore the landscapes of the Monument, but also ignited a sense of wonder and curiosity within them. Our hope is that experiences such as this one will broaden the children's understanding of and foster a love for the natural world, contributing to a generation of environmentally-conscious individuals. 

The Nature Camp Monument Days that we run in partnership with The Crest will continue for eight weeks, during which our Summer Interpretive Rangers, Meaghen O’Rourke and Christina Gilbert, will lead all-day educational adventures in the Monument for 6-11 year olds. If you want to sign your child up for Nature Day Camp, visit The Crest’s website at https://thecrestatwillowwitt.org/programs/summer-camps/nature-day-camps/.

Artist-in-Residence Reception

When you’re up in the Monument, do you ever wish that you could capture a moment perfectly? Not just with your phone, where the greens don’t seem as vibrant and blue sky lacks a certain brilliance contrasted with a rolling cumulus cloud. Perhaps you want to freeze an emotion that floods over you as you look across the landscape swaying gently in a warm breeze, the almost invisible birds and insects flitting between the boughs and blades of grass. Even though the technology in our pockets always seems to be improving, it more often than not lacks the vividness of life. This is where artists come in. 

Every year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) selects artists for a one to two week stay in the Monument. During this time, the artists dedicate themselves to capturing the natural beauty of the landscape, its biodiversity, and unique character. Not only do they donate a digital copy of one of their pieces to the BLM, but they also participate in a reception hosted by Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. It was at this reception that we got to meet this year’s artists in person. 

Leslie Ann Hauer, who is from the east side of Washington State, set up her gorgeous oil paintings along a table. While she has no formal art training, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Her paintings all captured a snapshot of the Monument in colorful detail. From a gorgeous landscape at Hyatt Lake –with “50 shades of green”-- to a detailed study of a mossy fence post, you truly felt as though her subjects came alive. 

Nisty Tharp, a native of Colorado who currently resides in Utah, worked primarily in acrylic paint and markers. She represented the Monument and its wildlife in punchy colors that evoked the vitality of its biodiversity. An art teacher by profession, Nisty spoke about her process and also the challenges of working on unconventional materials such as pieces of local pine wood. 

It was great to see so many beautiful pieces and we look forward to experiencing what next year’s artists create. 

We would like to thank Leslie and Nisty for donating 20% of their sales at the reception to FCSNM. To learn more about the artists and explore more of their work, please visit their websites: 

Nisty Tharp: https://www.nistyartwork.com/

Leslie Ann Hauer: https://hauerart.com/





Sunday Hike at Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area

Horseshoe Ranch, formerly a working Cattle Ranch spanning from 1908 to 1970, underwent a transformation in 1977 when it was converted into a wildlife area by California Fish and Game. Recognizing its significance for biodiversity and maintaining habitat connectivity, the Ranch was incorporated into the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in 2017. The hike through Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area offers a captivating experience, showcasing remnants of the ranching industry amidst rolling hills adorned with native vegetation and abundant wildlife.

As we embarked on the trail, we encountered native plants and nesting birds, witnessing the resilience of the ecosystem in the fire-scarred trees. Heather Stewart-Ahn, a Master's student in biology at Eastern Washington University and a 2022 Friends Research Fund recipient, co-lead our hike. Heather has been studying an extremely rare, vividly red lichen, Umbilicaria phaea var. coccinea, found in the Monument. Heather showed us a population of Umbilicaria phaea var. coccinea and we explored the micro ecosystem of the red lichens clinging to the basalt and learned about their structure, reproduction, and vulnerabilities. To hear more about Heather’s research, check out her presentation at our 2023 Monument Research Symposium HERE. 

Continuing our trek, we came upon a crumbling ranch spring house. Nestled near Scotch Creek enveloped by grasses and wildflowers, with Pilot Rock proudly standing in the Oregonian backdrop, its metal roof glinted in the sunlight. There were many bird species around, one of which was the Killdeer whose nests they guarded along the rocky creekside.

Ascending the old fire road, we hoped to glimpse the expansive grasslands beyond Scotch Creek, frequented by feral horses whose impact on the riparian area was evident, eroding the creekside. Despite reaching the hilltop, the horses eluded our sight, perhaps avoiding the hot sunlight. On a level stretch of terrain, an exclamation redirected our attention. Swiftly grabbing binoculars, we witnessed small specks in the distance swiftly moving – the feral horses were there taking advantage of the area's nourishing grasses and riparian areas.

Throughout our hike in the Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area, we encountered remnants of a bygone era, witnessed the preciousness of rare lichens, and marveled at the resilience of nature. Whether you're a nature enthusiast, a history buff, or simply seeking a rejuvenating outdoor activity, exploring this wildlife area within the Monument promises a rewarding and memorable hiking experience.

2nd Annual CSNM Painting Days

The 2nd Annual CSNM Painting Days took place June 15, 16, & 17, 2023. The group of experienced artists returned to Babbitt Saddle, just east of Pilot Rock, and to the high point above the Hobart Bluff trailhead to take in the amazing array of wildflowers, grand vistas, and engaging rock and tree formations. They also made a visit to Hobart Lake and to a location in the Siskiyou Mountains outside of the Monument near the campground on Mt. Ashland. 

They painted images in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to share the natural qualities of these unique wildlands and to call attention to the way they benefit society whether you visit them or not. Wildlands contribute to clean air and water, and provide habitat for a wide range of life forms whose very existence supports our own. 

