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. 

 

J

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

A

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.

 Below 3,000 feet a cores landscape of oak woodland that varies from open savannas with grass to forest with Douglas firs and ponderosa pines.

·         White oak

·         Black oak

·         Pacific madrone

·         Deer brush

·         Poison oak

·         Oregon grape

·         White leaved manzainta

·         Bitter brush

Several intermixed conifer species                                   

·         Douglas fir

·         White fir

·         Sugar pine

·         Incense cedar

·         Pacific yew

·         Juniper

Major Tree species

·         Red fir

·         White pine

·         Lodge pole pine

Plants

Green flowered ginger	Green moriposa
Dwarf isopyrum	Large flowered hill star
Pygmy monkey flower	Slender nemacladus

,

The Soda Mountain Wilderness has a few levels of Eco regions. The diversity of landforms and soils has been sculpted by fires. The Biscuit Fire of 2002 sparked controversy in the way that public forests are managed after large fires.  There are two arguments about post fire logging.  The first one is that post fire logging reduces fire risk via fuel reduction and that these forests cannot effectively regenerate without mediation.  On the flip side, people say that post fire logging is harmful to long-term forest development, wildlife habitat, and other ecosystem functions. 

  This image was taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer . The images show the fire and the burn scars it left on the landscape. The red in these show vegetation. This technique allows us to see the contrast between burnt and unburnt areas.

  Oregon has many different forest types.  Douglas fir and Siskiyou mixed conifer dominate the western coast of Oregon by the Cascade Mountain range.  The Biscuit fire of 2002 occurred in the Siskiyou mixed conifer forests.  Siskiyou mixed conifer has a 45-80 year return interval and moderate burn severity.

The Siskiyou Mountain Club (SMC) is a public charity that was formed to promote, enhance and maintain primitive outdoor destinations in the Siskiyou backcountry. They coordinate stewardship projects, produce field guides and outdoor literature, and lead active outdoor adventures for the public.

Trail Stewardship What they do: PAY IT FORWARD

•The SMC coordinates extended, weekend and day-long work spikes, primarily in designated Wilderness Areas of Southwestern Oregon. 

•And they do it for less. The SMC utilizes technology, eliminates bureaucracy and works smart to accomplish exceptional work goals at a fraction of the going rate.

What they've done:

•In 2009 they designated a 28-mile "thru" network of trails in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area that was left impassable by the 2002 Biscuit Fire's aftermath.

•In 2010 and 2011, under an agreement with the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, the SMC coordinated over 2,000 on-the-ground volunteer hours to clear 20 miles of the route

Highlighted Trails

Kerby flat trial is a loop hike just outside of Selma Oregon and highlights the wild and scenic Illinois River that also runs though the soda mountain wilderness. follow this loop that starts with a gradual descent along an old mining track which quickly fades to a footpath that brings you to the river.

Elevation: 1200ft

Length: 4 miles

Snail back falls trail can be a roaring continuum of cascades during wet months or a meager trickle in the summer.

Elevation: 100ft
Length: 3 miles

Baby foot lake loop is a difficult hike into Oregon’s Klamiopsis wilderness. This area tells a story of the 2002 biscuit fire

Elevation: 1700ft

Length: 5.5 miles

Mud spring trail is a six mile stroll that will have you felling more like you’re on mars than within spitting distance from California.

Elevation: 600ft.
Length: 3 miles

Other Trails

Briggs creek trailhead: the Illinois trial

Chetco pass trialhead: Kalmiopsis rim trail

Red mountain trail

Upper chetco trail

Topography

 Elevations in Kalmiopsis Wilderness range from 500 to 5,098 feet at Pearsoll Peak. The area is characterized by deep, rough canyons, sharp rock ridges, and clear rushing mountain streams and rivers, including the headwater basins of the Chetco, North Fork Smith Rivers, as well as part of the Illinois River canyon. All three of these rivers have been designated wild and scenic.

The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is part of the Klamath Mountain geologic province of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. The eastern half is part of the Josephine "ultramafic" sheet. The western half of the Wilderness is underlain by the sedimentary rocks of the Dothan formation. Historic mine sites for gold and chromite can still be found in the form of cabin sites, mines, and ditches.

