Vollmer’s lily

BOTANICAL DIVERSITY

Rare plants, ancient trees and brilliant wildflowers: the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is a national botanical treasure.

The astounding botanical diversity of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area of Southwest Oregon went largely unnoticed until 1960, when ecologist Robert Whittaker published his classic study: Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California. Whittaker compared the botanical diversity of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area to the southern Appalachian Mountains, crediting the region as having “central significance” for the floristic origins and diversity of Pacific Northwest flora.

Howell’s mariposa-lily

The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is home to thousands of species of plants, including hundreds of species that live nowhere else on earth, leading the World Conservation Union to designate the region as an Area of Global Botanical Significance.

The reasons for this level of botanical diversity say a lot about the nature of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area. This wild, rugged region is known for its steep terrain, east-west ridgelines, complex geology and numerous microclimates. In addition, over the past 200 million years, the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area hasn’t experienced the volcanic eruptions and glacial events that have shaped other areas in the western United States. The combination of these two factors has created an area that is both a refuge for ancient plant species and a rich source of new plant species. As a result, the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area has the distinction of being the most floristically diverse national forest in the country.

Gentner’s fritillaria

AN AREA AT RISK:

Awareness of this very special area has grown since Robert Whittaker published his study in 1960, but there are still surprisingly few protections in place to preserve this national treasure for future generations of outdoor enthusiasts. The rare plants of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area face ongoing threats from a variety of sources. Mining interests continue to press for the opportunity to remove minerals like nickel and gold from serpentine areas, which will devastate these fragile plant communities. Off-road vehicles also pose a threat to the area – tearing up sensitive habitat and spreading Port Orford cedar disease, which is threatening the very existence of one of the most beautiful, iconic trees of the region.

“I think this is probably the most important, the most biologically significant, unprotected landscape in the American West”

Bruce Babbitt
Former Secretary of the Interior, 2001

California lady’s slipper

Calypso Orchid