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People are reporting that a small number of Western monarch butterflies have made it up to northern Oregon and Washington as they've migrated north for the summer. Monarchs have been passing through and breeding in the Applegate this summer but sightings have been pretty sparse. Have you seen an adult monarch or monarch caterpillar yet this summer? ... See more

Wildflowers are blooming like crazy in the Applegate high country right now. This one is Bigelow's sneezeweed (Helenium bigelovii). Bigelow’s sneezeweed is named after J.M. Bigelow, a plant collector on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey in the 1850s. Despite the common name this wildflower is not allergenic. It was originally used by Native Americans as a snuff, hence the common name. Sneezeweed is loved by many pollinators including native bees and butterflies! ... See more

The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest has signed a Decision Notice for the Chetco Bar Fire Salvage Project, an over 4,000 acre clearcut logging project. It is very disappointing! This project demonstrates that the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is more concerned with helping the timber industry make a profit than protecting important post-fire habitat in the beautiful Chetco River Watershed. Is this the direction our local land management agency is heading under the Trump administration? Profit over ecology? ... See more

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Supervisor Merv George Jr. has signed a Decision Notice for the Chetco Bar Fire Salvage Project.

The selected alternative will treat approximately 4,090 acres or 2.5% of the Chetco Bar Fire footprint, with a rough estimate of 71 million board feet of proposed timber salvage harvest.

“Salvaging these fire-killed trees will help local businesses and communities recover economically while funding post-fire recovery efforts like tree planting that can foster resilient forest conditions and contribute to future timber production,” said George.

The decision for the Chetco Bar Fire Salvage Project is time-critical. The fire-killed trees in the Chetco Bar Fire project area have begun to deteriorate and the deterioration will continue to a point that tree salvage will become economically infeasible.

Lack of revenue from tree salvage will threaten accomplishment of other restoration goals including fuel reduction, watershed protection, and reforestation. In order to be successful, this project must be implemented as soon as possible this year before the operating season is closed by fall or winter storms.

Implementation of the project is expected to begin with the first sales from the project anticipated to sell in July.

https://tinyurl.com/yamd5xgh ... See more

The economic benefits of recreation on public land in the Applegate Valley also far outweigh the economic benefits from logging and ranching on public land. Protecting land and having a strong conservation ethic is good for the Applegate economy, just like it is for the area around the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. ... See more

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show a large economic output for recreation on Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument lands. They show little else.  

Keep Boaz Mountain Wild!
A proposed motorcycle trail on Boaz Mountain in the Upper Applegate Valley threatens the wild character of the Boaz Mountain roadless area. The Forest Service and BLM are considering approval of a newly constructed motorcycle trail into the heart of one of the most intact areas of the Applegate foothills. Boaz Mountain is accessed off of Eastside Road in the Upper Applegate and is in view from McKee Bridge and Star Ranger Station.

Today, in a meeting about the Upper Applegate Watershed Restoration Project, folks from ANN advocated hard to keep Boaz Mountain wild and to take this damaging proposal off the table for a project that is supposed to be focused on ecological restoration. New motorcycle trails into roadless areas have no place within a so-called habitat "restoration" project.

This proposal is very controversial with local Applegate residents who are concerned about the ecological impacts, noise disturbance to neighbors and noise disturbance that can negatively affect wildlife. Boaz Mountain is designated for Big Game Winter Range because of its high quality wildlife habitat. Additionally, the intact native plant communities on Boaz Mountain make the area unique. It is amazing pollinator habitat and a gorgeous spring wildflower display!

Keep Boaz Mountain Wild!
ANN will be sending out information on how you can get involved to protect this wild gem in the Applegate. ... See more

Folks might be interested in this upcoming presentation by Klamath Forest Alliance activist and ANN Program Coordinator, Luke Ruediger. The presentation will focus on the fire effects and fire ecology of the Siskiyou Mountains, using last summer's Miller Complex as a case study. If you are interested in wildfire in the Siskiyou Mountains and Applegate watershed, please come and check out this interesting presentation. July 12, 2018 6:30 -8:00 PM at the Northwest Nature Shop in Ashland.

https://www.northwestnatureshop.com/event/wildfire-on-the-siskiyou-crest-miller-complex-2017-case-study/ ... See more

Come learn about the keystone process of our forests; fire is essential and beneficial for our forests’ health. The Miller Complex burned in and around the Red Buttes Wilderness Area, south of Applegate Reservoir in the summer of 2017 on 36,000 acres. The fire burned through a variety of habitats ... ... See more