Soda Mountain Wilderness

The Soda Mountain area in southwestern Oregon is an ecological mosaic where the state's eastern desert meets towering fir forests.

Biodiversity:The biodiversity of its fir forests, sunlit oak groves, meadows filled with wildflowers, and steep canyons is unmatched in the Cascade Range. The area is home to a spectacular variety of rare species of plants and animals whose survival in this region depends upon its continued ecological integrity. Roosevelt elk, cougars, black bears, golden and bald eagles, goshawks and falcons roam its lands and skies.

National Monument

In June 2000, the Clinton administration designated 53,000 acres of federal land in the area as the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument to protect this extraordinary biological reserve. That title prevents mineral exploitation and most logging. However, livestock grazing and off-road vehicles still threaten the area.

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was a step forward in protecting the Soda Mountain area and how big a step remains to be seen. When a final management plan for the monument area is completed, wilderness advocates fear the logging trucks and more through loopholes with no regard for Soda Mountain's wild back country areas will further damage it.

Need for Wilderness

That's why local citizens and scientists have been pushing for designation of the Soda Mountain Wilderness for approximately 23,000 acres of the monument back country.

enny creek (and its spring creek tributary) arises in southeastern Siskiyou County, California. The jenny creek watershed also includes a portion in southwestern Klamath. The creeks are managed by the BLM. Surveyor Mountain is the highest point on the watershed.

Jenny creek arises near keno and flows freely until it joins the Klamath River which is also a part of the soda mountain wilderness. The only area of development is a small lodge and restaurant in Pinehurst Oregon where Hwy 66 crosses jenny creek.

Named tributaries of Jenny Creek

Grizzly creek	Beaver creek
Johnson creek	Keene creek
Spring creek	Skookum creek

The Jenny creek marks the intersection of three major Eco regions. As it flows south, the creek descends down the east cascade slopes, foothills, and Klamath Falls mountain range.

The streams of Jenny creek support 13 species of fish in the soda mountain wilderness and only 5 are native. The others have been introduced into Howard prairie and Hyatt reservoirs. Of the native species three are widely known.

· Red band trout

· Jenny creek sucker

· Speckled dace

Soda mountain wilderness is home to roughly 255 wildlife species

· 10 amphibians

· 170 birds

· 67 mammals

· 16 reptiles

Black tailed deer are a common sight in the wilderness along with Roosevelt elk. There is concern that wintering elk and deer compete for available forage. The return of the gray wolves to the area could help referee this.

River otter and Northern pacific pond turtle were once wide ranging species in the wilderness; they now are locally extinct in parts of the wilderness.

Western Perl shell mussel ranges from Alaska to central California and also inhabits the soda mountain water ways.

They have what’s called Benthic Macroinvrterbrates such as fresh water snails that are an important indicator of river health and function.

Nerite pebble snail	Diminvite pebble snail
Toothed pebble snail	Fall creek pebble snail

griculture and residential development and cattle grazing have significantly reduced willow riparian habitat in the soda mountain wilderness. These willows are used for nesting willow fly catcher, bullock orioles, yellow warblers, and gold finches.