Move afoot for more Rogue protection

A group of local businesses has joined about 30 others from around the region asking for more wilderness protection along the Wild Section of the Rogue River west of Grants Pass, a stretch of river known for its solitude and beauty.

A group of local businesses has joined about 30 others from around the
region asking for more wilderness protection along the Wild Section of
the Rogue River west of Grants Pass, a stretch of river known for its
solitude and beauty.

Currently 35,000 acres are protected in the Wild Rogue Wilderness which
stretches from about Marial downstream to Agness. The 40 businesses,
representing mostly fishing and rafting outfitters, are asking for
another 60,000 acres extending east to Grave Creek, the upper end of the
Rogue's Wild Section.

"The Rogue River is an Oregon icon, and every year thousands of people
from around the world come to enjoy its beauty," said Pete Wallstrom,
owner of Momentum River Expeditions in Ashland. "This river is the
lifeblood of Southern Oregon's recreation economy, and its value extends
far beyond the boundaries of its canyons."

That section of land on both sides of the Rogue, managed by the Bureau
of Land Management, is mostly without roads and is known as the Zane
Grey roadless area.

A letter will be hand-delivered to Oregon's congressional delegation
this week, said Bev Moore, who operates Rogue Forest Bed and Breakfast
near Galice.

"I definitely feel like my livelihood is based on the Rogue River,"
Moore said. "It makes me feel like I have an obligation to protect it
into the future."

Moore and others are concerned about logging in watersheds above the
Rogue, including Kelsey and Whiskey Creek where the BLM has proposed a
project involving mostly thinning but includes some old-growth harvest.

The Upper East Kelsey sale, 10.7 million board feet on 514 acres, was
purchased by Rough and Ready Lumber of Cave Junction last November. The
sale includes numerous trees over 40 inches in diameter.

But logging hasn't begun because of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
order requiring the BLM to conduct a second biological analysis related
to the take of the protected Northern Spotted Owl, said Katrina Symonds,
Glendale Resource Area manager.

Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center of Ashland has sued over the logging.
The environmental group also spearheaded the movement for more wilderness.

The Rogue is one of the original six Wild and Scenic Rivers established
in 1968, but upstream of the existing wilderness area, the act currently
protects a small corridor of the river.
"They're getting closer and closer to that half-mile corridor along the
river," Moore said. "It's important to protect it more."

Local businesses included on the list of backers include: Big Rock Guide
Service of Grants Pass, Ferron's Fun Trips of Merlin, Motel Del Rogue of
Grants Pass, Outlaw Guide Service of Grants Pass, Rogue Forest Bed and
Breakfast of Merlin, Rogue Wilderness of Merlin, Siuslaw Guide Service
of Cave Junction and Swiftwater Guide Service of Murphy. Numerous other
recreation businesses in Medford and Ashland are also backers.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 gave Congress the power to set aside lands to
protect the natural environment, by prohibiting most activities other
than hiking and camping.

In this region, the Kalmiopsis Wilderness was one of the original
wilderness areas, along with Mountain Lakes near Klamath Falls, the
Marble Mountains of northern California, and Diamond Peak north of
Crater Lake.

Today Oregon has 36 wilderness areas covering 2,079,115 acres, which is
3,248 square miles, almost twice the size of Josephine County.

U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield sponsored a huge wilderness expansion with the
Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984, including in this region the Wild Rogue,
Grassy Knob, Rogue-Umpqua Divide, Red Buttes, and Sky Lakes. The Steens
Mountain Wilderness Area, crafted in 2000, is the most recent addition
in Oregon.

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Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 474-3720 or jduewel@thedailycourier.com
<mailto:jduewel@thedailycourier.com>