Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument
The Cascade - Siskiyou National Monument is a protected area by the type of National Monuments in the southwest of the U.S. state of Oregon to the California border. It was established in 2000 by President Bill Clinton in the transition between the Cascade Range and the Siskiyou Mountains to preserve the unusually high biodiversity of the region. The protected area is under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Description
In the area that is part of the Jackson County and about 45 kilometers southeast of Medford is to plant and animal species, ecosystems and plant communities unite for the major ecosystems of the dry steppe of the Great Basin in the east, the rain forest of the temperate latitudes in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest and the high mountain character of the cascade Range in the north.
The transition zone between the two mountain ranges is also characterized by an unusually versatile geological profile. The Siskiyou Mountains contain both the oldest rocks of Oregon with an age of 425 million years, as well as young volcanic rocks. Volcanic in origin Pilot Rock, a stump from the volcanic vent solidified basalt, which is exposed after erosion of the volcanic mantle. In its surroundings there are both granite as plutonic rocks such as serpentine and other metamorphic rocks.
The National Monument live over 200 species of birds including the great gray owl, spotted owl, Zwergkleiber and peregrine falcon. In the area stems from the Jenny Creek, a tributary to the Klamath River
Protection concept and conflicts
The approximately 215 km ² protected lands ( in red in the map ) are small areas with 130 km ² private lands ( in the map white) mixed. This is one of some ranchers, some companies in the forestry and mining operations, but there are also a few privately populated land. With the establishment of the reserve, even existing grazing rights of private cattle ranches have been confirmed in the country in federal ownership.
A management plan was created by spring 2005, but could not be adopted due to massive protests. The Bureau of Land Management had even taken for one and a half years all the contents of its web page over the reserve from the mains. By the summer of 2008, the differences were settled and the plan to be adopted in August 2008.
The contrasts between the owners of private land and use rights as well as the reserve concept sparked by grazing rights, rights of access to public land by customary law, logging rights, and how to deal with forest fires. While landowners are afraid of losing their property due to fire, provide for the conservation concepts of all protected areas under federal administration, that of course resulting forest fires are among the traditional forces of ecosystems (such as lightning) and are tolerated as long as they threaten any buildings.
The core of the area around the Soda Mountain and Hyatt Lake since March 2009 under the name Soda Mountain Wilderness Wilderness Area in addition as reported, the most severe class of protected natural areas in the United States. With the reserve of the long-distance hiking Pacific Crest Trail, a National Scenic Trail runs from Mexico to Canada.