The painters Midge Black (midgeblack.com), Sarah Burns (sarahfburns.com), Erik Sandgren (eriksandgren.com), Kathryn Cotnoir (artshine.org/artist/kathryn-cotnoir/), Desmond Seratorre (desmondserratore.com), Howard Hunter, and organizer Katy Cauker were joined this year by Mary Hills and Nicole Pizziconi. All of the artists strive to paint steadily throughout the year and most have websites with work available for viewing pleasure and purchase. 

Event Leader - Katy Cauker: Draw  Paint Print, www.kcgallery6.com

Words by Katy Cauker.

Volcanoes in the Monument Hike & Learn

On Friday, June 9, the Ashland Food Co-op Community Classroom was full to the brim with geology enthusiasts. As additional chairs were being located, Jad D’Allura took his place at the front of the room to begin his presentation. Jad has spent a lot of time in the world of geology, particularly that of Southern Oregon. After receiving his Ph.D. in geology from UC Davis, he worked for Texaco as an exploration geologist for two years before coming to work for Southern Oregon University for 33 years prior to retirement. Yet he still continues to do basic geology research with University of Oregon undergraduate seniors in the Monument. 

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument comprises 114,000 acres set aside for its biodiversity. Still, it’s only natural that that biodiversity would rest upon a diverse and fascinating geological foundation. The Monument itself is made up of two mountain ranges including the Cascade Mountains and Siskiyou Mountains. In particular, its geological history has been characterized by volcanic activity with most of the rocks found in the Monument being volcanic in nature. But, what exactly is a volcano and how is it formed? It would be difficult to find someone better qualified than Jad to answer this question. 

A volcano is a rupture in the Earth’s crust fundamentally caused by plate tectonics. In the case of the Monument, the denser oceanic crust (the Juan de Fuca Plate) is pulled beneath the less-dense continental crust (North American Plate) at the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This process usually results in earthquakes. The upper mantle is then melted due to water released by the downgoing oceanic crust in a dehydration reaction. This melting generates less-dense magma that may then rise through the denser crust and erupt at the surface, forming a volcano. 

We learned that volcanic rocks will appear as different colors depending on how quickly  that magma rises to the surface. Rapidly rising magma contains more iron and appears darker, such as basalt. Magma that is slower to rise, or is interrupted, has a chance for crystals to form within it and is lighter in color due to less iron. An example of this type of rock is andesite. 

When someone thinks of a volcano, what usually comes to mind is a cone with the top neatly shorn off. While this can be an example of a stratovolcano, or composite volcano, another very common type of volcano found in the Monument are shield volcanoes. Shield volcanoes tend to be lower in profile and very basaltic. In fact, much of the volcanic remnants in the Monument are hidden in plain sight. Pilot rock is one such remnant. What was once a large volcano with spreading and sloping sides has been eroded away over millions of years to the point where only the neck, or vent, remains. 

At this point in Jad’s presentation, we finally got around to addressing the original question: How has the geological underpinnings of the Monument contributed to its incredible biodiversity? Jad made sure to not leave this stone unturned. Land bridges were created between distinct regions due to the activity of faults, such as the Siskiyou Summit Fault. This allowed for the movement of flora and fauna around the landscape. Additionally, the cooling and shrinking of lava provided conduits and reservoirs for water. Even the diversity of soils can be traced back to the Monument’s geology as different soils are derived from different rock types. These different soil types allow for varying levels of permeability and can be observed with the naked eye through patchworks of vegetation types. 

On Saturday, June 10, Jad then took our intrepid group of participants on a geological tour of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument itself. There, they transferred knowledge from diagrams and pictures to real rock formations, a process made much easier with our capable guide! Our tour of the Monument took us up Indian Memorial Highway to see the Colestin and Roxy formations. We stopped at the side of the road to look at basaltic andesite rocks and the debris from ancient eruptions and lava flows. 

An unexpected fringe benefit of cutting roads through mountains is the layers of rock that are exposed. This is where our group found ourselves as vehicles whizzed by and Jad, armed with a hammer and pick, chipped off bits of rock to give us a glimpse into eons of time. 

Lost Creek Falls Sunday Hike

We began our day by leaving Ashland in the rear view mirror. The town slowly shrunk as we snaked our way up the paved road leading into the Monument. The sun had just started to peek through the clouds and the sky held the promise of more sunshine to come. The car was quiet as the occupants observed the changing landscape outside the windows. We traveled into rolling hills and meadows, soon reaching towering forests. Our destination, Lost Creek Falls, is exactly what the name implies. Lost. Off the beaten path, this secluded hike is hard to find and often unknown. Soon we turned off the paved road, onto a gravel one that led us deeper into the forest. The further we drove the more changes we saw, lush greenery along the road, tall trees, and eventually, a small creek.

When we finally came to a stop and opened the doors, we were greeted by the earthy scent of the forest floor accompanied by the fresh water that trickled in the creek. The area was stunning, and the chirping birds sang as we gathered our group to begin the hike to Lost Creek Falls. Starting in we found a small single file trail winding through the open forest. Following the trail we found many native flowers, some of which were rare species to find. This prompted a conversation about the origin of the Monument. How in 2000 former President Bill Clinton used the Antiquities Act to conserve and preserve this area of land because of its expansive biodiversity. We continued to hike, thinking about what this meant, and beginning to see for ourselves the rich mosaic of plant and animal life living and thriving in the very place we walked. The canopy began to tighten, allowing only a few streams of sunlight through to the forest floor. Not long after the dense forest started, we began to encounter large fallen trees across our path. It was amazing to see the smiles everyone bore as they traversed the terrain, sensing the wilderness of the place and becoming enchanted by it. Soon, the canopy cover reopened, and rocky outcroppings emerged in the distance. The sound of the creek had grown so gradually, one could almost miss the change. 

