Just Published : Luke Ruediger's "The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History & Ecology"

KlamBlog readers will remember Luke Ruediger. Back in November of last year we published Luke's account of the 2011 Goff Fire on the Klamath National Forest. Luke did what KlamBlog editor Felice Pace has long advocated - he studied, recorded and reported on the natural history of the fire, including the suppression effort mounted by the US Forest Service. 

Luke documented the beneficial manner in which the natural Goff Fire burned within the Kangaroo Roadless Area. He - along with Felice - also documented the destructive nature of fire suppression actions undertaken by firefighters under the supervision of Klamath National Forest managers. These managers failed to mandate MIST - Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics - within the Kangaroo Roadless Area. As a result, destructive and ineffective firelines and burnouts were constructed along Fort Goff and Portuguese Creeks necessarily damaging water quality and salmon refugia. We also received reports but were unable to confirm that firefighters used bulldozers inside the roadless area. 

Subsequently, Luke came to the conclusion that it was likely a firefighter lit burn-out - not the natural wildfire - which escaped fire lines and threatened homes in the Seiad Valley. In a letter, Felice asked Klamath National Forest Supervisor Patricia Grantham - who approved all suppression actions - to respond if she had knowledge that the fire which threatened the Seiad Community was not lit by firefighters. Ms. Grantham did not respond to the letter.    

Now Luke has written and self-published a guide to an area which he may know better than any other living person. Luke Ruediger grew up hiking the Siskiyou Crest and as an adult he has continued to roam over and study the area. Below is Luke's own description of his self-published book on the Crest. You can find information on how to order a copy at the end of the description. 

KlamBlog believes that Luke Ruediger is an example of the new values, new insights and new leadership which are just beginning to emerge in Klamath Country. We look forward to what Luke and his generation will accomplish as they replace the region's aging leaders.       

                    ______________________

The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History 

& Ecology 

 

 

A new hiking and natural history guide for the Siskiyou Crest

By Luke Ruediger

An invaluable and detailed tool for exploring this little known, yet wonderfully diverse region, The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History, & Ecology explores the sunlit oak woodlands, ancient old-growth forests, scrubby slopes of chaparral, pristine mountain lakes, and the rugged flower-filled ridgelines and meadows of the Siskiyou Crest.

 

The author examines the region’s wild character, unique biological diversity, unusual botany, fire ecology, natural history, and human history within each hike description and introductory chapter.

The book outlines the region’s many threats and potential solutions to these threats including the proposed designation of the Siskiyou Crest National Monument.

Take this book along on any Siskiyou Crest adventure!

• 76 Hikes  

• 19 Roadless Areas

• The Red Buttes Wilderness Area

• The Siskiyou Wilderness Area

• The entire proposed Siskiyou Crest National Monument

Order this book online at:

www.thesiskiyoucrest.blogspot.com

On-line book focuses on the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake Refuges

Brett Cole is a professional photographer whose work has focused on "wetlands and wild birds, endangered baboons, tropical and temperate forests, and cultural, social, and environmental topics in India and Peru." Cole has worked for and with "a variety of environmental and humanitarian NGOs in different countries" including The Nature Conservancy, Cambridge Conservation Initiative and World Wildlife Fund.

Cole has a couple of books in print. He has also self- published seven photography books (with accompanying original essays) on line, including one focused on Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges. These books contain gorgeous and evocative images which Cole makes available to conservationists and utilizes himself to promote the appreciation of nature and to advance the work of conservation.  Here is one of Brett Cole's Klamath Refuge photos: 

Ducks at Sunrise, Lower Klamath NWR, Brett Cole Photo

If you read Brett Cole's book on the Klamath Refuges, you will soon recognize that he is not your typical photographer. Brett Cole has the soul of an activist-artist - one who wants to use his art to advance social and environmental justice.

While Cole's refuge photos include many celebrating the beauty of birds, other wildlife, wetlands and landscapes, he has also published numerous images focused on the industrial-scale commercial agriculture which occurs on Lower Klamath and Tule Lake Refuges. In his on-line book, Cole makes clear throughout that he thinks industrial agriculture on national wildlife refuge land must end. But he also projects restoration of wetlands on Tulelake and Lower Klamath Refuges as a win-win:

          "The Lower Klamath and Tule Lake Refuges provide perhaps the single most exciting and profound habitat restoration projects in the western United States. The next decade could be a time of incredible excitement and positive change in the Klamath Basin with all parties coming out ahead."  

Farming on the Klamath NWRs - photos and collage by Brett Cole

On the last page of Brett Cole's on line book "Klamath: Western America's Greatest Wetlands" he encourages readers to get involved with Comprehensive Conservation Planning for the Klamath Refuges. The Plan which will include Lower Klamath Refuge and Tule Lake Refuge is due to be completed in 2013. 

Cole suggests that those who care about the Klamath Refuges stay involved via the web site of Oregon Wild. 

