Spencer Jones and Megan Mortimer-Lamb, undergraduate geology students at the University of Oregon, were awarded $1200 from the Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Fund for undergraduate research in May 2015. They report about their field work in the Jenny Creek area. 
 
     “Greetings to all! This summer we had the incredible opportunity to work alongside Dr. Jad D’Allura in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. We were fortunate to have been awarded grants from the Friends Research Fund. That gracious support allowed us to purchase equipment for our field study, travel to and from the Monument, and have samples sent to a lab for geochemical analysis. 
     Our research objective was to determine the characteristics and importance of the 22 million year old Western Cascade and much younger High Cascade volcanic rocks. Analysis included field mapping, microscopic examination of thin slices of rock, and pulverizing selected rock samples for geochemical analysis. We worked alongside Dr. D’Allura for over a month to complete geologic mapping and data collection in the northeastern part of the Monument.  
     We learned new field techniques in challenging terrain! Megan enjoyed learning a new skill as she prepared thin sections for analysis—techniques not usually taught to undergraduates. Spencer enjoyed traversing steep hillsides through dense forest to suddenly break through the trees to a steep cliff of sheer rock, often representing a boundary between two very different rock units.
     Thanks are given to Professor D’Allura for his unwavering support and patience and to the Friends for enabling us to develop our own research projects in such an incredible place. Our research has contributed to the knowledge of how the geology affects the diverse topography, soils, and hydrology of this part of this geo-and bio-diverse Monument. We look forward to speaking to and sharing with the Friends during the research symposium in 2016.  

     All 2015 Images courtesy of Spencer Jones and Meagan Mortimer.

       “…it will slow you down and cause an increase in your powers of observation, so you get a connection with nature, a deeper understanding of it.”  Sarah F. Burns, Daily Tidings interview.

Sarah F. Burns, local artist and art teacher, led the program beginning with a lecture on Friday night. She spoke to an audience of over 25 community members on the importance of capturing landscapes in art and why so many famous artists do. Through a slide show featuring art from both historic and present-day artists, Sarah took the audience on a tour of different techniques that could be used in situ the following day in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. 
     After talking about why artists draw landscapes, Sarah introduced the concept of Blind Contour – a technique where the artist sketches a shape without looking at the paper. Sarah explained that many children draw in symbols instead of drawing what they actually see, for example to draw a table a child will draw a sort of bracket to represent a table. “If you ever find yourself drawing in symbols instead of visually recording what you see, blind contouring will help you switch over to recording what is actually there.”
     Other topics covered included scale, proportion, scope, tonal qualities, light effect, perspective, and atmospheric perspective. The lecture, while only an hour long, showcased many stunning pieces of art. 
     The next morning, Sarah Burns led a hike through Hobart Bluff in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The smoke did not deter the 15 community members who joined her to sketch the beautiful landscapes seen along the Hobart Bluff trail. Sarah began the day by doing a demonstration. She chose an intricately twisted tree and set up her easel commenting on the strong winds that had shaped the tree but would also influence her sketch. 
      By the end of the hike, every community member had created his or her own sketch as a souvenir of the morning’s hike and awe-inspiring beauty of Hobart Bluff. See some of the sketches on our Facebook page.
                                                                              –Rosetta Shaw, Friends of CSNM Board Member

Read John Darling’s article at the Daily Tidings.  Sarah Burns teaches art classes in Ashland and you can learn more at Sarahfburns.com. 

To celebrate the 15th anniversary year of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, photographer Matt Witt is sharing images each month from his hikes in the Monument’s varied environments. Witt has photographed in wilderness areas throughout the West. He now lives in Talent, Oregon and has spent many hours exploring the monument, enjoying its rugged backcountry and feeling grateful to those who have worked so hard to protect it. More of his images can be seen at his website.
   Sign up for the E-newsletter of the Friends of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument; and see Matt’s images.

Sisters Charlotte and Amelia Goff wanted to celebrate Charlotte’s 2015 graduation from Macalester College with a sister-bonding trip. Amelia was on her semester break from the Yale School of Nursing before her summer job started. Their hike to Pilot Rock and along the Pacific Crest Trail gave them time to reflect on health, work and family tradition.
C: “I needed a pause from trying to “figure out” the next step in my life. I had never been to the Pacific Northwest but had always hoped to have the opportunity to experience the area’s famous natural beauty”
A:  Public lands and preservation of wilderness is often undervalued by our younger generation, as urbanization becomes the accepted ideal. Walking the Pacific Crest Trail and admiring the new trails in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is so meditative, strikingly beautiful, and ecologically diverse.
C:  “An unexpected surprise of the experience of hiking the PCT was the excitement I felt identifying the wildflowers and birds I spotted along the way!”
A: “Charlotte and I both share a deep love of the outdoors. We enjoy being active. Going into the nursing profession as a nurse practitioner so much of the focus is on preventative medicine and the links to better health outcomes if people can embrace healthy lifestyles–I really value being out in the natural environment to stay healthy.
C: “Amelia and I had hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in the high sierras almost exactly four years ago. It was the summer before I started my first year of college. To then hike a different part of the trail right after graduating was wonderfully symbolic in a way that neither of us had anticipated! 
A: Charlotte and I get to carry on our family’s tradition, and we hope to do more of the PCT together in the future.