Leading the group out of the forest and into a clearing, we found ourselves at the top of a gorge. The steep rocky walls were covered in rich green vegetation, but there was no waterfall in the distance. Instead, we found the trail had led us directly to the top of the falls. Walking around the side we made our way to a craggy outcropping alongside the gorge wall and looked back at the falls. We meandered in the area, appreciating the beauty in the falls and finding new flowers, trees, and wildlife. As the sun shined down on us, eventually it was time to go. Walking the trail back out, we reflected on what it meant to have accessed such a beautiful and wild feeling place. 

Overall, the Lost Creek hike gave a sense of discovery, adventure, and connection with the landscape. As citizens, advocates, and stewards of the environment, we question the roles we play within the Monument and how we can take action to preserve these wild places.


Wildflower Identification Hike & Learn

On Friday, May 26, the Co-op classroom looked like the outside had come inside a little more than usual. All around the room were rag-tag bunches of flowering plants placed in an eclectic collection of containers. While they may have made for underwhelming decorative bouquets, they were there for a much more interesting purpose: Plant identification! More specifically, they were for plant identification using the Botany in a Day methodology by Thomas J. Elpel. Instead of focusing on memorizing individual species, Elpel’s method has the student learn plant families. This is a relatively less overwhelming task and can be done by learning to recognize patterns associated with each family. 

There are approximately 320,000 described plant species worldwide; of those, they fall into hundreds of families. However, for the class, Collette Streight –Executive Director of Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and that night’s instructor– selected seven of the most common to focus on 

  1. Rose Family (Rosaceae)

  2. Aster Family (Asteraceae)

  3. Mint Family (Lamiaceae)

  4. Pea Family (Fabaceae)

  5. Mustard Family (Brassicaceae) 

  6. Parsley Family (Apiaceae)

  7. Lily Family (Liliaceae)

After Collette introduced each plant family, everyone took out their hand lenses and examined the unconventional bouquets where an example was present. Participants were soon counting petals and identifying inferior and superior ovaries! We learned that in the aster family, there are actually two kinds of flowers: Disc flowers and ray flowers. What looks like one large flower to most people (think of a sunflower) is made up of hundreds of individual flowers, each with its own set of stamens and pistils. 

Armed with this new knowledge about plant families, we met Liz Landreth on Saturday to get to know some flowers in their natural habitat. Liz, also known as the “Flower Floozy,” is an amateur botanist focusing on intriguing stories about plants and our relationship with them. Liz’s approach to plant identification, emphasizing species and habitat characteristics, paired well with Collette’s approach. Not only was Liz able to identify the plant species, but we could also use the Botany in a Day method to determine the family. 

Our excursion started in the CSNM at a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail that passed Hobart Bluff. It would be an understatement to say that the area was botanically diverse. We made it only ten feet down the trail before Liz was pointing out flowers. Slowly we inched along, spending time with plants such as Jacob’s Ladder, waterleaf, and Larkspur. 

“Whenever people ask me how long a wildflower hike is going to be,” Liz joked, “clearly have never been on one!” And she was right. We were marking distance by new species, not by miles. We spied many types of Lomatium –also called biscuit root– and Liz informed us that they were an important First Food for the Indigenous Peoples of the area and are still considered by their descendents today as an ecocultural source of carbohydrates. Under the tree canopy, we saw trillium and checkered fritillaria (a member of the lily family). We even observed a peony that was very different from the cultivated varieties found in gardens but whose similarities were also unmistakable. One by one, Liz had us gently feel its leaves which were cool to the touch. 

Our final stop was at Little Hyatt Lake, where we once again caught up with the Pacific Crest Trail. The meadow we walked through was drier and more exposed at this lower elevation. Yet we still saw the tell-tale umbel flowers of biscuitroot and the feathery fronds of medicinal yarrow. Nearby we could see the still blue water of the reservoir and thought of the summer to come and all of the flowers it would bring with it. 

Star Thistle Pull with Pinehurst School

I once heard the adage “Oregon kids are tough!” and it couldn’t be more true for the students from Pinehurst School. Most kids, when presented with the prospect of hiking off-trail towards a destination where they would be expected to put in some hard work to pull weeds, would be understandably unenthused.  However, the Pinehurst students, their parents, and teachers started trooping down the hillside full of curiosity and good humor. As we began our hike –with a path marked the previous day with fluorescent orange tape– we were swallowed up by a rolling landscape of oak savannah. This certainly made our wayfinding easier as we were greeted by widely spaced trees casting gentle shade and quiet meadows interspersed along our path. 

We were joined by BLM Interpretive Ranger John Duwe and soon paused in one such meadow. Even though we could hear the distant roar of I-5 over the hill, the little world we had entered felt set apart. John Duwe led the students in an activity where they matched a rainbow of paint chips to the natural colors around us. It certainly made us realize that nature is full of colorful surprises when you look carefully! 

The trail we blazed led us down into several draws. In the second, we found a flowing creek where we could see practical examples of how humans can aid in restoring streams and riparian areas. We observed budding willow stakes cut from the large willows upstream and placed by volunteers the year before. We also saw rock dams which, to the uninitiated, are just that simple: Rocks placed in a row perpendicular across the stream to slow the flow and spread the water further across the landscape. While it’s not quite as impressive as what a beaver could do, rock dams are still valuable tools we can utilize to rehabilitate the area. 

