Pacific Fisher

WILDLIFE

The forested peaks, roadless wildlands and pristine mountain rivers of the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area provide refuge for a remarkable variety of wildlife species.

The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area of Southwest Oregon is a haven for wildlife. It’s easy to see why. The area contains the largest remaining complex of wilderness and unprotected roadless areas between Canada and Baja California - the 429,000 acre Kalmiopsis Wildlands - and is also home to five Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Bald Eagle

The east-west ridgelines of the western Siskiyou Mountains form a vitally important wildlife corridor, linking the Cascades and the Coast Ranges and increasing the wildlife diversity in the area. Complex geology and a wide variety of micro-climates create a series of niches that meet the needs of an impressive number of species – a factor that will only become more important for species survival in the face of impending climate change.

Approximately 200 bird species have been found in the area: riparian residents like osprey and American dipper, old-growth denizens like marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl, and raptors of the high peaks like peregrine falcon and northern goshawks. Reptile and amphibian diversity are exceptionally high. And mammals are abundant, whether you’re looking for iconic residents like river otter and black bear or hoping for a glimpse of seldom-seen species like pine marten and Pacific fisher.

WILDLIFE AT RISK:

Del Norte Salamander

The Siskiyou Wild Rivers area is a wildlife stronghold today, but the area faces serious threats which must be addressed if the biological diversity of the region is to remain intact. Old-growth logging continues in the area, impacting rare and sensitive species like red tree voles, marbled murrelets and spotted owls. Logging and road building activities associated with BLM’s proposed Kelsey Whisky Project pose a major threat to salmon and steelhead habitat in the tributaries that feed the lower Rogue River. And mining interests have proposed suction-dredge operations at the headwaters of one of the most pristine salmon-bearing streams in the Pacific Northwest – the Wild and Scenic Chetco River.

River Otter