Alex Hole: Protecting a Siskiyou Crest Gem From Grazing

Written by George Sexton in July 2025

What’s up with Alex Hole? Find out ↓

I love Alex Hole. The meadows, springs, forests, and wildflowers of this remote corner of the Siskiyou Crest are absolutely stunning. Located on the edge of the 9,000-acre Condrey Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area on the Rogue-River Siskiyou National Forest, Alex Hole is tough to get to. You can either reach the meadows via a long hike on the Pacific Crest Trail or by an extremely rough and maze-like series of poorly-maintained Forest Service roads. It is a very wild place that takes some effort to get to. But that’s part of what keeps it so wild and makes it so special.

More Cow Bell!

It's not just migratory birds, elk, rare wildflowers, botanists, and hikers that love this special spot… Cattle from both the Klamath National Forest and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest like to congregate in the wet meadows and munch the willow flycatcher and butterfly habitat right down to the ground. Alex Hole—and really the entire Siskiyou Crest Mountain Range—should be protected for its remarkable botanical diversity and stunning scenic values. Instead it is subject to permitted grazing from the north side of the Crest and "drift" or "tresspass" grazing from the south side of the Crest, so it gets hit pretty hard from both sides. The cows are attracted to the water and forage of the wet meadows, but decimate the critical wildlife habitat and botanical diversity in the process.

“Illegal” grazing cattle on the Siskiyou Crest. Credit: Sydney Wilkins

Congress Loves Cows

KS Wild has tried everything to protect the special meadows of Alex Hole and the Siskiyou Crest. About 15 years ago we filed litigation challenging the grazing allotments on the Klamath National Forest that were the source of the unauthorized grazing trespass into Alex Hole. The 9th Circuit Appellate Court agreed with us that the Forest Service wasn't accounting for or managing the additional grazing pressure caused by cattle trespassing into Alex Hole from adjacent grazing allotments. The court ordered the Forest Service to do more studies (which they still have not completed) yet allows the harmful grazing to continue. The reason even a successful lawsuit cannot stop damaging grazing is because congress has directed the Forest Service and the courts to renew grazing allotments regardless of their impacts or effects. So literally the only way to get a grazing allotment on public lands retired is through an act of Congress. 

Fence For Flowers

While it shouldn't be the job of the public to keep cows out of Alex Hole the reality is if we don't do it then it just won't get done. So every year KS Wild volunteers team up with the range management staff of the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest to put up (and take down) a seasonal fence to protect the springs and meadows from cattle grazing. Last year our efforts were thwarted by fire. So this year we had more repair work to do than usual to get the fence up and functioning. With declining Forest Service budgets and widespread firing of public servants, the maintenance of public lands is in serious jeopardy. Check out our efforts to help protect and steward our natural heritage and sign up to help us defend and protect the forests and meadows that we love.

Columbine wildflowers within the Alex Hole meadow.

Wildflower mats along the ridge above Alex Hole.

Siskiyou Lewisia at Alex Hole meadow.

KS Wild has been partnering with the Forest Service for many years to put up and take down the fence surrounding Alex Hole meadow to protect the unique plant life that sustains many special insects and wildlife species. If you’d like to see this botanical gem for yourself and help us maintain the fence, let us know here!