Siskiyou Project: Siskiyou Wild Rivers, Community Forestry and Restoration, Wild Rogue Campaign, Illinois River

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The Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Salmon and Botanical Area

Kalmiopsis Wildlands

WILDERNESS AND ROADLESS AREAS

The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area contains the largest remaining complex of wilderness and unprotected roadless areas between Canada and Baja California on the Pacific coast.

Located in the southwest corner of Oregon, the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is a refuge for thousands of species of plants and animals, a landscape of forested peaks, roadless wildlands, and pristine mountain rivers. Within the proposed Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Salmon and Botanical Area, there are five designated wilderness areas: the Kalmiopsis, Wild Rogue, Grassy Knob, Red Buttes and Siskiyou.

In addition, there are over 285,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas in the forests of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area – making this area a stronghold for wildlife and botanical diversity.

SISKIYOU WILD RIVERS AREA WILDERNESS FACTS

• The 179,850 acre Kalmiopsis Wilderness includes the headwaters of the Chetco and North Fork Smith Rivers, as well as a portion of the Illinois River canyon. The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is renowned for its botanical diversity.

• The Wild & Scenic Rogue River runs through the middle of the 35,818 acre Wild Rogue Wilderness. Hiking, whitewater rafting and salmon & steelhead fishing are all popular activities in the Wild Rogue Wilderness.

• At 17,200 acres, the Grassy Knob Wilderness is relatively small, but it protects some incredibly valuable habitat - pristine spawning grounds for salmon, old-growth Port Orford cedar and dense westside rainforest. The area averages 130 inches of rain annually.

• Approximately 3,400 acres of the Red Buttes Wilderness lie within the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area. The Red Buttes are named for the reddish peridotite soils that dominate the region’s geology.

• The Siskiyou Wilderness contains the headwaters of the East Fork of the Wild & Scenic Illinois River. Roughly 5,000 acres of the Siskiyou Wilderness are in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES:

Although the amount of current Wilderness and roadless areas in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is impressive, it’s a small fraction of the acreage in that should receive these designations. The U.S. Forest Service will only consider roadless areas measuring 5,000 acres or larger as inventoried roadless areas. There are currently thousands of acres of roadless areas between 1,000 and 4,999 acres in size that are not protected in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area.

Oregon also falls woefully short in the amount of Wilderness areas protected within the state. Oregon protects just 3.7% of its public lands as Wilderness, compared with Washington (10%) and California (14.4%). Oregon Governor Kulongoski recently recommended that another 413,255 acres in the state receive Wilderness protection. A total of 322,040 acres of this acreage would be in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area, including: expanding the Wild Rogue Wilderness by 58,340 acres, adding another 250,000 acres to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and creating a brand new 13,700 Copper Salmon Wilderness area along the North Fork of the Elk River.

Siskiyou Wilderness

Siskiyou Project:: 213 SE H. St. :: Grants Pass, OR 97526 :: 541-476-6648 fax: 541-476-7629 :: project@siskiyou.org