12 Winter 2017 Applegater
ATA receives grant for
new trailhead
BY DIANA COOGLE
T h e A p p l e g a t e Tr a i l s
Association’s (ATA’s) new trail,
the East ART (East Applegate
Ridge Trail) has already proven
popular with hikers, who record
enthusiastic responses. One blogger
(The News-Review at nrtoday.com)
said the East ART deserves a rating
of 15 on a 1-to-10 scale, and adds,
“A tip of the hat to the Applegate
Trails Association for having both
the vision and the acumen to bring
this trail to actual fruition.”
The tipped hat also goes to
Travel Oregon, which has recently
awarded ATA a grant to construct
a second trailhead (there’s already
one off Sterling Creek Road),
o n Hi g h w a y 2 3 8 , b e t we e n
Forest Creek and Longnecker
roads outside Jacksonville. Travel
Oregon’s awards of grants for a
number of trail-related projects
throughout the state show how
impressed they are with the
potential of economic impacts
from nonmotorized trails. ATA is
proud to be a part of that potential
in the Applegate.
Hikers, we reminded the grant-
awarding committee on our application,
are usually outdoor enthusiasts who,
whether local residents or visitors, will
no doubt patronize the outdoor stores
in the area, shopping for cool-weather
jackets, water bottles, day packs, and other
to other businesses. Trail users might buy
energy bars or sandwich fixings at the
Ruch Country Store and a bottle of wine
at Fiasco or Valley View winery for their
picnic. They might have coffee at the Pit
Stop or breakfast at Cafe Ruch before
setting off on the trail.
And that’s just in Ruch. Visitors
might combine a hike featuring beautiful
scenery (i.e., the East ART) with a tour of
the Applegate’s excellent wineries. They
might opt to take lodging in the Applegate
so they could get up early and have a
sunrise hike on the East ART. Hikers and
mountain bikers might very well come off
the trail and go straight to a local massage
therapist—Haley May, at May Massage
Arts, or Kyleen Brodie, at Elements
Massage Therapy, both in Jacksonville,
for instance— for relief for sore muscles.
The new trailhead will allow an easy
shuttle, between Highway 238 and Sterling
Creek Road. Its visibility will encourage
people to use the trail and, consequently,
to patronize Applegate businesses. We
at ATA are pleased to be a part of this
economic development in the valley, proud
that nonmotorized recreation is recognized
for its economic, as well as its health
and spiritual, benefits. We plan to begin
construction on the trailhead this winter.
Keep your eyes open for the Highway
238 trailhead, and get out there and hike
the trail! (Hint: The East Art hike is best
if you make the Highway 238 trailhead
the destination and start your hike from
Sterling Creek.)
When you get off the trail, stop for
a glass of wine or a cup of coffee in the
Applegate. Or a massage.
Diana Coogle
Board Member
Applegate Trails Association
dicoog@gmail.com
Applegate Trails Association
Trail Maintenance Work Parties
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Kiosk on the East ART trailhead
off Sterling Creek Road. (Photo: Mike Kohn.)
hiking paraphernalia. Specifically in the
Applegate, the Honeysuckle Café, in Ruch,
so close to the trailhead, will surely see an
increase in business from hungry hikers
ready for lunch. Because the Honeysuckle
Cafe buys local produce, bread, and wine,
this economic benefit will be passed along
Help us maintain the new and stunning East
Applegate Ridge Trail. You will meet new friends, develop camaraderie, get some
exercise, help your community, and discover this incredibly beautiful trail. We
meet at 8:30 am and quit in time to eat lunch at the trailhead at 1:30 pm.
The east trailhead is located at the end of BLM road 38-2-29.1. Coming from
Jacksonville, turn right off Sterling Creek Road 150 yards past the 4-mile marker
and proceed to the trailhead. Directional signs will be posted. ATA provides tools,
snacks, and lunch. There is a variety of tasks for all skill levels.
An RSVP to david@applegatetrails.org is always appreciated, but not required.
Just show up.
Thanks to all volunteers and supporters!
After wildfire come wildflowers:
A boon for pollinators
BY SUZIE SAVOIE
People who hiked the Boundary Trail
through the Red Buttes at the headwaters
of the Applegate River after the 1987
wildfires reported massive floral displays on
the Siskiyou Crest within the burned area.
