18 Winter 2017 Applegater
OPINIONS
River Right
Good government, good parks
BY TOM CARSTENS
This summer I visited Alaska’s Gates
of the Arctic National Park. While there,
I took an exciting ten-day canoe trip
paddling a wild John River through the
Brooks Mountain Range. This is not a park
in the traditional sense. For one thing, it’s
huge—about the size of Switzerland. For
another, it’s not very accessible—you can
reach it only by bush plane. There are no
roads, no trails, no infrastructure, and no
human settlements. The grizzlies and the
wolves are in charge.
Parks have always been a big part of
my family’s life. Over six decades, we’ve
visited most of the national parks and
many state parks throughout the nation.
As much as Americans debate the proper
role of government, I think most will agree
that parks administration is justified. Our
National Park Service issues a variety of
inexpensive passes. Some are free—to
disabled Americans, military personnel
and their families, certain volunteers,
and fourth graders. (Fourth graders?
Who knew?) Check it out at nps.gov/
planyourvisit/passes.htm.
We are fortunate here in Oregon to
enjoy one of the nation’s finest state park
systems. It’s easily accessible, well kept, and
affordable. Did you know that Oregon’s
state parks and campgrounds are free
for our disabled vets? What a thoughtful
gesture! You can find out more about our
state parks at oregonstateparks.org.
Parks are one of the most beneficial
services a government can offer to its
citizens. They entice us to get active and
outdoors. They provide a refreshing break
Tom Carstens
Sunday swimmers enjoy the Applegate River at Cantrall Buckley Park.
(Photo: Tom Carstens.)
from our hectic, self-absorbed lives. They’re
family-friendly and hassle-free—just pack
a lunch or a fishing pole and you’re ready
to go. Egalitarian by design, parks welcome
citizens from all walks of life and different
cultures. And far from being government
giveaways, parks are generally financed by
their own patrons. They form a model for
the libertarian philosophy.
Here in the Applegate Valley, Jackson
and Josephine County Parks fit this model:
both are largely off-budget, funded almost
entirely by park fees. Several of these lovely
parks are located on the banks of the Rogue
River. Paddlers use them to put in, take
out, camp, or just have lunch. They’re a
delight: well-tended, user-friendly, and
respectful of their natural environment.
A summer of beneficial wildfire
in the Applegate Valley
BY LUKE RUEDIGER
On August 14, 2017, a spectacular
lightning storm lit 25 small fires in the
Applegate watershed. Within days most
of those fires had either burned themselves
out or were contained by fire-suppression
crews. Of the original 25 fires, four
smoldered and crept through fuels in
the steep rugged terrain of the Upper
Applegate. They grew slowly on the densely
wooded slopes near Grayback Mountain,
above Palmer Creek Road, and in the
Middle Fork of the Applegate River. These
fires, the Creedence, Burnt Peak, Seattle
and Abney Fires, eventually became the
Miller Complex. Over the course of 70
days, the Miller Complex burned nearly
40,000 acres in some of the Applegate’s
most remote backcountry, including
the Kangaroo, Condrey Mountain and
Collings-Kinney roadless areas, and the
Red Buttes Wilderness.
Fire-suppression crews tried in vain
to extinguish these stubborn blazes, but
the terrain was just too steep, rocky,
and dangerous. Crews dealt with rolling
boulders, logs, and both falling green
trees and snags throughout the fire area.
They built handline and prepared logging
roads, but on numerous occasions, roll-
out (burning material falling downhill)
continued to fall across containment lines
and the fires continued to grow.
Fire crews were spread thin across the
west when the Miller Complex began, and
our local fires, at that time far from homes,
were some of the lowest priorities in the
region. Fire managers worked to protect
local communities and keep fire crews safe
while steering the fires away from private
timberland and protecting important
habitats and natural values. They simply
did not have the crews and resources
available to contain the fires.
Thankfully, the fires were burning at
low severity, maintaining healthy forest
conditions and reintroducing fire into
areas where it has long been suppressed.
Burning predominantly in healthy, old
HIGH SCHOOL REPORTER WANTED
Great experience and volunteer opportunity!
The Applegater wants to include information on Hidden Valley High
School (HVHS) activities, events, sports, news, clubs, etc., in our quarterly
newsmagazine. Any budding journalists, English majors, club members,
parents, or staff members interested in representing HVHS for your local
paper? The next deadline for articles is February 1.
If you’re willing and able,
email gater@applegater.org.