The book Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and the movie, starring Reese Witherspoon has energized a number of hikers on the PCT. From the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, you can access the PCT–19 miles. 
     The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is a place where each individual can explore at their own pace and experience their own personal wild–several days or a just a few hours. Hike for your health; hike to share a family tradition.

Zach Million, Monument Outdoor Recreation Planner for the BLM Medford office is passionate about making the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument accessible to the public. From upgraded trails, parking and restroom facilities, to a centralized reservation system for the Hyatt Lake Recreation, Zach’s planning has improved the user experience, from aesthetics and ease to health and safety—all to conserve the Monument’s natural environment and biodiversity.
    “I want people to see and hike the trails we have in the Monument. When they call to report concerns about conditions–that means they care and take ownership for our public lands. Caring for the monument is a big job, and I need everyone to help me know how it’s going out there,” he said. 
     At the Pilot Rock Trail, he worked with the Siskiyou Mountain Club and the Jackson County Job Council to reroute the trail from the Pacific Crest Trail to the base of Pilot Rock. An old logging road from the parking lot to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) was transformed into a walking trail. A BLM sign states “improvements reduce damage, improve visitor safety and protect the wilderness values.”
   The Bean Cabin area was re-wilded by taking out an old cistern that collected naturally flowing spring water. The spring water now feeds directly into a nearby creek, which is still available for PCT hikers to replenish their fresh water supply.
   Zach integrated Hyatt Lake’s Recreation Area with the online or central phone call reservation system, much like other BLM campsites—one that international visitors can easily use. 
    We thank Zach for his work that we now enjoy during our 15th anniversary year of our Monument. He will be nearby as he transitions within BLM Medford to work with environmental and trail groups in the Applegate Valley area. 
   Next time you hike the trails, check out these improvements at the Monument that make the place safer and better protect the land.

Help care for the Monument by practicing Leave No Trace. We need everyone’s help to care for the Monument.

Triple-digit temperatures did not stop a dedicated work crew from removing the yellow star thistle that threatens the Greene’s Mariposa Lily in the Mariposa Lily Botanical Area. Fortunately, early and scattered cloud cover slowed the day’s warming so volunteers didn’t suffer too much during the nearly four-hour work period.
     The Friends of Cascade Siskiyou National Monument partnered with Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild), Southern Oregon Native Plant Society (SONPS), and Bureau of Land Management Medford District (BLM) to collaboratively organize and lead a Hike and Learn within the Mariposa Lily Botanical Area. We observed and learned about the rare plants and worked to remove Yellow Star Thistle, an invasive introduced plant that can potentially displace the plants rare and endemic to the area.
     The 222-acre Mariposa Botanical Area is a designated conservation area (botanical preserve) that lies within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. It was first acquired in 1993 through a unique land exchange between The Nature Conservancy and cooperative ranchers in the Rogue Valley. 
     The botanical preserve provides protection for two rare endemic plants, Greene’s Mariposa Lily (the Botanical Area’s namesake) and Detling’s microseris. Greene’s Mariposa Lily grows only in southern Jackson County, Oregon and northern Siskiyou County, California while Detling’s microseris exists only in select areas of Jackson County, Oregon. The preserve also provides year-round habitat for blacktail deer and a small elk herd and contains portions of the historic Oregon-California Trail. 
     The invasive star thistle had not yet flowered so BLM Botantist Armand Rebischke showed us how to pull the plant up by the roots. This was not a particularly easy task since star thistle has a vigorous taproot! We bagged the pulled thistle and removed it from the site to prevent any of it from setting seed. A pulled thistle can set seed if the flower head is developed enough.
     The Mariposa Lily Botanical Area Hike and Learn Friday (June 26) talk was presented by Jeanine Moy (KS Wild Adopt-A-Botanical Area Coordinator), followed by a Saturday educational day-hike and service-learning event co-led by Moy and BLM Botantist, Armand Rebischke and joined by Julie Spelletich (SONPS Botanist) and Peter Schroeder (FCSNM Board Member) and 5 members of the general public.

