10 Summer 2014 Applegater
Cantrall-Buckley Park
NEWS
Father’s Day barbecue at
Cantrall-Buckley Park
by dAVId lAANANEN
Don’t forget the Father’s Day barbecue
that will be held on Sunday, June 15, from
11 am to 4 pm, sponsored by the Greater
Applegate Community Development
Corporation (GACDC) and the Applegate
Valley Lions Club.
The Lions Club will barbecue tri-tip,
chicken, and hot dogs. The Ruch Country
Store will roast corn, and the McKee
Bridge Historical Society will offer root
beer floats and baked goods. Wine, beer,
and other beverages will be available.
The usual $4 per car fee for entry
to the park will be charged. Come out to
celebrate Dad and family.
David Laananen
541-846-0500
david.laananen@asu.edu
Applegate Trails Association
inaugurates a new Applegate trail
by dIANA cOOglE
Blow trumpets and wave flags! The
Applegate Trails Association (ATA) is
having a trail dedication ceremony on
June 7 to celebrate the installation of a
new kiosk and picnic table at the Long
Gulch Trailhead.
This official opening of the Heart
Trail, in the heart of the Wellington
Wildlands, begins at 10 am and will
feature free food, music, bubble-blowing
and face-painting for the kids, and a
ceremonious cutting of the brilliant red
ribbon at the trailhead. Jeff Leland, U.S.
Forest Service archeologist, will fill us in
on interesting history of the area, and ATA
chair David Calahan will talk briefly about
the organization’s dream of building the
Applegate Ridge Trail (ART) from Grants
Pass to Jacksonville.
The ART would connect with
the Jack-Ash Trail that the Siskiyou
Uplands Trail Association is building
from Jacksonville to Ashland. Eventually,
then, we will be able to walk from Grants
Pass to Ashland, spending the night at the
Jacksonville Inn along the way and taking
in dinner, a play, and a night in a B&B in
Ashland at the end—and, maybe also, a
long soak in a spa.
If you’re wondering why anyone
would want to walk from Grants Pass to
Ashland, come to the trailhead dedication
on June 7 and hike the Heart Trail. The
Wellington Wildlands is a gorgeous
piece of the Applegate, hidden behind
mountains and as wild as any place in the
area, offering spectacular views of Siskiyou
mountains, wildflowers in profusion, and
gentle ridge-top trails (and some doozies,
but the Heart Trail isn’t one).
To get to Long Gulch Trailhead, go
through Ruch towards Jacksonville. Turn
left on Forest Creek Road and follow the
signs. To carpool, meet at 9:30 am at the
Bunny Meadows Staging Area (0.7 mile
up Forest Creek).
ATA offers hikes all summer. You can
find the schedule at www.applegatetrails.
org. And if you’re wildly enthusiastic
about wildlands and hiking, come to the
ATA fund-raiser at Red Lily Vineyards in
September or join us on the board.
Diana Coogle
dcoogle@laughdogpress.com
The challenges and
benefits of local trails
by hOpE RObERTSON
The Applegate Valley has fantastic we hope it will be named an Oregon State
trails, including Jacksonville’s wonderful Scenic Trail. But reviving and maintaining
trail system managed by the Jacksonville this resource took time and lots of effort.
Another example of how funding cuts
Woodlands Association and a wide array
of trails scattered across rural areas and are impacting local recreational resources
wildlands around our valley. In addition, is the removal of old, unsafe bridges on
proposed ridge-top and nonmotorized some US Forest Service (USFS) trails and
trail systems include the Jack-Ash Trail roads such as the Middle Fork Trail of the
that would connect the Jacksonville Applegate River. There were no plans or
trails to the Ashland trail system, and the money to replace the Middle Fork bridges.
Applegate Ridge Trail that would run from But thanks to an organized request from
the community, money to replace several
Jacksonville to Grants Pass.
Trails bring together people of all USFS bridges was recently allocated for
ages and political and religious persuasions fiscal year 2015-2016. We look forward to
to enjoy the simple pleasure of being better access to that gorgeous trail.
What does the fate of these
outdoors, whether it’s a short-distance
stroll or a long-distance run. A recent two trails portend for the future of
recreation survey showed that 47 percent our recreational resources? First of all,
of Jackson County residents take advantage an organized community can have a
of local trails, enjoying the amazing and big impact on behalf of a recreational
trail resource. The Sterling Mine Ditch
diverse ecosystems in our valley.
But these simple pleasures Trail became overgrown and impassable
also provide concrete value to and the gorgeous Middle Fork trail
our regional economy. Many studies languished without its bridges until
document the economic benefits of local organized community efforts triggered
trails; these benefits include higher property BLM and USFS to allocate scarce resources
values and an increase in recreation to those trails. Again, community time and
dollars spent at local businesses that sell effort produced results.
Second, considering that trails
equipment, food and clothing. Trails
through our gorgeous wildlands add to represent a significant revenue source for
other wonderful regional amenities such as our economy, each of us should remind
theatre, wineries and music, bringing more our elected officials of the economic value
of recreation, lest the recreation budgets
tourist dollars into the economy.
Despite the well-documented value for the county, state and federal agencies
of recreational opportunities, we should disappear.
Third, the community can no longer
not assume that existing trails (or other
recreational amenities) on public lands sit back and assume that the government
will remain open for use, or that new trail will maintain beautifully trimmed trails
systems will be added. As with so many for our enjoyment. Those days are gone.
other services provided by government, If we want great trails, we all need to chip
funding cuts threaten the continuation of in, either by making financial donations
recreation services on public lands.
to the various trail groups in our region or
We are seeing trails and by showing up to help work on the trails.
campgrounds in our region being
Our experience is that if we step up
abandoned due to lack of funding to the plate and demonstrate willingness to
for maintenance. Unfortunately, it may work on the trails, the relevant government
become necessary to choose which trails agency will respond in kind—especially
to save, but there is hope!
if there is political support for doing so.
For example, four years ago large As a bonus, we have found that working
sections of the historic Sterling Mine Ditch on trails is a fabulous way to build a
Trail in the Applegate were impassable. community of like-minded friends while
Hikers and equestrians gave up using most enhancing the amenities of our region.
of it because it was almost impossible to
Hope Robertson
hack through the undergrowth or crawl
Siskiyou Upland Trails Association
over fallen trees. Because the trail was
sutaoregoncontact@gmail.com
no longer being used, the
Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) questioned spending
scarce recreation dollars
on its maintenance. The
Rogue Valley and Applegate
communities rallied around
efforts of the Siskiyou Upland
Trails Association (SUTA)
and volunteers to re-open the
Sterling Mine Ditch Trail.
This organized community
effort resulted in tremendous
cooperation and funding
assistance from the Medford
BLM. The community now has
seven trailheads accessing 30
miles of trail within the Sterling
Mine Ditch system, which
has become a wildly popular
recreation resource. The trail
should remain a community
Community volunteers maintaining the
Sterling Mine Ditch trail—the necessity of the future.
resource for years to come, and
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