After carefully crossing some treacherous mud, we began our ascent up the final hill toward a large, stately ponderosa pine and a couple of juniper trees that marked the area where we would pick yellow star thistle. The thistle, Centaurea solstitialis, is native to Eurasia but has become invasive in much of the United States, including Oregon. In particular, it has had an outsized impact on native grasslands, which are among the most important and endangered ecosystems in the United States. Native grasslands are essential for increasing and maintaining biodiversity by providing wildlife habitat, but they also contribute to water quality and quantity through root filtration and increased water holding capacity. They even store high amounts of carbon for sequestration!

  As we walked, we could feel the dead stalks and flower heads from last year’s thistle catching on our clothes and scratching our skin. While it was clear that the entire preserve could use many more hands to help control the noxious weed, we had our mission for that day and found a large square plot already marked with rebar and orange flags. The plot is one of eighteen grassland areas selected in 2020 within the Monument boundary as part of the BLM’s Grassland Restoration Project in partnership with the Sampson Creek Preserve and The Understory Initiative. One of the project’s objectives is to test the efficacy of various treatments for removing weeds such as yellow star thistle. 

Collette Streight, Executive Director of the Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, showed the students how to identify the plant. Somewhat at odds with its spiny flowers, the leaves of the young yellow star thistle are soft to the touch. Many of the students described them as “fuzzy!” Collette showed us that the most important thing to remember was to get as much of the root as possible. If we get the whole root, the plant will not be able to come back. Once we were confident that all students and volunteers could adequately identify the plant, we set to work. Slowly, we picked our way across the plot, digging out the small plants with fingers and sticks. Occasionally, someone would get a particularly long root and show it off to enthusiastic shouts of admiration. Soon, it became a contest to see who got the longest root! Yet even hard work flies by with friends, and shortly it was time for lunch. As everyone scrambled for one or two final plants, we realized they were much more challenging to find than when we had started! 

Lunch was had at the base of the tall ponderosa we had passed on our way in. While some enjoyed their sandwiches and snacks, many of the students explored the old apple trees planted as part of a long-gone homestead on the site. Soon, we harnessed this creativity, and Collette led the students in an activity that had them find a plant or insect they didn’t recognize and spend some time observing it. They were encouraged to observe using their senses and get to know the plant by asking questions, even if they may not have the answers. At the end, we all took a tour of each other’s new botanical and insect friends. 

Soon it was time to trek back to the cars and bid Mariposa Preserve goodbye. It was bittersweet because we all left feeling a greater sense of connection to this little corner of the Monument, but also knew we had left it better than we had found it. 




Buck Rock Tunnel Archaeological Tours

When you explore the Monument, it is easy to get lost in the wildness of it, its soft lines and natural colors a stark departure from the harsh surfaces of our roads and buildings down below. But as we crested the steep trail there was something expected waiting. Its black mouth was like a bullet wound in the mountainside, the darkness so deep that even the beautiful sunny day could not penetrate very far. The raw rock that formed its walls, ceilings, and floors bore the tell-tale mark of human intervention. It was not smoothed out by a millennia of exposure to the elements, but was jagged and textured with many sharp angles. As our group stepped inside this gaping hole, the temperature dropped and the air became clammy as it swallowed each person. 

While I had read about Buck Rock Tunnel, it wasn’t until I stepped inside that I was able to truly appreciate the scope and scale of its undertaking. It was originally intended to be a part of the Oregon & California (O & C) Railroad when construction began on August 17, 1883 and serve to help join Portland and the lines of the Southern Pacific Railroad in California. However, it was never completed when construction was halted on February 8, 1884 when the railroad company ran out of funds. While the proposed rail line never did come to be, its unfinished nature presents an interesting window into the engineering and construction of tunnels in the late 1800s. Yet perhaps most fascinating is what it can tell us about the people who worked on it, primarily Chinese laborers. 

That was the focus of the Buck Rock Archaeological Tours hosted by Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) archaeologists. Called the Buck Rock Tunnel Project, it is a collaboration between the Medford District BLM and SOULA and operates as an extension of the larger Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project. 

As my group began our hike toward the tunnel we were greeted by information stations along the way, staffed by volunteers eager to tell us about the findings of the project. We looked at old aerial photographs and maps as well as artifacts uncovered at the site, including the soles of rubber boots most likely worn by the laborers. We learned that much can be deduced from small shards of pottery and how it is possible to distinguish a European American camp from one that was primarily occupied by Chinese people through the types of pottery they left behind. Yet the centerpiece of the tour was definitely the tunnel itself. With each step we explored deeper into the unfinished cavern. All around us was evidence of blasting, drilling, and the inescapable realization that all that rock had to be carried out using only the power of man and beast. 

The Monument was originally set aside in the year 2000 for the purposes of biodiversity and it truly is a place of awe-inspiring confluences of geology and bio-regions sustaining many unique plant and animal communities. However, it is also a place with a rich and diverse human history that is also worthy of study and only adds to the Monument’s spectacular story.