And both counties offer inexpensive annual
passes to the public.
In the past few years, Jackson County
Parks has really stepped up to the plate.
They’ve expanded the park system and
run it like a business. Off the tax rolls for
the past nine years, Jackson County parks
are popular and self-sufficient. Have you
visited any of these parks lately? They’re
top of the line.
This was not the case in 1996,
when Jackson County’s dependence on
dwindling timber revenues forced the
shutdown of several parks. This included
our own Cantrall Buckley Park, one of the
few public access points to the Applegate
River—enjoyed by recreational paddlers
for generations. Not surprisingly, the
forest, the fire burned
mostly in the understory,
aided by a dense inversion
layer. The inversion trapped
smoke in the canyon
bottoms, holding moisture,
cooling the ambient air
temperature, and reducing
air movement, which all
worked to limit fire severity.
Despite the impact to local
communities, which was
significant, the smoke
helped moderate fire
intensity and maintain the
beautiful forested habitat
we enjoy in the Applegate
Valley. The smoke was
both a blessing and a curse, although most
have only cursed it.
After enduring the long, smoke-filled
summer of 2017, we have received the
blessing of natural, characteristic fire.
Our forests have been fertilized with rich
mineral ash and armored with nature’s
fuel reduction. Our wildlife will feast on
the new grass and fresh woody shoots
sprouting from burned-off hardwoods
and chaparral. Hollows burned in large,
old-growth trees will become protection
for winter’s slumbering bears or natal
dens for the Pacific fisher. Fire-scorched
snags will both feed and house generations
of woodpeckers and songbirds. Rich
fields of flowering plants will carpet the
burned soil, providing better habitat for
many pollinators such as hummingbirds,
butterflies, and native bees next spring.
Fire is a natural process, as much a part
of the Applegate Valley as acorns on the oak
trees, salmon in our streams, and towering
pine trees. The return of fire brings renewal
and life to a landscape intentionally starved
of fire for decades. In fact, many plants
have already sprouted back, transforming
the white ash into green, verdant regrowth.
Applegate Valley community rallied. For
the last two decades, literally hundreds
of volunteers have joined with the Park
Committee to keep Cantrall Buckley open
and vibrant. That they were successful was
due in no small part to the hard work and
skill of superintendent Rick Barclay, who
somehow managed to keep things rolling
on a shoestring budget.
Jackson County Parks, now robust and
solvent, has come full circle and offered to
resume its rightful role as park manager.
Facing higher costs, an aging staff, and
inefficiencies of scale, A Greater Applegate
(formerly GACDC) accepted the offer.
The Cantrall Buckley Park Committee will
continue to support community projects in
the park while the county promises a first-
class enterprise. This is a new and exciting
chapter in an already great story.
We’ll paddle on.
Tom Carstens • 541-846-1025
Note: Almost five years ago, J.D. Rogers,
then editor of the Applegater, approached
me about writing a conservative column
to give some balance to the opinion section.
I readily agreed—as long I had something
to contribute. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve
learned a lot. And I’m grateful that no one
has toilet papered my house yet! I’m feeling
less of a firebrand lately, so maybe it’s time
to deep-six this column to the bottom of the
river. I hope to continue reporting for this
wonderful paper in ways more suited to
my newfound tranquility. Maybe another
skeptical conservative will pick up the torch.
Low-severity understory fire on Kinney Creek in
the Burnt Peak Fire. (Photo: Luke Ruediger.)
The Miller Complex Fire allowed
the long-suppressed natural process of
fire to once again create a multitude of
ecological benefits. The forests of the
Siskiyou Mountains are well adapted to
wildfire, and the fire effects in the Miller
Complex have been both characteristic
and beneficial. Properly managed wildfire
and intentionally lit prescribed fires are
the most effective tools for maintaining
healthy, fire-adapted plant communities
and protecting nearby human communities
from the threat of uncharacteristic wildfire.
The Miller Complex demonstrates that
forests across the Applegate watershed
can sustain healthy, mixed-severity fire,
despite decades of fire suppression. The
current rhetoric of catastrophic fire is a false
narrative based more on fear than reality.
When you actually walk and explore
contemporary wildfires in the Klamath-
Siskiyou Mountains, you will find more
renewal than destruction and more life
than death. These fires are not destroying
our forests; they are making them healthy
and whole again.
Luke Ruediger • 541-890-8974
Applegate Neighborhood Network
