Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2014)
Applegater Summer 2014 1 U.S. Postage Applegate Valley Community Newspaper, Inc. P.O. Box 14 Jacksonville, OR 97530 Paid Non-Profit Permit No. 91 Grants Pass, OR 97526 Photo by Teya Jacobi Log on to our website: www.applegater.org Applegate Valley Community Newspaper SUMMER 2014 Volume 7, No. 2 Postal Patron Serving Jackson and Josephine Counties — Circulation: 10,400 Please join us for the big birthday party! Get your advance tickets now. Celebrate the Applegater Newspaper’s 20 th Year at our Summer Birthday Bash Sponsored by Applegate Valley Realty Cowhorn Vineyard • Fields Home Center Hidden Valley Market • Lithia Toyota Quady North • Red Lily Vineyards Silent Auction Bid on special items and services from local businesses! Wine • Dinner 1 Glass included Elements Tapas Bar Live Music Swing State Sunday, June 29 • 6 - 9 PM Red Lily Vineyards 11777 Highway 238, Jacksonville, OR $50 per person Advance tickets available at Ruch Country Store · Applegate Store Williams General Store · Store Ray’s Food Place, Jacksonville Hidden Valley Market, Murphy A l l p r o c e e d s s u p p o r t t h e A p p l e g a t e r. Info: 541-973-9184 or debbie.avrealty@gmail.com Must be 21 years of age or older. No refunds, all sales final. TICKETS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR. Recreation in the Applegate by dIANA cOOglE Are you looking for outdoor recreation in the Applegate this summer? There’s plenty to enjoy! Trail opportunities • Hiking. Superb! Easy to difficult trails, in woods or up mountains, with views, trees, wildflowers, streams, meadows, and Pacific Crest Trail access. Go to the US Forest Service (USFS) website (www. fs.usda.gov/rogue-siskiyou) and click on “hiking” or ask at the Star Ranger Station (541-899-3800). Good hiking books specific to the area include Luke Ruediger’s The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History and Ecology; Evelyn Roether’s Williams Area Trail Guide; Diana Coogle and Janeen Sathre’s Favorite Hikes of the Applegate: A Trail Guide with Stories and Histories; and several books by Art Bernstein, most specifically 76 Day-Hikes within 100 Miles of the Rogue Valley. Also check the websites of Applegate Trails Association (www. applegatetrails.org), Siskiyou Uplands Trail Association (www.sutaoregon.org), Bureau of Land Management (www.blm. gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/ index.php) and The Nature Conservancy (http://nature.org/trhikes). • Mountain biking. Many trails are open to mountain bikers. Check with Rogue Valley Mountain Bike Association (www.rvmba.org) or with the Applegate Ranger District of the USFS (541-899- 3800), or look on the USFS website at www.fs.usda.gov/mrecmain/rogue- siskiyou/recreation. • Horseback riding. Excellent riding on lots of old logging roads and trails. Check with Grayback Brushriders in Williams (find them on Facebook), the Rogue Valley Equestrian Trails Association (www.rveta.org), and other horse people. Look out for fire season 2014! by STEVE ZIEl It seems like every fire season is different. The following may provide a sense of how this fire season may develop in southwest Oregon. Currently southwest Oregon is entering a second year of drought, which is expected to continue or intensify between now and what we call “fire season.” The length and severity of a fire season is determined by conditions preceding the summer months; this “lead-up time” provides some insight to consider over the course of the next several months. But don’t feel alone—as we transition into the upcoming fire season, much of the West is also experiencing similar conditions. Prime indicator A prime indicator of our current situation and the season to come has been the lack of normal rainfall since November 2013. The conspicuous lack of snow at higher elevations provides strong evidence that things are different this year—the Rogue and Umpqua basins currently have less than 25 percent of their median snow- water equivalent, with large areas already bare of snow! Worth noting is that we ended 2013 with less than 50 percent of average precipitation (2013 turned out to be the driest year on record for Medford, Roseburg, Klamath Falls and the city of Mt. Shasta). In 2012 Medford recorded just 8.99 inches of rain, shattering previous record lows (average rainfall for Medford is 18.25 inches). Much of our precipitation since last fall was in the form of short- duration events rather than the long-term “soaking rains” from frequent winter/spring storms. Fall-to- spring moisture serves to penetrate and saturate our fuels and soil. It is this stored moisture that governs the onset and moderates the severity and duration of a fire season. This year seems different: the fall and winter seasons were dry, and most of our spring moisture came in March. A recent three-month outlook by the National Weather Service forecasts “above- average temperatures, and below-average precipitation” for southwest Oregon. By all indications it may be warmer and drier than usual through June before it gets the hottest and driest in July and August. Effects of drought on fire season So, we are in the second year of drought, the forecast is for warmer and drier conditions, and we don’t have much snow in the mountains with summer just around the corner. How might this affect our fire season? Southwest Oregon is densely forested by conifer, hardwood, and brush species that serve as “fuel” during fire season. Our • Running. A few years ago Rogue Valley Runners staged a nationally highlighted cross-country run through the Applegate—from Williams to Ashland, up mountains and down. You can run anywhere in the Applegate, but be careful on the roads. Shoulders are very narrow and gravelly. • Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV). Many opportunities, including Stein Butte at Applegate Lake and Summit Lake trail at Squaw Lakes. For ideas, check with the Bureau of Land Management (541-618-2200), the USFS (http:// www.fs.usda.gov/activity/rogue-siskiyou/ See FIRE SEASON, page 14 See REcREATION, page 12 Voters support Southern Oregon Research and Extension! • Jack Duggan voices his appreciation on page 5. Enjoy mountain biking in southern Oregon. Photo: southernoregonmtb.blogspot.com. INSIDE THE GATER Award-winning maple syrup..........................................page 2 Little Applegate’s Neds Bar Timber Sale..................page 5 A stranger in a strange land..........................................page 12 Legal marijuana in southern Oregon..........................page 20