American Settlers' "Back Door to Oregon": A History of the 1846-1860s Applegate Trail

May 12 & 13 - Applegate Trail Hike & Learn

On Friday, May 12 a group of history lovers converged on the Ashland Co-op Community Classroom to hear a presentation by Jeff LaLande on The Applegate Trail - American Settlers’ “Back Door to Oregon.” As far as local history buffs go, it doesn’t get much more impressive than Jeff. After moving to Southwestern Oregon from Washington, DC in 1969 –right after graduating from Georgetown University— he immediately dove into the region’s past as well as its geology, flora and fauna. He earned a master’s degree in archaeology from Oregon State University and then a PhD in American History from University of Oregon. Jeff is now retired from a thirty-plus year career as an archaeologist with the US Forest Service on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. An adjunct professor of history at SOU for over twenty years, he’s authored several books (including the just-published Jackson County Rebellion: A Populist Uprising in Depression-Era Oregon) and a number of articles published in quarterly journals. 

Jeff deftly guided us through an overview of the Applegate trail and the men who were instrumental in founding it. It was first laid out in 1846, with its most active period being between 1846 - 1860 by a party including Levi Soctt, David Goff, John Owen and brothers Jesse and Lindsay Applegate. It was known to Oregonians as Applegate’s Cutoff, the Southern Emigrant Road, South Road, or Southern Road and was intended to be a southern alternative to the Oregon Trail that was safer, quicker, and more secure. While it did not necessarily deliver on all of those promises, it was very significant in the settling of the Rogue Valley in the 1850s. Today, portions of the trail are paralleled by I-5 and Highway 66. It was even designated as a National Historic Trail in 1992 by the National Park Service. 

We began our tour on Saturday, May 13 with a caravan of vehicles heading up into the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. With Jeff as our leader, our first stop was the town of Lincoln on Highway 66. There, Jeff began the day with an overview of the indigenous people who called the Monument, the Rogue Valley, and surrounding areas home and how the town of Lincoln got its start. Next, we found ourselves at the Tub Springs State Wayside. While the spring itself was dry due to water quality concerns from our very wet winter, Jeff took us up the trail and into the surrounding forest. In addition to some well deserved breaks to do a little impromptu birding, we viewed the Historic Wagon Trail built by Jackson County in 1868 that used a similar path as the Applegate Trail. In fact, Jeff guided us to several areas where we could see remnants of the original trail itself as evidenced by compacted ground and displaced rocks and boulders that had been moved by early settlers clearing a path for their oxen and wagons. 

After stopping for a leisurely lunch alongside the Pacific Crest Trail, we meandered down Tyler Creek Road before stopping at an easily-overlooked site where the Applegate Trail was once again visible to the naked eye! It was a powerful feeling to stand on the same path that was traveled by the original European American Settlers of the Rogue Valley. Some of us reflected that even though it was less than 200 years ago, the world we are familiar with now was vastly different from what they encountered when they first laid eyes on the Valley. 

Walking directly along the path of the Applegate Trail!

Finally, we wrapped up our trip with a destination outside of the Monument: The Hill-Dunn Cemetery along the edge of Emigrant Lake. Jeff told us about many of the original settlers that were buried there, including James Howard Russel and his wife Anne Hill Russel as well as many of those who died in the Rogue River Wars from 1853-1854. We learned that it was James and Anne who were responsible for much of the impressive marble monuments represented in the cemetery. 

As we gathered as a group under the shade of a large oak tree, we all expressed gratitude to Jeff for his unsurpassed knowledge of the area. Not only did he make us laugh with his stories and marvel at the beauty of the Monument, he also impressed in us an appreciation for the sometimes-faint footprints of history on the landscape that can help us understand our own place in the unfolding history of our little corner of Southern Oregon. 




Fence Pull at the Green Springs Mountain Loop Trail

It was Saturday, May 20 and we were feeling lucky to have just missed a big heatwave that rolled through the Pacific Northwest, bringing with it temperatures in the 90s and plenty of discontent amongst Rogue Valley residents who wondered what had happened to spring. In fact, the Rite Aid parking lot where we met our intrepid group of fence pullers was pleasant in the 70s with the promise of even cooler weather as we climbed in elevation. It certainly takes a group of people passionate about the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to be excited about a day of manual labor and this was evidenced by smiles all around as we introduced ourselves. 

The project of the day was to remove barbed wire fencing from the Monument in an area around the Green Springs Mountain Loop Trail, directly off of the Pacific Crest Trail. The fencing was most likely a relic of when ranchers would graze their cattle in the Monument before it was designated. Unfortunately, while good at keeping cattle corralled, barbed wire fencing is both an impediment to the movement of wildlife through the landscape and possibly even deadly if an animal happens to find itself caught in it. There still remains over ten thousand feet of barbed wire within the Monument, and it was our task that day to reduce that number. 

When we arrived at the trail, we realized that we were not the only volunteers out on a Saturday morning. Also working on sections of the trail was a team of people from Pacific Crest Trail Association clearing fallen trees with chainsaws. John Duwe, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Interpretive Ranger, and Brian Long, the BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner, introduced us to the section of fencing that we would be attempting to remove that day. They also introduced us to our tools: wire loppers and hand saws. We all fell upon the fence with the enthusiasm of people who had not used hand saws in a while and soon became jealous of the chainsaws roaring in the distance. But despite the sun on our faces –it always feels hotter when you’re working hard– and the old, stubborn wood, we succeeded when a pile of trimmed wire and toppled posts accumulated. 

However, we weren’t done yet! Paying little heed to the upward slope and brush, we began following the line of toppled –and sometimes buried!-- wire as it blazed a trail up the ridge. Soon, we all began to experience the satisfaction of making quick progress as we cut wire, parceled it up, and passed it along to be carried out to the trucks. While it is known that barbed wire generally does not appreciate being put into any arrangement aside from a chaotic heap, with some gentle persuasion and determination we managed to roll it into bundles that were less likely to take an eye out. This truly felt like an innovation! 

