Siskiyou Wild Rivers

Threats
There are two primary threats to Oregon's Yellowstone, mining and ATV abuse. The Forest Service is proposing to create 115 miles of ATV trails through the proposed Wilderness areas. On the mining front, suction dredge mining in sensitive salmon rivers is a serious problem (picture a massive vacuum on the river bottom, right where the salmon eggs go).

California recently showed bold leadership and banned suction dredge mining across the state. The result of this action is that the mining that was taking place in northern CA is now heading to Oregon's Yellowstone. Since 2001, 880 new mining claims have been filed in the area, resulting in an overall increase of 378 active mining claims.

Reinstatement of the Clinton Mining Withdrawal for the Siskiyous as a Temporary Solution
President Clinton put in motion a mining withdrawal that would have called a time out on new mining claims for approximiately one million acres in Oregon's Yellowstone. This proposal would not affect existing valid mining claims but it would stem the bleeding until additional wilderness protections are addressed. Unfortunately President Bush ditched this idea before it went into effect. We are encouraging Governor Kulongoski and the Oregon Congressional Delegation to reinstate the mining withdrawal.  The other obvious piece of this puzzle is that the 1872 mining act needs to be updated.

Letter to Governor Kulongoski and the Oregon Congressional Delegation

 Map of Mining Claim Density in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers area

Photos: suction dredge pack (US Army Corps of Engineers), Illinois River sediment (Rolf Skar)