Dear Friend of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

These words begin Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities”, but they could just as easily describe the position we here at Siskiyou Project find ourselves in at the beginning of 2009.

It is the best of times.  A new administration in Washington, D.C… a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate…the addition of Senator Merkley to Oregon’s congressional delegation. What a refreshing and hopeful change! The Congressional team representing the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area – Senators Wyden and Merkley, and Representative DeFazio – are conservation minded allies, and indeed champions for Oregon. In short, the current political climate is more favorable for large-scale conservation efforts than it has been for years… perhaps ever.

Legislatively, things are looking up as well. The Ominibus Public Lands Management Act – which includes the creation of two new Wilderness areas in southern Oregon – was passed this year, clearing the way for new conservation initiatives in the Pacific Northwest.  For the past six months, Siskiyou Project has been working with regional conservation groups to make the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area the next big conservation priority for Oregon. Our efforts have been successful. As I write this, we are working with partners throughout Oregon to develop a statewide campaign focusing on expanding Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers protections for the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area. This is a very exciting development for friends of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area, and we’ll keep you updated as this campaign will be launched soon.

Siskiyou Project’s Community Forestry and Restoration Program has also been busy, developing a program to help heal and restore some of the thousands of acres of damaged and degraded public lands in the region. In the fall of 2009, Siskiyou Project entered into a Master Stewardship Agreement (MSA) with Lomakatsi Restoration Project and the Wild Rivers Ranger District of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. This agreement enables us to develop an ecologically sound, community-based, collaborative approach to forest restoration and stewardship. The work done under this historic partnership will help our communities make the transition from a non-sustainable economic model of endless resource extraction to a sustainable future, based upon ecological forest stewardship and environmental restoration. The first project under this agreement, the Hope Mountain Stewardship Project, was just signed authorizing the use of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to implement ecological restoration on up to 1,000 acres, and create at least 35 new family wage jobs in the Illinois Valley.

In short, there’s a real buzz of excitement here at Siskiyou Project about the sudden abundance of new opportunities for realizing many of our – and your – long-term goals for protecting and restoring the wild forests, wild rivers, wildflowers and wild salmon of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area. These are exciting times we’re living in.

These too are the worst of times. Unfortunately, all these opportunities have come together in the midst of the biggest economic downturn this nation has experienced in my lifetime. Individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations are all feeling the pinch. Private foundations – which have long provided the bulk of funding for Siskiyou Project – have also been hit hard by the financial crisis; their ability to make grants has been diminished. Individual giving is lower as well. All of this challenges Siskiyou Project’s ability to remain at the table, promoting our vision of conservation and sustainability.

We’ve made some difficult, but necessary adjustments in order to confront the challenges of the current economy: paring down our staff, consolidating our offices, and working with a smaller budget than we have in previous years. I suspect you’ve been doing some financial belt-tightening too, and you’ve had to make some difficult decisions about which nonprofit organizations you’ll be able to continue supporting during these lean financial times.  I’m writing today to ask you to make Siskiyou Project one of the organizations you’re committed to supporting. 

Siskiyou Project is poised to accomplish many of our long-held goals over the next few years, but we need your continued financial support in order to get there. Your donations to Siskiyou Project over the years have yielded great rewards, but they are more critical now than they have ever been. 

This is the time we have been waiting for, and we will continue to work hard to ensure these opportunities are realized. Your past donations and support have been an integral part of the work that has led Siskiyou Project to the opportunities unfolding before us today, and have brought our goals within reach. Please - help us get the rest of the way there –  click here to make a donation today to Siskiyou Project, so you can continue to be a part of this exciting and rewarding work.

From all of us here at Siskiyou Project – thank you so much for your support!

Shane Jimerfield
Executive Director
Siskiyou Project
213 SE H. St., Grants Pass, OR 97526
Office: 541-476-6648, Cell/txt: 541-499-2064

Learn more about the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area and our efforts to secure permanent protection for itsglobally significant wild salmon, botanical diversity, wildlands and wild rivers at www.siskiyou.org

Other Actions you take for Earth Day

• Write a letter to stop the Bureau of Land Management’s Bush era plan to clear-cut ancient forests.
• Take action for the Wild Rogue River.
• Click here for upcoming events and hikes.