After a well-deserved lunch complete with Tate’s Cookies and Santa Cruz lemonade, we decided that a final push was what we needed to complete our task, and complete it we did! When it was discovered that only 100 feet remained we kicked it into high gear and employed all of our hard-earned expertise to remove it in only ten minutes. With this last section taken out, we met up with the progress made by the fence pull last year. It was truly a moment of immense satisfaction. 

We all took a last, satisfied look at the loaded pick-up trucks and learned we had removed around 750 feet of fencing that day, along with more than ten thick, wooden posts and many green t-posts. It was a moment to celebrate and we all headed home with the knowledge that we had left the Monument better than when we had arrived. 





Oak Trees in the Monument

April 28 & 29 - Oak Tree Hike & Learn

On Friday, April 28, around twenty people gathered in the Community Classroom of the Ashland Co-op to hear about one of our unsung heroes of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument: oak trees. The presenter was Rich Fairbanks, a dynamic and gregarious retired forester with a degree in forestry and a Master’s degree in planning. Rich has worked for the U.S. Forest service for 32 years in fire management, planning and silviculture and has held various positions in the organization including Interagency Hotshot Crew Foreman, Division Supervisor and ID Team Leader for the Biscuit Fire Recovery Project. He currently owns a small forest management company. He and his wife live in the mixed conifer forest of the Applegate where they steward their land and do a considerable amount of under burning.

Rich started his introduction to oak trees by impressing us all with their great diversity. Not only are there multiple species represented in Southern Oregon, but they take many forms from the common White and Black Oaks to the majestic Canyon Live Oak and shrubby Huckleberry Oak. And while most people associate oaks with being a forest environment, Rich reminded us that that is only a portion of their varied habitats which include prairie, savanna and chaparral. 

In addition to providing wonderful shade to tired hikers, oaks also provide food and habitat to many other wild creatures. Their acorns are an invaluable source of food for many animals, especially in the late winter when many other food sources are scarce. They also support diverse understory plant communities. Due to their ability to wall off disease and dead wood, and thus create cavities, many animals make their homes in both living trees and dead snags. Armed with this new knowledge, we were ready to tackle the following day out in the field.

In the morning on Saturday, the day started with abnormally high temperatures for late April. But armed with sun hats, sunscreen, and extra water, our caravan of vehicles headed up into the Monument. We arrived at the trailhead for Buck Rock Trail and were immediately greeted by an abundance of oaks. Before we even began our hike, the trees began inspiring questions as a participant noticed an interesting round growth on an oak limb. Of course, Rich was quick with an answer and we learned that they are called galls and are made by wasps that trick the tree into creating a comfortable place for their larvae to hatch and develop. This was yet another example of the importance of oaks in the local ecosystem, and we hadn’t even left the parking lot! 

As we started down the trail, not only did Rich help us brush up on our tree and plant identification, but he also began pointing out often overlooked features of the landscape. From a layperson’s perspective, an area devoid of vegetation may not hold much interest. However, when looked at with the seasoned eye of a forester, it can tell a tale of clearcutting and compaction caused by heavy machinery decades ago. Rich also taught us that much can be learned even from an old tree stump if you know where to look. Venturing off trail, he showed us the squat remains of an oak tree cut down many years before. On the bleached and weathered wood he pointed out the remains of several burn scars indicating that before it had been logged, the oak had survived multiple low-severity fires. This testified not only to the frequency of fire in the local landscape but also to oak’s adaptations to survive such events. 

Rich pointing out the burn scars on an oak stump.

In fact, all around us we could observe the impact of almost a century of fire suppression. The forest was cluttered with tall brush, crisscrossed fallen logs and dense growth of young trees. Rich called this phenomenon densification and it is a major contributor to the rise in high severity fires that fire-adapted trees find much more difficult to survive. 

An example of densification observed along the trail.

In the end, all participants left with a more profound appreciation and understanding of oak trees and the important role that they play in many diverse ecosystems in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Southern Oregon in general. Rich’s storied and extensive knowledge of forest species and management impressed everyone – along with his sense of humor! I know that when I go out into our local landscapes, I will pause a little longer to appreciate our complex and wonderful oak trees.




2023 Monument Research Symposium

April 6, 2023 - Monument Research Symposium

Every year, the Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is delighted to award a number of grants to undergraduate and graduate students for faculty-supervised research projects that enhance the understanding, appreciation, preservation and/or protection of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. These research projects can, and have, taken many forms including the realms of biology, environmental sciences/education, sociology, arts, humanities, and business. 

An essential component of receiving this grant is the presentation of the students’ research at our annual Monument Research Symposium. This research represents many hours spent in our beautiful Monument gathering data and then countless more analyzing it. To ask our three grant recipients from 2022 to distill all of their findings into a 20 minute presentation is no small feat, but they delivered with flying colors. 

Our first presenter, Thomas Hillard, is an undergraduate student in Earth Science and Biology at the University of Oregon. He worked with faculty supervisor, Jad D’Allura to map out the rock formations in Jenny Creek Falls as well as a region of tuffaceous rocks, debris flow and lava around Pilot Rock. Specifically, he looked at upper oligocene volcanic stratigraphy in the Colestin Formation and Roxy Formation. Thomas gave us a unique insight into how the geology of the Monument can have a stark impact on the distribution of plants and soils via the movement of water. 

