In mid-September I had the opportunity to assist in guiding an EcoFlight across the North Coast and Klamath Mountains. I was invited by the California Wilderness Coalition to point out landmarks and important areas to Congressman Huffman’s staff and local media outlets as they relate to the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act. The following is a photo tour from the flight that highlights parts of the bill. If so inspired, please follow the links at the end to get involved!
For the better part of July I was contracted by the Forest Service Region 5, in a partnership with the CNPS Vegetation Program, to follow up with our 2013 work mapping and monitoring whitebark pine in the north state. I visited numerous sites where I predicted Pinus albicaulis might occur to conduct surveys and improve our state-wide range map for the species. Overall, the health of the species in northern California is in slow decline due to a variety of factors including mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust, global climate change, and recent high intensity fires. In an earlier post, I shared some highlights from the Modoc National Forest, this post shares images and highlights from Klamath National Forest whitebark pine work.
On a recent trip into the Marble Mountain Wilderness to map and monitor whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) on the Klamath National Forest, I found myself near Isinglass Lake. I had read that the only population of great sundew (Drosera anglica) in the Klamath Mountains was documented here in 1972. I knew there was a Klamath Mountain peat bog to be found.
Isinglass Lake is surrounded by an accumulation of peat, know as a peat bog.
The Warner Mountains are a north-south trending fault block range in the northeastern corner of California, extending northward into Oregon. The length of the range is approximately 90 miles, with the northern California portion bounded by Goose Lake on the west and Surprise Valley on the east. In California, elevations range between 5,000-9,897 feet (on Eagle Peak). In the High Grade district, which is the extreme northern limits of the Warners in California, the range has a fairly even crest of 7500 feet, reaching an elevation of 8290 feet on Mount Bidwell. This is the area where I spent four days mapping and monitoring whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) for the US Forest Service.
The geology of the region is complex and compelled me to understand it better. Bedrock consists of sedimentary rocks of the Oligocene overlain by rhyolitic to basaltic volcanic rocks of the Miocene. The basal andesite is overlain by rhyolite and glassy rhyolite, which are in turn overlain by basalt flows. There are valuable minerals and gems found in this area that have justified a long-standing history of mining. Gold was the first and major extracted mineral soon followed by opals, petrified wood, and even obsidian. The range is a complex assemblage of interesting rocks for sure which help sculpt the regional ecology.
The northern Warner Mountains have a long history of mining.
It is no secret that the Siskiyous are my favorite place in the Klamath Mountains. I have spent many days and hiked numerous miles across this region. The Bigfoot Trail travels the entire crest of the range as well.
In early August 2017, lightning ignited a series of fires first named Oak, Cedar, Clear, and Prescott. These fires later grew together and were combined into the Eclipse Complex. Over the next month, approximately 100,000 acres burned in and around the Siskiyou Wilderness. Between last October and now I have had reason to visit much of this area for work and play. What follows are some of the pictures I have taken.