–Peter Schroeder, Friends of CSNM Board Member

This Hike and Learn service project continues our series of events celebrating our 15th Anniversary of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.
     We invite you to visit, submit your story or photograph or make a gift and join us to educate, conserve, and care for this place of biodiversity!
 

On June 6, 2015, the Friends of Cascade Siskiyou National Monument hosted the first ever BioBlitz in the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument! This special event marks the beginning of our 15th anniversary year since the establishment of the Monument in 2000.     
     At the end of the day, participants cataloged 70 butterfly species representing 9 major groups of butterflies. One species found, the Gorgon Copper (Lycaena gorgon), was one of the earliest sightings of this species in the Monument. 
     Fifty citizen-scientists, student volunteers, and butterfly-enthusiasts from the region met at Pinehurst Elementary School in the morning. We separated into seven groups; each led by a trained lepidopterist. We scouted for butterflies within various areas of the Monument ranging from creekside meadows to high elevation mountaintops. 
     Thanks to our intrepid leaders for making the day fun and full of learning: Kathleen Donham, David Hagen,  Lois Hagen, Lori Humphreys, Jherime Kellermann, Dana Ross, Joseph Smith, John Villella, and Dianne Keller. They are experienced lepidopterists who traveled from Corvallis, Eugene, and Klamath Falls to guide our BioBlitz.
     Results from this survey, together with previous and other planned scientific studies, will help identify patterns of butterfly diversity, abundance, and phenology that will in turn assist biologists to develop the best strategies for protecting, preserving, and restoring the natural health of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.

     –Peter Schroeder, 2015 BioBlitz Coordinator and Friends of
         Cascade Siskiyou National Monument Board Member

Thanks to our BioBlitz 2015 Sponsors!
Grants from US Bureau of Land Management and Conservation Lands Foundation 
Event sponsors: Pinehurst School, Indigo Creek, Wiley’s World; Northwest Nature Shop, Sign Dude, and Printfast.

Our monument is part of the National Conservation Lands–also celebrating a 15-year anniversary. These landscapes are recognized for “outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values,” and we all share in the mission to conserve, protect and restore them.
     Make a gift or donation and help us to educate, conserve and protect the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument during our 15th anniversary.

The Soda Mountain Wilderness Council hosted a gathering at Buckhorn Springs to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Rainy & the Rattlesnakes performed bluegrass music as community members dined outdoors on a barbecue meal. 
     The evening program featured a case for an expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, presented by speakers Pepper Trail, USFWS Ornithologist & Poet Laureate of CSNM; Michael Parker, SOU Professor & Biologist; and Dave Willis, chair of Soda Mountain Wilderness Council.
     Dave championed the establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Soda Mountain Wilderness and continues to protect the biodiversity of Southwest Oregon. In May 2015 Oregon Wild presented Dave Willis with the first annual Tim Lillebo Wildlands Warrior Award. Read at Oregon Wild about the Award to Dave. Read at American Profile (2001) about Dave’s work in creating the monument. For those of us new to the region, we learn and respect the ongoing work that needs all of us. Congratulations – Dave!

Soda Mountain Wilderness Council is offering a series of hikes to show why the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument was established for its biodiversity. Read about the hike details at the Daily Tidings. 
     All the hikes require advance contact with the person leading the hike to reserve a place on the hike and to find out where the group will meet before setting out. 
     June 13, Sunday: The National Center for Conservation Science and Policy’s aquatic ecologist, Brian Barr (541-621-7226; brian@nccsp.org), will lead a short, round-trip hike-and-scramble from the Jenny Creek Canyon rim in Oregon (elev. 3,300 feet) down to Jenny Creek Falls (elev. 2,700 feet) in California. Moderately difficult; three-plus miles, some steep scrambling. Meet at 9 a.m.
     June 19, Saturday: Veteran Sierra Club hike leader Cathy Edwards (541-210-0204; ziglerugn@aol.com) and National Park Service botanist Sean Smith will explore where Rogue Valley oak savannah meets Cascadian conifer forest in the Greensprings Mountain (elev. 5,225 feet) unit of the South Cascades Wilderness proposal northwest of the Greensprings Summit. Some off-trail hiking. Moderate, about four miles. Meet at 3 p.m. and bring your sack supper to enjoy the evening of the almost-longest day of the year. 
     June 26, Saturday: Join Southern Oregon University aquatic ecologist Michael Parker (541-552-6796; parker@sou.edu), on a cross-country ramble through Fredenburg Meadow (elev. 3,600 feet) and down into the forested Jenny Creek Canyon in the northeastern corner of the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument. All off-trail hiking. Moderate; three miles or less. Meet at 9 a.m.