Volcanic Lava Flows - Thomas Hillard

Our second presenter, Hilary Rose Dawson, a Ph.D. student from the University of Oregon, took a departure from geology to focus on biology, but still left us firmly grounded in the soil! Hilary used her Monument Research Grant to explore truffle species found in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Now, most people’s experience with truffles begins and ends in a culinary context, and while there are certainly a handful of culinary truffles found in Oregon, we also learned about the fascinating diversity of non-culinary truffles found just below the surface. These truffles have scents ranging from artificial banana to burnt rubber and serve a variety of essential ecological functions. However, humans aren’t exactly known for their sensitive noses so it was essential for Hilary –aided by her sister, Heather Dawson–to employ a canine friend named Rye! While not physically present at the symposium, you could definitely consider Rye one of the stars of the show. It was with his invaluable sense of smell, rewarded each time he found a truffle with a throw of a tennis ball, that Hillary was able to catalog around 20 species of truffles in only two forays into the Monument. She hopes to go on another foray with Rye this spring and continue DNA analysis of the truffles she has found, including some possibly undescribed species. 

Rye finding a truffle! - Hilary Rose Dawson

Our final presenter, Heather Stewart-Ahn, a Master’s student in Biology at Eastern Washington University, focused a sharp eye on an often overlooked resident of the Monument: Lichen! Lichen consist of a symbiotic relationship between a fungal partner and photosynthesizing partner, such as green algae or cyanobacterium. In particular, Heather looked at the rare lichen Umbilicaria phaea var. coccinea. This tiny but mighty lichen is most abundantly found on rocks in exposed areas with profuse basalt in proximity to local waterways. However, what really catches the eye is its bright red color, setting it apart from the much more common brown Umbilicaria phaea var. phaea. Through her survey, Heather identified several new sites within the Monument where this lichen is found and opened up many areas for further study including population genetics and distribution models to explore why it occurs in certain places and not others. There is also the basic query of why this lichen is red in the first place! This particular question is further complicated by Heather’s discovery of chimeric thalli, or lichen with both brown and red varieties found on the same thallus. 

U. phaea var. coccinea (red) and U. phaea var. phaea (brown) - Heather Stewart-Ahn

If you are interested in learning more about these projects, the symposium can be watched in its entirety on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEePTxlJKnI. 

With our 2023 Monument Research Symposium a resounding success, we are looking forward to getting to experience the unique projects that students will propose for this coming grant cycle. Applications are now open and information can be found at https://www.cascadesiskiyou.org/programs . The deadline for applications is May 12, 2023 at 11:59 PM PST.

Beginning Wildlife Tracking

February 24 & 25, 2023 - Hike and Learn

We had a full house for our Friday evening lecture despite snowy weather that prevented some from venturing down the mountain. Our leaders, Collette Streight and Robin Bliss-Wagner, kicked off the lecture by explaining that tracking, typically thought of as identifying an animal by looking at prints it left on the ground, is much more than that. We learned that tracking, when done in a holistic way, is about connecting with wild animals, building relationships with them, and understanding the world through their points of view.

Collette and Robin taught us that every animal makes a unique signature on the landscape. A signature is the collection of signs an animal makes when going about its daily life. Examples include tracks, scat, chews, scrapes, lodges, burrows, nests, hair, and feathers. We then learned the six main questions to ask ourselves when we encounter a track or sign to ignite our curiosity and lead us deeper into the animal’s world:

  1. WHO made the track or sign? Was it a male or female? How old was he/she?

  2. WHAT was she/he doing? Stalking, walking, trotting, galloping, leaping, stopping, sitting, turning his/her head?

  3. WHEN was the track or sign made?

  4. WHY was the animal doing what it was doing at that time and place?

  5. WHERE did the animal go? Where is he/she now?

  6. HOW did the animal feel when it made the track or sign? In other words, if this was me, how would I have felt?

Then we explored in detail the first question of tracking – who. We looked at photos, drawings, and field guides to learn about the individual prints and track patterns of many different animals who call the Monument home.

On Saturday, 15 of us carpooled up to the Buck Rock Tunnel trailhead in the glorious sunshine. On the way there, we stopped to examine a gray fox, who unfortunately had been killed by a car the previous night. We noticed its size, color pattern, shape, and then looked closely at the bottom of its feet and its claws before we continued on our way.  

Equipped with field guides, tape measures, notebooks and pens, we explored the wildlife tracks and sign we saw in the snow in the parking lot, on the fire road, down in the ravines, up on the ridges, and in and around trees. We followed mule deer and brush rabbit trails to see where they would lead us. We asked questions, awakened our senses, listened to stories, played a game, and even spent some time pretending to be animals.

All and all, it was a beautiful, fun, and inspiring day during which we learned tools that we can use from now on to connect with and learn about the wild critters who live in the Monument and all around us.  

Bryophytes and Lichens of the Monument

January 20 & 21, 2023 - Hike and Learn

We kicked off our 2023 season of programming with a bang! Not only did our Bryophytes and Lichens of the Monument Hike & Learn with Scot Loring sell out, but each one of us who attended got to deepen our appreciation and knowledge of these wildly diverse and resilient organisms.

On Friday evening, we enjoyed a two-for-one lecture from Scot. He gave one lecture on bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, hornworts) and a second lecture on lichens. Scot taught us what each of these organisms are, explained the many ingenious ways they reproduce, and shared that they can live in the hottest, highest, coldest, and harshest places on Earth! Scot brought along some specimens that he’d recently collected so we got see, smell, and touch several different types of bryophytes and lichens.