After the 2012 Fort Complex Fire, which
also burned in the Red Buttes, I saw for
myself the same thing: more wildflowers
than anyone had seen in decades—and
happy pollinators, too.
The diversity and color of wildflowers
responding to the Fort Complex Fire was
truly staggering. Before the fire, much of
the area was covered in dense stands of
montane chaparral. The Fort Complex Fire
burned in a natural mosaic of high-severity
fire in the montane chaparral, burning
off large patches and encouraging a lush
growth of wildflowers where the chaparral
had once been. The wildflowers benefitted
from the wildfire.
After the Fort Complex Fire, wildflowers
were blooming at the base of burned-off
woody shrubs, responding to the lack of
shrubby competition. Typically, before
the fire, bluehead gilia (Gilia capitata) was
seen only in the occasional rocky bald,
but after the fire it carpeted the Boundary
Trail in a spectacular display. Indian
paintbrush (Castilleja spp.) and Oregon
sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum) bloomed
in abundance—some areas were so thick
with blooming Oregon sunshine that you
could see the golden-yellow hue from
miles away. Parish’s nightshade (Solanum
parshii) also appeared more abundantly.
This species is strongly fire-adapted and
often associated with chaparral habitat.
Considered relatively rare in Oregon, this
species is more abundant in California.
Chinese houses (Collinsia spp.) were
found in dense masses on thin, rocky soils
throughout the fire-affected area; however,
it was phacelia (Phacelia spp.) that stole the
show. Where stands of montane chaparral
were consumed by high-severity fire, the
area was transformed into flower fields
dominated by phacelia.
Over the next couple of years, we are
likely to see the same amazing wildflower
response within the fire-affected areas of
this year’s Miller Complex Fire, which
burned throughout the headwaters of the
Applegate River as well as in the Red Buttes
Wilderness. The majority of the Miller
Complex Fire in the Applegate watershed
burned at low to moderate severity, but
some places, such as Azalea Lake in the
Red Buttes Wilderness, did sustain some
high-severity fire effects in the fire-adapted
lodgepole pine forest. The trail into Azalea
Lake will surely be a carpet of wildflowers
within a couple of years, and it will be a
boon for our native pollinators, creating
colorful pollinator habitat out of the ashes.
Wildfires are a natural and necessary
part of the ecosystem in the Siskiyou
Mountains. Because the flora is fire-
adapted—having evolved with natural
lightning-caused wildfire and indigenous
Happy Holidays!
An abundance of wildflower species growing along the Boundary Trail
in the Red Buttes following the 2012 Goff Fire, part of the Fort Complex Fire.
burning over millennia—many species of
wildflowers respond positively to wildfires
and often produce larger plants and more
abundant flowers.
Wildfires can rejuvenate the landscape.
Many plant species need the heat of
fire to reproduce or their populations
will dwindle. For example, knobcone
pinecones can remain closed for 80 to 100
years without fire, and rare Baker’s cypress
seeds are also released from their cones
from the heat of wildfire.
Intense heat can break down seed coats
and clear away competing vegetation,
allowing wildflower seeds to germinate
and the plants to thrive and grow. Recent
studies have shown that chemicals from
charred wood in the soil following wildfire
also stimulate seed germination and plant
growth. The seeds of many wildflower
species can lie dormant in the soil for
decades and then germinate by the millions
following wildfire. The plants may have
been there long ago, but the area has since
turned into chaparral or forest; after a fire
the seeds finally have the right opportunity
to germinate.
Wildfires enhance the world-class
biodiversity in the Siskiyou Mountains.
The massive floral displays following
wildfires are not only beautiful but
are also bountiful feasts for hungry
pollinators reliant on nectar and pollen
from wildflowers for food. Wildfires can
increase the available food for native bees,
butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and
other pollinators.
I look forward to continuing my
exploration of the fire-affected areas in
the Miller Complex Fire over the next
couple of years. The flowers are going to
be bee-eautiful!
Suzie Savoie
Conservation Chair, Siskiyou Chapter
Native Plant Society of Oregon
klamathsiskiyou@gmail.com
