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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW $60K grant aids oak restoration, bird habitat ... Stouts fire at 15,100 acres, 5 percent contained ... Signups for fall OLLI classes accepted through Friday ... $60K grant aids oak restoration, bird habitat ... Stouts fire at 15,100 acres, 5 percent contained ... Signups for fall OLLI classes accepted through Friday ... ASHLAND RUNS ON VOLUNTEERS Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands volunteers 'adopt' botanical areas Comment By Mary I. Coombs DailyTidings.com By Mary I. Coombs Posted Jun. 2, 2015 at 8:21 PM By Mary I. Coombs Posted Jun. 2, 2015 at 8:21 PM » Social News One of the many environmentally oriented groups in our area is the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (or, more simply, KS Wild). The organization, headquartered in Ashland, sees itself as a voice for the forest, waters and wildlife — plants and animals — throughout the Klamath-Siskiyou. Their area of interest goes from Roseburg to near Redding and from the coast to Mt. Shasta — an area that is more than 70 percent public land. They seek to monitor what takes place on these public lands, to educate the citizens about threats to them and to work to ensure that the Forest Service and the federal Bureau of Land Management, charged with monitoring and protecting these lands, have the resources and commitment to do so. One of the most interesting of their projects (and one that relies heavily on volunteers) is a program designed to protect designated botanical areas by having volunteers “adopt” them. One can think of this as the wilderness equivalent of individuals and groups “adopting” a section of road. Botanical areas are designated as such by the BLM (or by the U.S. Forest Service, under a different terminology) and are areas containing endangered local species of plants and/or threats from invasive species. Our region is unusually rich in its botanical variety, but also often at risk. Federal rules protect these areas, but the agencies lack the resources to adequately protect them. KS Wild volunteers adopt a particular area. The volunteer is provided with training and with materials, including maps and lists of flora and other information about their botanical area. They are encouraged to attend KS Wild training sessions where botanists tell the about the local ecology and threats to its continued flourishing. The volunteers commit to visiting their area two to four times each year. When they go out, they will examine the area and assess any threats to it, such as trash dumping, off-road vehicles and other human threats, such as evidence of the area being used for target practice or mining claims. The volunteer can pick up trash or alert KS Wild if there is need for a more extensive clean-up. He or she fills out and submits a short written assessment form, along with photographs. KS Wild can then let BLM or USFS know of any problems and urge necessary government action. This program, which started four years ago, now has about 80 volunteers. But there are more than 130 botanical areas, so some are still awaiting adoption! KS Wild also does more general education of local citizenry about the wild areas around us and the threats to them, seeking to create community engagement around the general issues of preserving the wilderness and responding to particular threats. Volunteers can participate in these activities in a variety of ways: for example, helping on an educational walk and weed pull that KS Wild and BLM will be doing together later this spring. There are also tasks that volunteers can do to help make a success of educational events, like their environmental film festivals and their annual fundraising dinner in October. There is no particular training requirement. All adults are welcome. Many people find KS Wild a useful focus for combining their love for the natural beauty and wilderness around us and their desire to engage others to create a community of stewards who will ensure that these wild areas are here for future generations. If you want to know more, please go to their website, www.kswild.org, where you can download a volunteer form, or call 541-488-5789. Mary I. Coombs’ column on local nonprofit organizations appears every three weeks. Email questions and suggestions to [email protected]. By Mary I. Coombs DailyTidings.com By Mary I. Coombs Posted Jun. 2, 2015 at 8:21 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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