On the following day, 18 of us donned snowshoes and took a relaxed walk on the Pacific Crest Trail near the Hyatt Lake Campground in the sun and sparkling snow. Scot stopped us all along the way to look at the incredible variety of lichens and a few bryophytes we found growing on tree trunks and branches, rocks, stumps, and more. We used hand lenses, magnifying glasses, and the “magnifier” on our iPhones to get a close up look at some of the ones we spotted. We lunched under a lovely old conifer covered in lichens and shared stories, browsed through field guides, and basked in the warmth of the sun.

We’d like to give a shout out to the Medford District BLM and the US Forest Service for the loaner snowshoes. And, of course, a huge thank you to our Board member Scot for sharing his passion and expertise with us!

Sensory Exploration, Creative Inspiration, and Writing

October 14th/15th Hike and Learn

The weekend of October 14 & 15, a small group of us were deftly guided by the dynamic writing workshop facilitator, Katie Boehnlein, to slow down, pay attention to nature through our senses, and write from our experiences and creative impulses. On Friday evening, Katie started by sharing with us some of her Monument-inspired writing to give us an idea of what is possible as well as to give us permission to play and be free with our writing.

Then, she prompted us with photos of different places and plant and animal species in the Monument as well as clips from the movie “Deep Green: Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument”. Deep Green, produced by Mark Tribe, is a 24-hour-long, single-take landscape film with immersive sound. She gave us time to write for several minutes after each prompt and when we were done, she invited us to share what we’d written with the group if we wanted.

It was fascinating to hear about what caught other people’s attention and to start to see things from their perspectives while listening to them read what they had just written. While it took a bit of courage to read aloud, Katie encouraged us to share the things that we liked about each other’s writing, which was both uplifting and emboldening. It definitely made us want to write more!

On Saturday morning, we drove to the Pilot Rock trailhead and made our way to the Lone Pilot Trail where, once again, Katie brought things to our attention that we would have missed without her. She flexed her naturalist and outdoor educator muscles to talk to us about the history, geology, and wildlife of the place. She had us be still and free write about what we experienced or write using the prompts she offered us. We got to share our writing again with one another and ended up feeling like New York Times bestselling authors when the other participants shared what they admired about our pieces.

It was a spectacularly beautiful day, and in the meadows and forest extending south of Pilot Rock, it felt downright magical, as we put pen to paper and wrote poems, creation stories, love letters, private thoughts, and more.

Words by Collette Streight, photos by Jonnie Dale Lieberman.

Recognizing Suzi and Bob Given

At our 2022 Gala on November 11th, the Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument presented Suzi and Bob Given with a dramatic photograph of their property, taken from the top of Hobart Buff. The photograph is a 10-photomerged panorama taken by Al Case, photographer and SOU faculty, and fabulously printed to archival standards by Tom Glassman of Medford.

The photograph came with the following framed inscription: “We Honor Your Support, Inspiration, and Vision of the Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Your Efforts to Protect and Increase Awareness of the Monument’s Biological Diversity, Landscape, and Cultural History”.

The Friends Board of Directors also announced that it has named all of its outreach programs in Suzi’s honor. From now on they will be called THE SUZI GIVEN COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS, which will include: Youth Summer Camps, Summer Interpretative Ranger Programs, Inspiring Connections Lectures, Hike & Learns, and the Sunday Hiking Series. This will include our collaborations with SOU’s Environmental Education Program, Environmental Science & Policy Program, and Native American Studies.

There are few people that have done as much as Suzi and Bob to support the Monument and the Friends of the Monument. Besides their support for our mission to inform, educate and support the protection of the Monument, Suzi and Bob have supported and funded both land acquisitions and conservation easements in and around the Monument, environmental education programs with the Friends of the Monument, and many other programs in our community and elsewhere.

Both of them are leaders in the Green Springs Community. Bob has been instrumental in his work with the Green Springs Rural Volunteer Fire Department; the fire station is literally named after him. Suzi was one of the original members of the Friends of the Monument back in 2001 and for most of the time since she has been on our Board of Directors. Suzi also has been a strong community advocate and has been a large part of the leadership of the Friends of the Green Springs nonprofit group for many years.

Thank you Suzi and Bob for all you do!

2nd Friends Gala - A Resounding Success!

We are thrilled by the success of our Friends Gala. To those of you who came out on November 11, 2022 to celebrate with us and support us, thank you! It was a festive evening of camaraderie, connection, delicious food and drinks, fundraising, and "Friends"raising in the Grand Ballroom at the beautiful Ashland Springs Hotel.

We'd like to give a special thank you to Bob Wick for an inspiring and informative presentation. According to Bob, former Wilderness Specialist and Outreach Coordinator for the Washington office Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands, "The national monument encompasses a really cool area south and east of Ashland and was designated specifically because of its biodiversity. In addition to being a national monument, the area includes a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, CA-OR National Historic Trail, designated wilderness and a wild and scenic river -- a grand slam of conservation designations. Species from the Cascades, Klamath Ranges and Great Basin all intermingle here. The Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou do a great job helping protect and interpret the area."

We are also grateful for the businesses and individuals who donated items and services to our silent auction, the wineries who poured wine and donated wine for the Gala, and the volunteers who helped us pull off the event. We couldn’t have done this without you.

All in all, we feel very lucky to be a part of such a passionate community of like-minded folks who hold the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument near and dear to their hearts.