The wilderness act of 1964 does allow mining on valid existing claims although no new claims can be made today. Some existing primitive roads provide access to these operations.

Good news for the Kalmiopsis Wilderness: Until recently the Wild Chetco River, as it flows through the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, was threatened by proposals to mine it for gold. That just changed with the forfeiture of the last three known, active mining claims in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. The three claims spanned the river from below Chetco Bar to the Wilderness Boundary.

The Klamath and Modoc peoples share a territory with the Yahooskin, a tribe from high desert country to the east. Their ancestors spoke dialects of the same language while living in different parts of the Klamath Basin. Klamath and Modoc alike called themselves maklaks, the people. The major Klamath bands were known as E’ukskni people of the lake who lived north of Upper Klamath Lake, and Plaikni—uplanders—whose villages were south of the Sprague River. Mo’dokni inhabited the Lost River drainage around Tule Lake and Clear Lake.

Until the twentieth century, Klamath traders traveled north from their lava-rich country to Celilo Falls on the Columbia River to exchange obsidian glass arrowheads for other goods. The Chinook Jargon, used as a trading dialect by the tribes that met there, gave the Clamitte their contemporary name.

The western cascades consist of rocks that are 8 to 20 million years old. The western cascades are a complex and steep landscape, while the geology just north is much newer and overlays the western mountains. This creates a gentler landscape in that section of the soda mountain wilderness.

Much of the areas geology is complex, with location composed of a redish brown igneous rock called peridotite. Serpentinite is a common altered rock that appers as a slick looking glossy rock of greenish color.

The Illinois is a wilderness river that both test the skill and strength of boaters. for 31 miles it runs along the wild and scenic part of the river between upper oak flat near kerby flat were boaters are far form trails and roads. Depending on the water flow, this stretch of river has eight class 4 rapids. Green wall a class 5 is considerably more difficult and longer than others. the river is generally run by raft or kayak during rainy seasons.

The wild segments of the illions, chetco and north smith river flow though the kalmiopsis wildweness, providing clear water, fish habitat and water based recreation in a remote and primitive setting. Lake environments are limited primarily to baby foot lake on the eastern boundy and Vulcan lake on the west. Hunting and fishing is possible in the wilderness as long as all Oregon department of fish and wildlife regulation are followed. Both Vulcan lake and baby foot lake support no fish population but are occasionally stocked. Unfortunately some ill-advised illegal fish stocking of non native bass which have persisted and lived.

Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical use transportation is generally prohibited on all federal lands designated as wilderness. This includes the use of vehicals, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, and landing aircraft.

Kalmiopsis wilderness specific regulations

Wilderness often needs to take action to limit the impacted caused by visitor activities in order to protect the natural conditions of wilderness. Managers typically implement indirect action such as informantion and education measures before selecting more restrictive measures.

• ·         Storing equipment
• ·         Campfires restriction (mandatory set back from water that pertains only to Illinois river corridor). This is prohibited except when using a fire pan or metal containment.  

·         Maximum number of stock: 9 (overnight use of area by a group of more then 12 person or 9 saddle or pack animals is prohibited)

Permits required

·         Mandatory unrestricted free permit is required to float, via non motorized boat on the Chetco

·         Mandatory unrestricted free permit is required to float, via non motorized boat on the Illinois

Both permits used to monitor for health and safety purposes.

Ancient Port Orford cedar and Jeffrey pine are bathed in the golden light of the setting sun in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. It's the moments of peace, silence and solitude like this that are the real treasures of wilderness. Karin Leson photo.

Bibliography

Howe, G. (n.d.). Siskiyou Mountain Club. Siskiyou Mountain Club. Retrieved May 18, 2012, from http://www.siskiyoumountainclub.org

wildland, o. (n.d.). University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Retrieved May 13, 2012, from http://www.uwec.edu

Daily Kos :: News Community Action. (n.d.). Daily Kos :: News Community Action. Retrieved May 15, 2012, from http://www.dailykos.com

Coalition, O. W. (n.d.). Oregon Historical Society and Oregon History Museum . Oregon Historical Society and Oregon History Museum . Retrieved May 25, 2012, from http://www.ohs.org