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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 Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Friday They got algorithm Posters about missing teen will be distributed Competition keen at first city chili cookoff Alice Hardesty shares healing memoir Education Ashland schools expand chicken pox exclusion rules Students go behind the scenes at hospital Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner AHS ranked No. 7 by Niche College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? Environment The top five conservation success of 2014 Protestors want Keystone pipeline plans stopped New wandering wolf arrives in Southern Oregon Turning fire fuel threat into wood stove heat Ashland watershed trails would change under proposal Business Ride & Drive: 2015 Cadillac Escalade Brammo bought by Polaris They have a plan Ashland coffee roasters win nationwide honors Chamber's Business Resource Portal offers tools for success Politics and elections Chief Holderness retiring, wants to help find successor State News New wandering wolf arrives in Southern Oregon Police officer shoots armed driver near Reedsport Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Elizabeth Hope Garrett Death Notices Harry Theodore Hertz Death Notices Marvin Leo "Bud" Gettling Shareable Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Sports Latest Stories Respect: sock it to him A Grizz sweep Heisman winner Mariota says he's going to the NFL Comets press past Grizzlies Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones High school A Grizz sweep Comets press past Grizzlies Raiders put on a show Graham sparks Grizzly rout Ashland drops MWL opener to Marist Southern Oregon University Heisman winner Mariota says he's going to the NFL Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones Sayre says character key to SOU's success Ducks grounded Raiders put on a show Opinion Latest Stories Kent Bush: Capital punishment raises questions Our View: A matter of survival Letters to the Editor, Jan. 16 Other Views: Get GMO rules right Editor's Notes: We were wrong Editorial Our View: A matter of survival Other Views: Get GMO rules right Our View: No benefit from LNG pipeline Our View: Putting slash to work Our view: Protect Ashland's crown Letters Letters to the Editor, Jan. 16 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 14 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 5 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Bikes, hikers/equestrians need separate watershed trails Guest Opinion: SOU biomass burner would be big mistake Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased Another view: Cheney defends nation's journey into darkness Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fury impedes justice Revels Latest Stories Thanks for the Memories Theatre presents 'Cardenio' Best Bets: Jan. 15-22 A look at the life and vision of Martin Luther King Jr. 'Spotlight' highlights Orbison's life, music 'Selma' struggle remains relevant today Theater Insights into the gifts theater offers off the stage Theater is an act of co-creation ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Music Jeff Kloetzel at Belle Fiore The Farr Side: Top 10 album count-up for 2014 Visual Art Schneider winter exhibits on tap: 'Baker's Dozen' and 'New Works' First Friday kicks off a new year Movies Movie review: ‘Blackhat’ is a frustrating 404 error Movie review: ‘A Most Violent Year’ is a gritty look at oily dealings in ’80s New York Movie review: Clint Eastwood shines as director in ‘American Sniper’ 'Selma' struggle remains relevant today Interview: Bradley Cooper discusses working with Clint Eastwood on ‘American Sniper’ Food and Drink Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Ride & Drive: 2015 Cadillac Escalade Dr. Jeff Hersh: Heart test causes undue alarm Dr. Murray Feingold: How reliable is the medical information we read? Looking Up: Comet passes by the Pleiades Suzette Martinez Standring: Chance advice was eerie Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business NEWS NOW Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... THE WILD SIDE The top five conservation success of 2014 Comment By Joseph Vaile DailyTidings.com By Joseph Vaile Posted Jan. 14, 2015 @ 6:55 pm By Joseph Vaile Posted Jan. 14, 2015 @ 6:55 pm » RELATED CONTENT • The Christmas tree and the trees around us • ‘Tis the season — for wild mushrooms • Salmon: A force of nature can be restored • Getting away from — and back into — it all » Social News Despite the arbitrary nature of New Year’s Eve, nearly everyone ascribes to its mystical significance. We count the last 10 seconds with great celebration. We make resolutions about our health, our family and reining in our vices. Then there are the obligatory reviews of the year. The top-this and top-10 that. There’s likely even a Top-10 list for YouTube cat videos. But what is the real significance of Dec. 31? Winter solstice, which occurs 10 days prior, is actually a distinctive moment in the annual cycle. As far as I can tell, the reason why the year ends on Dec. 31 is that in 46 B.C. Julius Cesar thought it is sounded like a cool day to mark the end of the year.  But I admit, even if it is just like any other day, I always look back at the year and take stock. In fact, I am fond of this arbitrary holiday. What’s not to like about a meaningless reason to throw a party? I find myself reflecting on what happened to me in the past year, just as I have done with my colleagues at KS Wild. We decided to come up with our list of conservation successes in the region from the past year. Turns out that making lists is fun.  Coming in at number five is the Oregon Water Resources decision to deny a mining company’s application to remove water to conduct mining exploration in the headwaters of one of the clearest, most beautiful rivers in the world: the North Fork Smith River. This is a small, but significant victory in the fight to keep nickel mines out of the Kalmiopsis Rivers area. The denial comes after more than 2,000 comment letters asked for a denial of the application. The fight is far from over as the company has appealed and could find water from other sources.  At number four is the U.S. Forest Service moving forward on restoration forestry and watershed enhancement projects. KS Wild and many others are working across several national forests and we’ve seen successes throughout the region. In the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, for example, the Parks Eddy project will decommission off-road vehicle routes in botanical hotspots and provide resources for meadow restoration. While the agency is underfunded, there is hope that restoration and fire safety could drive the management of the Forest Service in the future.  Number three is the Fish and Wildlife Service recommending the Pacific fisher be listed under the Endangered Species Act. This is a species that I love and have worked with for over a decade. About the size of a house cat, the fisher is a bushy tailed relative of the weasel. Fisher remind of everything that is wild about the Klamath-Siskiyou — a stronghold for the species on the West Coast. With the fisher threatened by over-logging of old forests and by rodent poisons used in large marijuana grows on public land, this step to secure a future for Pacific fishers is worth celebrating.  While it is hard to take credit for the activity of roaming wolves, at number two we celebrate Wolf OR-7 and his new family. This is one of the most surprising "success" stories from 2014. The lone wolf that travelled hundreds of miles to become the first known wolf in western Oregon in decades not only found a mate but also produced wolf pups not too far from Ashland! Maybe Ashland is on the list of best places for wolf relocation.  Our number one conservation success in 2014 — drum roll please — expanding the Oregon Caves National Monument! KS Wild and others have been working on this effort for nearly 10 years. The new Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve now includes the only underground river in the Wild & Scenic River system, the River Styx. And if KS Wild can raise the funding, we can permanently retire a 30,000-acre grazing allotment in rare plant areas in the high Siskiyou.  I like New Year’s lists after all. Even if it’s an arbitrary holiday, it’s a good excuse to reflect. Sometimes we need excuses so we don’t forget to celebrate. And don’t you know it, the next New Year’s celebration is just around the corner. The Chinese use a lunar calendar, which means on Feb. 19 we have another reason to throw a party! Joseph Vaile is executive director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (KS Wild, 541-488-5789, www.kswild.org ). His Wild Side column appears every three weeks. By Joseph Vaile DailyTidings.com By Joseph Vaile Posted Jan. 14, 2015 @ 6:55 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. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs 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. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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