Winter Wild and Scenic: A tribute to the Applegate River Watershed
Winter snow on Elliott Creek in the Upper Applegate River watershed.
After the bigleaf maple leaves fell in the canyons, bright red berries covered madrone trees, and oak woodlands turned the foothills a vibrant golden hue, winter cast its spell across the Applegate Siskiyous. Although relatively mild and dry this season, snow has accumulated in the high country, and at times, blanketed the region from the valley bottom to the highest peaks. Rains have poured from dark clouds obscuring the mountains, filling our rivers and streams with runoff. Winds have howled across the Siskiyou Mountains, blowing down trees and bringing the fire killed snags from the recent Abney, Burnt Peak and Creedence Fires crashing to the forest floor.
The low winter sun has also brightened the grassy balds, dormant oak trees and manzanita thickets, while casting dark, cold shadows across the canyon bottoms and north-facing slopes for months at a time. Each clear, starry night has left sparkling, white frost across the landscape, which accumulates in the shade and melts off each morning in more exposed locations.
With winter waning and spring just around the bend in the Applegate Valley, we ask you to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of winter by viewing this Winter Wild and Scenic Photo Essay, highlighting streams proposed for protection in the River Democracy Act, co-sponsored by Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley.
The Middle Fork Applegate River is one of the premiere streams in the Applegate watershed, with spectacular wilderness tributaries extending into the Red Buttes Wilderness Area and the surrounding wildlands. The Middle Fork and numerous of its wild tributary streams are proposed for Wild and Scenic River protections in the River Democracy Act.
Initiated with an open, public nomination process, the River Democracy Act empowered local citizens to nominate worthy stream segments for Wild and Scenic River protections. In response, ANN got to work documenting and nominating streams across the Applegate River watershed for Wild and Scenic River designation.
From the sparse serpentine canyon of Slate Creek, with fragrant azaleas, charismatic cobra lily fens, and elegant, streamside Port Orford-cedar, to the arid oak woodlands of the Little Applegate River, and to the headwaters of the Applegate River in deep forested canyons below the Siskiyou Crest, the proposed Applegate Wild and Scenic River contains a wide variety of beautiful streams in need of protection.
This post highlights the beauty of the Applegate River and its many wild tributary streams. Please support the River Democracy Act and the designation of Applegate River tributary streams as new Wild and Scenic River segments.
Palmer Creek, a tributary of the Upper Applegate River is a beautiful perennial stream and fishery. Large portions of the watershed support mature, low elevation forests, beautiful oak woodlands and chaparral. Large portions of Palmer Creek are also proposed for protection in the River Democracy Act.
Support Clean Water and Wild Rivers! Here’s how:
Write to Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley, thanking them for introducing the River Democracy Act. In your letter express your support for the inclusion of Applegate River streams, full, mile-wide stream buffers for all protected streams, and a full mineral withdrawal (allowing no new mining claims) on all protected streams.
2. Submit Letters to the Editor in local newspapers supporting the River Democracy Act and the inclusion of Applegate River streams.
3. Hike a trail, raft a river, and get to know the wildlands in our region. Those who know and love the region are often its best advocates.
4. Encourage your friends, family and neighbors to support the River Democracy Act and fall in love with the Siskiyou Mountains!
Winter Wild and Scenic!
The beautiful blue waters of the Middle Fork Applegate River near its confluence with Cook and Green Creek. Steve Fork Carberry Creek drains the Grayback Range and the northern slopes of the Siskiyou Crest, portions of the Red Buttes Wilderness Area and the Kangaroo Inventoried Roadless Area. Numerous forks of Carberry Creek are proposed for Wild and Scenic designation in the River Democracy Act.
Elliott Creek flows out of the Condrey Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area on the northern slope of the Siskiyou Crest through incredible canyons supporting beautiful old-growth forest, moss-covered bedrock gorges and productive wildlife habitats. Large portions of Elliott Creek are proposed for Wild and Scenic River protections in the River Democracy Act.
The Little Applegate River canyon located on both BLM and Forest Service land was proposed for Wild and Scenic River designation in the River Democracy Act. The stream contains spectacular oak woodlands, dry mixed conifer forests and portions of the citizen identified Dakubetede Roadless Area.Cobra lily fens and Port Orford-cedar line the banks of Cedar Log Creek outside Wilderville, Oregon in the western Applegate River watershed. Cedar Log Creek is proposed for Wild and Scenic River designation in the River Democracy Act and is part of the serpentine wonderlands in the Slate Creek Roadless Area. Flowing out of the Kangaroo Inventoried Roadless Area, the Pipe Fork is the last truly wild tributary of Williams Creek and contains dense old-growth forests of Port Orford-cedar, sugar pine, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine and abundant hardwoods. Federal portions of the stream on BLM and Forest Service land are proposed for designation as Wild and Scenic River in the River Democracy Act. Star Gulch is a beautiful tributary of the Upper Applegate River upstream of Ruch, Oregon. Flowing through the diverse Applegate Foothills, the stream contains a lush riparian area with bigleaf maple, alder and Pacific yew, surrounded by dry mixed conifer forests, oak woodlands, chaparral, arid grasslands, and mixed hardwood forests. Star Gulch is directly adjacent to the BLM’s Burton-Ninemile Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWC) and is easily accessible to residents in the Rogue and Applegate Valleys.Whisky Creek is a major tributary of the Middle Fork Applegate River. Flowing down from the high country around Whisky Peak, the watershed contains beautiful, fire adapted old-growth forest accessible by the spectacular Whisky Creek Trail. The mainstem of Whisky Creek is proposed for Wild and Scenic River designation in the River Democracy Act.