Led by naturalist-activist Wendell Wood, Oregon Wild is far and away the leader in bringing attention to the plight of the Klamath Refuges - including the irony of dewatered marshes while commercial agricultural lease lands on the refuges receive full irrigation water delivery. Oregon Wild's web site includes lots of information on the refuges as well as a page with updates on Klamath River Basin issues and developments.   

American avocets (Recurvirostra americana) foraging, Lower Klamath Refuge, CA

Photo by Brett Cole

Lessons from Klamath History: A tribute to Petey Brucker

On Saturday October 6th the Salmon River Restoration Council celebrated twenty years of work to sustain and restore the watersheds and communities of the Salmon River Basin, aka the Cal Salmon.Check out the excellent report on the event written by Two Rivers Tribune reporter Malcolm Terrance at this link.

A highlight of the event was a tribute to SRRC founder and long time executive director Petey Brucker. Three of Petey's closest compadres - Felice Pace, Ron Reed and Jennifer Silvera - spoke about the contributions which Petey has made over the years to the human and ecological communities of the Salmon River and Klamath River Basin.The staff then presented Petey with a plaque of appreciation. Dominating the plaque is a Spring Chinook Salmon in high relief.      

Reproduced below is the tribute to Petey which KlamBlog editor and chief writer Felice Pace produced for the event. Due to time constraints, Felice could only summarize the tribute at the celebration. KlamBlog presents it here because the tribute recounts important events in the People's History of Klamath Country. 

Our culture discourages historical memory. Perhaps that is part of why we seem to repeat the same mistakes over and over. KlamBlog believes it is only possible to truly understand current events if we view them within an accurate historical context. We hope you enjoy and learn not only from Petey's example but also portions of the People's History recounted by Felice in his tribute to Petey Brucker published for the very first time below.

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Community Man: A tribute to Petey Brucker 

by Felice Pace   

          When I was asked to speak here about my friend Petey it took me all of a second to accept the invitation. Not surprising really – older folks like to go on and on and I have never been accused of being shy or reticent when it comes to public speaking. The truth is, however, that there is very little that can give me more pleasure than to tell folks about my friend Petey and especially about the history we shared together.

Petey takes a rare break at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge

A big part of that history is the founding of both the Klamath Forest Alliance (KFA) and the Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC) and the events that led Petey, myself and several other folks – most from the Salmon River - to create those organizations. Some of you may not realize that it was KFA which provided the support Petey needed to create SRCC. Some probably don’t know that it was also KFA – in support of Cynthia Poten’s vision – which created Klamath Riverkeeper. That is KFA’s mission – to support progressive activists in going for and realizing their hopes and visions. Please understand that KFA is still there and still available to a new generation of activists to help you realize your hopes, dreams and visions in service to the community of all living beings.  

But let’s get back to the story.

For me the beginning was the herbicide wars. I suspect it is difficult if not impossible for those of you who did not live through it to understand and appreciate what it was like back then for those of us who lived in homesteads and communities surrounded by national forest land. We could hardly believe it ourselves. Many of us had fought hard to end the Vietnam War; we had decried the use of Agent Orange on the land and people of Vietnam. We won an end to that war only to find that the chemicals and helicopters – the war itself - had come home – the chemicals we decried when used in Vietnam were now being used against us!

Another defeat for Suction Dredge Mining

On June 29th the Sacramento Bee reported that the newly enacted California state budget extends indefinitely the ban on suction dredge mining within California rivers and streams. A previously enacted ban was due to expire in 2016; the new provision will remain indefinitely unless the in-stream mining program administered by the California Department of Fish & Game can be made "self-supporting" and "unless unavoidable environmental impacts are addressed." While mining advocates deny it, the preponderance of scientific information holds that suction dredge mining degrades salmon habitat and frees highly toxic mercury previously trapped in bottom sediments. 

The Bee article quoted mining advocate Rachel Dunn who called the legislature's new moratorium "a scam" and vowed to challenge the budget action in court. It is unlikely, however, that such a lawsuit - if it is filed - would be successful. Like earlier court decisions, the new moratorium rests on solid factual ground: the real risks to fish and humans which suction dredging entails.It has also long been established that governments can charge fees equal to the cost of administering programs serving distinct groups of "users". Similarly, the validity of requiring environmental review for activities with potential to damage water quality and public trust resources including fisheries is well established in both state and federal law.      

 Suction dredge on the Scott River

Once a common sight, gold dredging has been banned in California since 2009

Defeat and Retaliation

The recent budget action is the latest in a string of defeats for so-called recreational mining. Backed by key state legislators, opponents of dredging have prevented suction dredges from operating in California waters since December 2006. 

Prior to the 2006 court injunction and subsequent legislative bans, hundreds of suction dredge miners spent summers living for free on public lands along the Klamath, its tributaries and other California rivers. While camping at one location within national forests has long been limited to a maximum 14-day stay, recreational miners were allowed to camp on national forest land for the entire summer and longer under the supposition that the activity was sanctioned by the 1872 mining law.