Recent Success for the Klamath-Siskiyou
Thank you KS Wild members , business supporters, & action takers, your efforts create change!
The Pacific fisher became a primary focus of KS Wild's research and advocacy efforts very early in the history of the organization. KS Wild considers the fisher a key indicator species for the health of the Klamath-Siskiyou ecosystem, and we are alarmed by the species' decline throughout its range.
There are likely only 200 Humboldt Martens left in the wild - in the forests that hug the central and southern Oregon coastal region. That is why we joined our allies to petition the state of Oregon to protects this beautiful, fierce, cat-like animals.
Congress enacted a Fire funding fix that will stop the Forest Service practice of “borrowing” funding from Forest Service programs to use towards fighting wildfire. KS Wild is generally supportive of this approach, but several other provisions in this bill would impact our national forests. Check out the analysis of the bill from our friends at The Wilderness Society.
The Siskiyou Crest is one of the most biologically, botanically, and geologically special places in the world. It is also a climate change refuge for plants and animals and a recreational wonderland. It is no place for clearcut logging. So we had to stop it.
On June 14, 2017, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a Suction Dredge Reform bill into law, after passing out of the Oregon Legislature with bipartisan support. The new law permanently places rivers and streams that provide habitat for sensitive salmon and lamprey off limits from suction dredge mining.
Overwhelming support from local communities and more than 70,000 comments in favor of protecting wild rivers and drinking water made a difference in defending against the imminent threat of nickel strip mining. On January 13, 2016, the Department of the Interior signed off on a 20-year mining ‘time-out’ that encompasses 100,000 acres and 100 miles of the North Fork Smith, Illinois River, and Hunter Creek watersheds.
Thanks to the Rogue River- Siskiyou National Forest and the NW Youth Corps for teaming up with us to protect this special place.
A broad coalition of local and regional conservation groups including KS Wild secured a victory on the Fremont-Winema to protect rare and threatend frog populations from excessive public lands grazing.
After four local public hearings and thousands of letters to elected officials, support for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument has been heard! On Thursday, January 12, 2017, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to expand the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon.
Local business leaders were instrumental in helping expand the Oregon Caves. More than 80,000 visitors visit the park each year, pumping more than $5 million into the local economy. That’s a huge boost for the rural Illinois Valley and its residents.