WE DID IT: 223 Acres Conserved in Colestin-Siskiyou Summit Focus Area
Recently, we conserved 223 more acres, two properties, in our Colestin-Siskiyou Summit Focus Area. We focus our conservation work in key geographical areas to strategically make a bigger impact and to protect beautiful landscapes. So far, we hold conservation easements restricting overdevelopment and clearcutting on 11 private properties covering 2,258 acres in this focus area. Our vision is to conserve a corridor of private land between the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument on BLM land to the east and national forest land (Klamath National Forest and Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest) to the west.
View of Mt. Ashland from Betsy and Peggy’s recently conserved property in the Colestin Valley.
Golden triteleia bloom on Betsy and Peggy’s recently conserved property in the Colestin Valley.
At this year’s Conservation Celebration, Cathy Dombi (far left) and Kevin Talbert (far right) take a photo with new conservation landowners Betsy Bradshaw and Peggy Moore.
“We are at peace with the land. Knowing that it will remain itself in the future and provide excellent habitat for many creatures.”
Over a two-year span, we worked with property owners Betsy Bradshaw and Peggy Moore and recently completed a 187-acre conservation easement project with them. Their now protected property in the Colestin Valley, located on the southern flanks of the Siskiyou Summit, is about 2.5 miles northwest of Hilt, California. This gorgeous property includes: outstanding oak woodland; rimrock with edge Basin and Range plant species such as antelope bitterbrush, bluebunch wheatgrass, and juniper; streamside forest along Mill Creek, a perennial tributary of Cottonwood Creek; chaparral; and mixed evergreen forest. An uncommon flower, golden triteleia (Triteleia crocea), grows under the oaks on a scenic ridgeline. Special status and declining animals also live here including Acorn Woodpecker, Band-tailed Pigeon, Mountain Quail, Western Bluebird, California mountain kingsnake, western rattlesnake, and western pond turtle. Pacific fisher, a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, have been documented through radio-tracking on nearby lands. After the project, Peggy Moore wrote a gracious note to staff, “We are at peace with the land. Knowing that it will remain itself in the future and provide excellent habitat for many creatures.”
Wildflowers including this cornlily provide excellent pollinator habitat on this recently conserved property on the Siskiyou Summit.
Views of Pilot Rock can been scene on a portion of the PCT that runs through this recently conserved property on the Siskiyou Summit.
Last summer, we also conserved a 36-acre forested property on the Siskiyou Summit, adjacent to US Forest lands, with lovely headwater wet meadows and springs that drain either to the north into the Rogue Basin or to the south into the Klamath Basin. The world-famous Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) winds through the property along the ridge. The viewshed and forest along this iconic trail is now further protected. In total, we have conserved over three miles of the PCT on three properties along the Siskiyou Summit with assistance from the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
Acre-by-acre, we are getting closer to conserving a corridor of protected land in our Colestin-Siskiyou Summit Focus Area thanks to the shared vision of special landowners and partners.
Banner image: Easter Isle like rock and view from a recently conserved property in the Colestin Valley.
