Open Lands "Fae"

Join us for a very special spooky Open Lands Day! The Rogue River Preserve includes a floodplain forest, oak woodlands with meadows, and is only open to the public for special events. You are welcome to explore the trails at your own pace, attend one of our guided hikes, bring a picnic lunch to enjoy, or do all three. We’re offering three hikes themed around our more cryptic organisms. Registration is required, costumes are encouraged. Please only sign up for one themed hike.

Self-guided: 10:00 – 3:00. Explore the Preserve at your own pace.

Lichen Hike: 10:30 – 12:00. Discover the cryptic lichens that live on trees, rocks, and soil with lichenologist Steve Sheehy. Learn how to identify some of the 57 liches described so far on the Preserve.

Cryptozoology Hike ‘Sassy with Sasquatch’: 12:00 – 1:00. Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch, let’s go for a walk to the Fairy Forest and discuss the elusive Pacific Northwest creature. Guided by SOLC staff member Rebekah.

Cryptozoology Hike ‘Ness Around and Find Out’: 1:30 – 2:30. Learn about the monster of Loch Ness while we walk around the vernal pool-mounded prairies; perhaps we’ll spot a distant cousin. Guided by SOLC staff member Rebekah.

Youth Climate Protectors

Youth Climate Protectors

This spring, SOLC piloted an exciting new program in collaboration with Unete Center for Farmworker Advocacy and Southern Oregon Climate Action Now. Eighteen Latinx high school youth participated in the program, which introduced them to the science of climate change, the impacts of climate change in our region, and actions that local people and organizations are taking to build resilient communities and landscapes.

The Beaver: No Longer A Predator

The Beaver: No Longer A Predator

Thanks to the work of Representative Pam Marsh and the Environmental Law Center, as well as many others, the bill HB 3464 “Enhancing Oregon’s Fire Resiliency and Water Security through Beaver Management” was developed. Now, beaver management is streamlined into a single state agency (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) for informed management so that the benefits of beaver in mitigating climate change impacts like wildfire, drought, and protection of imperiled species can be fully realized.

For Fox Sake

For Fox Sake

In late June of this year Stewardship Director, Kristi Mergenthaler, was driving along I-5, she saw on top of the short cement barrier a strange sight. A gray fox had her head trapped in a plastic container, right next to semi-trucks chugging up the slow lane.

NEW: Buck Prairie Conservation Easement

WE DID IT! Thanks to YOU, we just conserved 389 acres at Buck Prairie.

This newly protected land is highly scenic, carpeted by a vibrant meadow, with a stream flowing through it and flanked by dark green mountain forests. The 389 acres includes aspen stands, headwater streams, montane forests with grand old Pacific yews, and rocky meadows supporting biscuitroots and western juniper.

2022 Education Program Year in Review

2022 Education Program Year in Review

In 2022, SOLC facilitated 1,676 student-days of programming and hosted several teacher professional development workshops. From the valley floor to the ridgelines, we are delighted to be supporting learners of all ages – whether they’re kindergarteners practicing their colors with fall leaves in the Jacksonville Woodlands or in-service teachers exploring trauma-informed fire ecology education. Learn more about our education efforts in 2022 and what we look forward to in the year ahead.

Re-Learning Our Relationship to the River

In September of this year, SOLC representatives, community partners, and an experienced facilitation team took to the water for Decolonizing the Rogue, a four-day guided exploration on the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. This spectacular setting provided an immersive classroom to delve into how expanded cultural awareness, racial equity, and recognition of impacts from colonial domination can reframe the ways we enjoy and relate to nature – and how we can embody those big ideals in our work as a land trust. learn more about this transformational decolonization river workshop and its impacts on SOLC's work.

Fantastic Fairies and How to Survey Them

When SOLC acquired new lands earlier this year, we also acquired a new rare species, the Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. This tiny shrimp is recognized as a threatened species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. To monitor and steward these animals, two SOLC staff members earned special certification. Read about the certification process ​and purpose, ​and some geeky factoids about our community of fairies.

PHOTOS & RECAP: 2022 Annual All Member Picnic Event

PHOTOS & RECAP: 2022 Annual All Member Picnic Event

SOLC’s annual Member Picnic reminded us of why coming together – in person --makes conservation possible, and the many ways that our individual curiosity and commitment combine to achieve lasting impact. From this year’s Conservation Award, presented to the founders of the Willow-Witt Ranch, to the Volunteer of the Year Award presented to Linda Kappen, to the assembly of 150+ members, staff, and board (old and new), this picnic marked the progress we have made across 44 years of collaborative, community-based work.

Two Land Trusts, Three Preserves and a New Stewardship Legacy

Two Land Trusts, Three Preserves and a New Stewardship Legacy

We are excited to announce in late February, we completed the transfer of a group of former Nature Conservancy preserves that from now on will be part of SOLC’s conserved lands family. The transfer covers two new fee-owned parcels— Whetstone Savanna and Agate Desert Preserves— and two conservation easements including the Rogue River Plains Preserve.

Upcoming

Nature Talks on YouTube

Enjoy recordings of our past Nature Talks. Each event has multiple presenters. From our local national trails, to new SOLC conserved lands, to special species, to tracking animals in the snow - you’ll gain knowledge to impress all your friends.

News blog

Featured
The "Why" For A Wildlife Crossing
The "Why" For A Wildlife Crossing

ODOT render of a natural land crossing design built over a highway

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Turkey Tail - Gobbling Up Forest Debris
Turkey Tail - Gobbling Up Forest Debris

Turkey Tail is a saprophytic (obtains nutrients from decaying wood) mushroom that can be found in every forested ecosystem of the world. With its alternating bands of colors and bright white underside, this fungus is easy to identify and adds a beautiful adornment to fallen logs, branches, and rotting stumps.

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84 Fourth Street (office)
PO Box 954
Ashland, OR 97520
info@landconserve.org
541.482.3069