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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 18, 2004 New plan will improve Denman habitat By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — Just off the Denman Wildlife Area’s beaten path lie large tracts of land that no deer, duck or man has seen in decades. Non-native Himalayan blackberries have grown so thick they cloak native oaks 10 feet up their trunks. The patches are so impenetrable in spots that sunlight never hits the soil. "There are places where the blackberries just choke out the wildlife," says Dan Ethridge, the 1,900-acre wildlife area’s only full-time employee. "We don’t know, for the most part, what that land even looks like." But these blackberry jungles may soon give way to grass and brushlands more suitable to wildlife and the people who interact with them here. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is about to embark on rewriting the wildlife area’s 10-year management plan to replace one that expired two years ago. Advertisement While the old plan sought to save money through mainly passive land management, the new one will actively seek to improve habitat and public access for the roughly 40,000 people who annually visit the area near White City. The plan will feature a methodical approach to clear parts of hundreds of acres of blackberries and aged wedgeleaf to create open space with native plants more suitable for deer, birds and other wildlife now fighting development for usable habitat elsewhere in the Rogue Valley. "Denman is probably going to be one of the last large, open spaces on the valley floor before too long," area Manager Vince Oredson says. "As the demands increase, we’re going to need to use the wildlife area more efficiently, and that means increasing the amount of (acreage) open to people and wildlife," he says. The agency plans to hold public meetings in January to gather input on what people want the plan to address. ODFW officials also expect to convene in December to hash out a time line for the work. The approach to the upcoming plan is drawing praise from some Denman users such as Vicki Arthur, a federal Bureau of Land Management biologist and president of the Rogue Valley Audubon Society. Though a variety of bird species use the non-native blackberries, their removal in favor of native species is a positive step, Arthur says. "I think it sounds like a good trend," Arthur says. "If they can get rid of these blackberries — more power to them. "It may be a hard thing to achieve, but it’s worth a try." Fewer blackberries would also translate into better service to Paul Foster and his friends in the Rogue Valley Retriever Club, which uses the wildlife area for training and testing their dogs. "I’ve actually had to go out there with a weed-eater and a blade to get access," says Foster, of Phoenix. "Our favorite use is running dogs, and you can’t run dogs in blackberries. It’s too dangerous." The plan also will address other regular uses, such as the fall fee-pheasant hunt, the fall youth hunting weekend and the 4,800 residents who have free keys to locked gates that are meant to curb illegal dumping. Oredson says he wants the plan to include a prioritized list of improvements to old culverts, dams, dikes, berms and other infrastructure — some of which has been ignored for decades. The plan includes no roads but could create new hiking and access trails, Oredson says. Also, the plan will focus on management of the two plant species federally listed as endangered as well as the threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp, Oredson says. The plants are the Cook’s lomatium, which is also known as desert parsley, and the large-flowered woolly meadowfoam, a plant that sports a foam-looking white flower in spring, Oredson says. Talk of revamping the plan will mark the 50th anniversary of the state’s management of White City lands. Originally called the Rogue Valley Game Management Area, Denman was formed in 1954 when 1,760 acres of the former Camp White military base were deeded to the state Fish and Game Commission specifically for wildlife management. It was later named after Ken Denman, a Medford attorney and father of current Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission member Don Denman. The elder Denman served 10 years on the Oregon Game Commission, a citizens’ board that was a forerunner of the current commission. Various other land acquisitions bumped the acreage total to 1,900, divided into four units that are home to 175 species of birds, 41 different mammals and 21 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, according to the old plan. The heaviest use comes from the estimated 25,000 bird watchers, dog trainers, horseback riders, hikers and other so-called "non-consumptive" users, Oredson says. Hunters log an estimated 5,500 visitor-days. Anglers rack up 10,500 visitor-days annually, mainly on the Rogue River from the wildlife area’s Modoc Unit. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities