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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2018)
Page A-8 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Wildlife habitat on BLM restored Christine Perala Gardiner Ph.D. Did you know that about 75 percent of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in our watershed are considered “Special Management Areas”? There are many rare plant communities in our mountains and valleys, the biological legacy of the unusual geology of our region. Where rare plant communities occur on BLM lands, they are classified either as Areas of Critical Ecological Concern (ACEC) or Research Natural Areas. These areas are open to the public for nonmotorized uses like hiking, equestrian, biking, picnicking, birding, field arts and science, etc. One goal of the BLM Special Management Areas program is to increase community awareness about the many fragile resources on our public lands. On Wednesday, Nov. 28, about 60 volunteers came together to plant some rare native plants on BLM public land off Waldo Road. Rains in the days before the event yielded to November sunshine to create a day of perfect weather for planting. A partnership of several groups with BLM made this event possible: I.V. Soil & Water Conservation District, I.V. Watershed Council, Native Plant Society of Oregon and KS Wild all invited volunteers to help with planting. About 30 students came out in the afternoon from the SMILE program at Evergreen, Lorna Byrne and IVHS. Some volunteers came from Central Point and Ashland, eager to see these wild plant communities. For three years, BLM and community volunteers have addressed the tons of trash on public lands left around Waldo and other areas. Over the last three years, BLM staff has worked to close sensitive habitats to off-road vehicles (ORVs), which damage fragile soils and watercourses. Now that the trash and the ORVs are gone, the plant communities are beginning to return to their former glory, with help from friends. Last year, BLM botanists collected seeds from plants growing around the site. The seeds were grown into seedlings by Silver Springs Nursery in Jacksonville. Out in the Waldo area after some good rain wetting the soil, the small plants were hand-planted with enthusiasm and muddy boots. About 30 adults and kids planted about 2,000 plants in a day. Photo 2 BLM staff botanist Stacy Johnson has supervised management of many of these rare plant communities for regeneration of wildlife habitats, including our native pollinators. “All the plants selected for this revegetation project feed the native pollinators,” explained Johnson. The plants used include two flowering shrubs - manzanita and yerba santa; and three perennial flowering plants - Horkelia, Phacelia and Eriogonum. When they’re ready to plant, the seedlings are about 1-2 inches tall with 6 inch long roots. I.V. Soil & Water Conservation District and I.V. Watershed Council provide resources to local landowners, without non-regulatory authority. Both these local groups encourage The Plaques of E Clampus Vitus: Indian Mary Park The Plaques of E Clampus Vitus—Umpqua Joe No. 1859 & Humbug Chapter No. 73 The 46th in a continuing series of articles prepared by Bill Wensrich “If you ain’t plaque’n, then you ain’t Clampin’” Oregon’s Umpqua Joe E Clampus Vitus Chapter got the opportunity to commemorate their Chapter namesake along with his famous daughter, Indian Mary, in 2013. Matt Perkins had been elected Chapter Humbug (club president), later stepping down in March for family reasons. Replacing Matt as Humbug was old Prospector Glenn Hearrell, former Humbug of the Billy Holcomb ECV Chapter. When Matt was Vice Humbug traveling the old historic Rogue River loop highway out of Grants Pass between Merlin and Galice, he came upon the notion of replacing the old dilapidated wood signage board at Indian Mary Park along the river. Following up on this idea Glenn, Leo Champagne and Robby Robinson made a trip out to the park to talk with the Park Ranger about replacing the old wooden sign board. Receiving permission from Josephine County Parks, Umpqua Joe Chapter began to work on getting a new historical monument erected in the park. Outdoing themselves, they came upon the notion of erecting a two sided monument. On the side facing traffic as patrons enter the park, they would place a granite plaque commemorating the Park’s namesake, Indian Mary. On the reverse side of the concrete monument they decided to place another granite sheet discussing the history of her famous father and Chapter namesake, Umpqua Joe. Robby prepared the wording for the Umpqua Joe plaque. Text from the old wooden historical sign board was copied for the new granite sheet commemorating Indian Mary (Umpqua Joe’s daughter). Following many discussions with the Park service and at chapter meetings the final text was approved. Robby again obtained granite sheets and engraving from West Coast Monuments in Myrtle Point, Oregon. During the weekend of June 8, 2013, the Chapter held a Doin’s at Gray’s Ranch along Galice Creek off the old historic loop highway. Friday before the dedication several Redshirts and their Poor Blind Candidates erected the two sided historical monument under the supervision of Humbug Hearrell. Saturday the plaque was dedicated with much fanfare. As the speechifying ended the Brethren all responded to “What say the Brethren” with a hearty “Satisfactory!” The following narrative adapted from Percy Booth’s Legend of Indian Mary and Umpqua Joe illustrates some of the history that made these two individuals remembered on this plaque famous. October 9, 1855 is remembered for 16 massacred settlers and travelers—men, women and children. Hostile Rogue Indians galloped across Chief Sam’s Valley to begin a deadly drive along the Oregon- California Trail, killing and burning everything in their path. This raid marked the beginning of a new series of desperate struggles pitting southern Oregon’s newest settlers against local Native Americans. For two years a continuing vengeful policy of extermination by both groups land stewardship and conservation. In 2018, the two groups hired a volunteer coordinator, Sienna Fitzpatrick. She has the job of community outreach, especially to youth. Fitzpatrick coordinates with staff at Three Rivers School District and the SMILE program at the three local schools to get youth involved. She also teams up with folks at the Josephine County Youth Foundation representing high school youth and the I.V. Community Development Organization. Partnering with the SWCD and Watershed Council helps these groups at federal and local levels, to promote community access to all public lands and to encourage conservation stewardship for everyone who visits them. Volunteers planting rare native plants on BLM land off Waldo Road Wednesday, Nov. 28. by Grand Sublime Bill Wensrich was carried out to determine who would live in the Valley of the Rogue—the red man, or the white man. Forty miners along Galice Creek and Skull Bar became aware of the raids when a sweat streaked horse and weary rider brought word from the upper valley of the latest Indian attacks. Miners hurriedly fortified themselves looking for ways to best defend their camp. Welcome additions to the group were two friendly Indians, Joe Umpqua and his wife. Exactly why Umpqua Joe decided to cast his lot with the miners is not known . Joe and his woman made their way down the river, on each bank, as far as Skull Bar warning isolated men what they had learned via the Indian grapevine; a war party planning an attack. This was not the only time Joe befriended miners and settlers of threatened areas. Those who wrote about Umpqua Joe included T. McFadden Patton who carried mail between Deer Creek and Jacksonville. Normal communications with all points north of Six Bit House at Wolf Creek were cut off by the massacre along the Oregon- California Trail. McFadden’s vivid account of his canyon adventures includes the following journal entry. “Umpqua Joe told Dr. Paxton at the Six Bit House that all of the Indians of the Shasta, Klamath, Horse Creek (Klamath River area), Grave Creek and Rogue River had combined . . . to murder all the whites . . . Umpqua Joe, who is a friendly Indian, was Fremont’s guide and has always fought on the side of the whites.” Leading a volunteer militia force of 37 men, Captain W. B. Lewis helped defend the miners at Skull Bar. Writing about the battle of Skull Bar Lewis frankly discussed the strength and viciousness of the attack which made their situation very serious if not tenuous. His chronicle paid tribute to a group of valiant men, and respect for a shrewd and determined enemy. “It was the hardest fought battle ever to take place this side of the Rocky Mountains, with over 1,500 shots fired by the enemy in one day.” The Rogue River Indian Wars ended in 1856. Almost all southwest Oregon Indians were moved to the Grande Ronde and Siletz reservations. Showing appreciation for his co-operation, settlers and miners asked that Umpqua Joe and his wife be allowed to remain in their native southern Oregon, rather than being banned to a reservation with the rest of the Rogues and Umpquas. Following the Rogue River Indian wars, Joe squatted on a piece of high river bank, not far upstream from the mouth of Galice Creek and Skull Bar. In the center of an open flat area he built a one room log cabin. There he hunted, fished, grew a garden, planted fruit trees, raised a family and eventually became a ferry operator. Joe and his wife had three children, two girls and a boy. The first girl was called Mary, a name as popular with the Indians as it was with the pioneers. Two of Umpqua Joe’s children met tragic deaths. Mary lived on to become known as Indian Mary homesteading the land Joe originally squatted on. In 1958, the Josephine County Board of Commissions bought the historic site founded by Umpqua Joe which was later homesteaded by his daughter. Converted to a public park, the beauty of the setting and memories of past history are now preserved for future generations to appreciate. The place was given the name, Indian Mary Park. To view this plaque and enjoy a terrific Sunday drive, find your way to Grants Pass, Oregon. Just north of town take Exit 61 to Merlin and follow the Galice-Merlin Road to Indian Mary Park. At the park entrance adjacent to the Ranger’s booth in the median you will find this two side historical monument. Have lunch at the Park and then continue on to Galice and then back to Wolf Creek at Exit 76 on Interstate 5. The following year the Chapter faced the concrete monument with river rock to improve the monument appearance.