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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2021)
Appeal Tribune | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 2021 | 1B OUTDOORS Threatened silverspot butterflies can be seen on Saddle Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range. See the chrome or silver spots on the butterfly on the left. US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Grand vıews Saddle Mountain hike has a lot to see from the Pacific Ocean to Cascade volcanoes Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK S addle Mountain is a hike that showcases Western Oregon on a grand scale. h The tallest peak in the northern Coast Range surveys the Pacific Ocean, Cascade vol- canoes and Columbia River — three of the largest natural wonders in the state. h But the real magic of Saddle is in the smaller things. This chunk of an- cient basalt offers habitat for two rare wildflowers and has become a refuge for a threatened butterfly species that can only live in a few places in Oregon. h In other words, there’s a lot to see on a hike that runs 4 to 4.5 miles round-trip and climbs 1,620 to 1,700 feet (depending on whether you take spur trails to additional viewpoints). The best time to visit is May and June, when the wildflowers are popping. h It’s not an easy hike, with plenty of steep and slick spots, but it’s doable for anyone in good shape. Located about 80 minutes from Port- land — or two hours from Salem — the trailhead does fill up on weekends, but if you arrive early enough, you can have the mountain to yourself. Rare wildflowers give life to rare butterflies In May and June, wildflowers bloom in the meadows of Saddle Mountain, blazing with purple larkspur, pink phlox, red paintbrush and blue aster. But it’s two rare wildflowers — the Saddle Mountain bit- tercress and early blue violet — that are found few other places on earth. The rare wildflowers make life possible for the silverspot butterfly, which has been on the Endangered Species list since 1980 but is finding a new home on Saddle Mountain. Hikers can keep an eye out for them as part of a citizen sci- ence project, biologists said. See HIKE, Page 2B I scraped the radiator grill and, voila, science project Fishing Henry Miller Guest columnist Since professor Dave shuffled off this mortal coil a long time ago, the truth at last can be told. By way of the back story and ancient history, I had this high-school biology term project. The assignment was to do a bug collection to present in class. We had more than a month to prepare, but being something -- OK everything -- of a procrastinator, I waited until the weekend before it was due to start. That Saturday, we went to visit Dave Williams, a Geology teacher and col- league of my dad, who taught Physics at the same community college. By a stroke of luck on Dave’s part and what I thought was a stroke of genius on mine, the white International Harvester Travelall in his driveway had just returned from a geology field trip to the California desert. With the windshield and radiator en- crusted with all manner of insecta, some of them presentably intact. A half-hour of picking through the de- tritus produced a wide swath of subjects for the term project from beetles and moths to assorted bees and other bugs. The crown jewel among the lot and ul- timate exhibit centerpiece was an ex- traordinarily intact – minus a leg or two – dragonfly. This being decades before the internet, Sunday was spent looking through my textbook, several assorted references common to a science-loving teen, and the See MILLER, Page 2B The center piece of a high school biology term project was a road-killed dragonfly similar to this beauty, but missing a couple legs. HENRY MILLER / SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
