A colorful wildflower hike in the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area 🌼

Written by Allee Gustafson in April 2026

*Hiking along the Illinois River to find wildflowers! Credit: Allee Gustafson*

This spring, we hosted our annual Wildflower Hike along the Wild & Scenic Illinois River in the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area. Every year, this is one of our most popular free group hikes because — to no one’s surprise — wildflowers are something everyone looks forward to as winter temperatures warm and the earth begins to come back to life!

It was such a joy to be out on the trail with our group of hikers. The weather was perfect, partly cloudy with a light breeze and warm sunshine. It made for a wonderful spring day among the wildflowers in the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area, which is one of my favorite places. We took the time to identify and document the wildflowers that we saw in bloom, and you can see our field notes of flowers and other plants identified on our hike below.

At the beginning of our hike, we discussed the threats facing our region here in southwest Oregon, which includes numerous proposed nickel mines by Canadian mining company Homeland Nickel. We stand firm and a majority of the public agrees: This area we explored along the Wild & Scenic Illinois River is no place for a nickel strip mine. Although this is a botanical area designated by the Forest Service and an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the 1872 Mining Law supersedes these protections, creating a loophole that allows existing mining claims to be staked. We at KS Wild are working towards getting the Illinois River designated as an Outstanding Resource Water and informing the public about the situation so residents and lovers of these special places can stay updated regarding their drinking water and public lands right in their backyard.

Loving and protecting our shared public lands

We also participate in the "I ♥️ Public Lands" exercise while we hiked the trail. We are a grassroots organization and depend on the community to activate in moments like this for this campaign to stop the nickel mining in southwest Oregon.

If you are wondering how to help us stop nickel mining at Eight Dollar Mountain, please join our next Activist Night where we will talk about the threats, where they are in our region, and how we can take action to be a part of the campaign.

Sign up here.