NPSO 2012 Annual Meeting
Resources: Books, Field Guides, Maps & More
General Resources
Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest
Bureau of Land Management, Medford District
Medford Interagency Office (BLM & USFS)
3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504
541-618-2200
Grants Pass Interagency Office (BLM & USFS)
2164 NE Spalding Ave, Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-471-6500
Illinois Valley Visitors Center
201 Caves Hwy, Cave Junction, OR 97523
(541) 592-4076
Siskiyou Field Institute/Deer Creek Center
1241 Illinois River Rd, Selma, OR 97538
(541) 597-8530
Selma Community and Education Center
18255 Redwood Highway, Selma, OR 97538
Natural & Cultural History Books
The Botanist and Her Muleskinner by Golda Kirpatrick and Charlene Holzworth
The Klamath Knot by David Rains Wallace
In the Land of the Grasshopper Song by Mary Ellicott Arnold and Mabel Reed
Spirit of the Siskiyous by Mary Paetzel
The Wild Trees by Richard Preston
Field Guides and Technical Books
In Search of Ancient Oregon by Ellen Morris Bishop
California Serpentines: Flora, Vegetation, Geology, Soils, and Management Problems by Art Kruckeberg
Conifer Country: a Natural History and Hiking Guide to 35 Conifers of the Klamath Mountain Region by Michael Kauffman (available Spring 2012)
Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest by Barbara Wilson, Dick Brainerd, Dana Lytjen, Bruce Newhouse, and Nick Otting
Flowers of the Table Rocks by Susan K. MacKinnon
The Jepson Manual, Second Edition
Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest by Bruce McCune
Oregon's Best Wildflower Hikes, Southwest Region by Elizabeth L. Horn
Northwest California: A Natural History by John O Sawyer
Rare Plants of Southwest Oregon by Linda Mullens and Rachel Showalter
100 Hikes in Southern Oregon by William Sullivan
Proceedings of the Second Conference on Klamath-Siskiyou Ecology. 2003. (Available from SFI)
Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California. by Robert Whittaker (Ecological Monographs 30:279-338)
Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest by Mark Turner and Phyllis Gustafson
Wildflowers of Southern Oregon by John Kemper
Web Sites
Maps & Brochures
Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest Map ($9)
Order by phone or mail:
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504
541.618.2200
Or you can order maps from the USGS website.
Bureau of Land Management, Medford District Map ($4)
To order a map: BLM_OR_SO_Land_Office_Mail@blm.gov / phone (503-808-6008)
More detailed travel maps are also available at BLM offices for each resource area. Conference activities will primarily be in the Grants Pass Resource Area.
TJ Howell Botanical Drive Brochure
Named for Thomas Jefferson Howell, an early botanical explorer of Oregon, this drive (7.5 miles one way) has been designed to share some of the natural wonders of the Siskiyou Mountains. Located on Eight Dollar Mountain Road near Cave Junction and Kerby, Oregon, the drive starts one mile west of Highway 199. You can download a brochure here.
Nearby Wilderness Maps
Maps for nearby designated Wilderness include: Kalmiopsis & Wild Rogue, Red Buttes Wilderness, and Siskiyou Wilderness. Available from Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest or USGS website listed above.
Things to Do Before & After the Conference
Oregon Caves National MonumentLocated 20 miles east of Cave Junction.
- From the web site: Deep inside the Siskiyou mountains lies the "Marble Halls of Oregon." The caves formed when acidic rainwater dissolved the surrounding marble, creating one of the few marble caves in the world. The Monument's ancient forests contain endemic Port Orford cedar and one of the largest Douglas-fir trees in Oregon.
Hike to Big Tree and turn around or hike the 3.3 mile loop. Head up to Bigelow Basin from the Monument or get directions to a closer trailhead.
Located 80 miles northeast of Medford.
- From the web site: No place else on earth combines a deep, pure lake, so blue in color; sheer surrounding cliffs, almost two thousand feet high; two picturesque islands; and a violent volcanic past. It is a place of immeasurable beauty . . .
Tucked away 7,000 ft high in the Cascades, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, measuring 1,949 feet.
Redwood National and State ParksNortheastern-most boundary is 70 miles southwest of Grants Pass on U.S.199/Redwood Highway.
Roughly 50 miles long, the redwood parklands stretch from near the Oregon border in the north to the Redwood Creek Watershed southeast of Orick, California. From Deer Creek Center, drive on Highway 199 to the redwoods in California. Along the way see the gorgeous Smith River Canyon and visit signed rest stops next to the road: the Rough & Ready Wayside (south of Cave Junction) and the Cobra Lily Wayside near the California and Oregon border.
Limpy Botanical Interpretive Loop TrailThis easy one mile loop is off Hwy 199 south of Grants Pass (about 15 miles from Grants Pass). The trail winds through serpentine and granitic soils and multiple habitats - over 250 plants have been documented.
Mt Ashland and the eastern Siskiyou Crest off USFS Road 20
From Ashland drive 8-miles south on I-5 and take the Mt Ashland exit. Head up Mt Ashland Rd about 7 miles to the Grouse Gap area. This southern slope features subalpine wet and dry meadow, small aspen groves, views of Mt Shasta, and granitic outcrops. If you go up the spur road towards the summit, look for the rare Mt Ashland Lupine and Henderson’s Horkelia. With maps, a reliable car, and plenty of water, continue west along the Siskiyou Crest on gravel Road 20 to Big Red Mountain, Dutchman Peak and the Applegate Valley for an all day adventure. Or visit Pilot Rock in the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. The Siskiyou Chapter sells a flower brochure for the Mt Ashland area.
Scenic Jefferson Byway
Drive from O’Brien to Happy Camp, CA up and over the 5000-ft Grayback Mountain to the Klamath River Canyon. Look for the drooping branches of the paleo-endemic Brewer’s spruce along the way and admire views of the Siskiyou and Marble Wilderness. To drive the full 108-mile route from Happy Camp, proceed to Yreka near Mt Shasta on I-5 along the Klamath River HWY.
Ashland & Jacksonville
Visit Ashland and take in a play at the Shakespeare Theater or stroll through Lithia Park. The historic town of Jacksonville is the home of the Britt Music Festival. From town you can walk on over six miles of trails in the Jacksonville Woodlands with interpretive signs that showcase the area’s mining history. Both towns feature charming shopping districts.
Local Attractions
Kerby, OR
Kerby is a former mining town five miles south of Selma. Watch wood crafters create beautiful furniture out of burled wood at It’s a Burl and visit the Kerbyville Museum. Consider visiting the Bigfoot Cavern (tavern).
Roadside Attractions
Use the TJ Howell Botanical Drive Brochure as a guide, and walk the Eight Dollar Mountain Botanical Area’s handicap accessible boardwalk for Darlingtonia fen and endemic serpentine plant viewing in the Wild and Scenic Illinois River Corridor. Or explore the Illinois River along the serpentine Illinois River Road, the road Deer Creek Center is on, and admire gorgeous serpentine and peridotite road cuts. If you’re prepared with a sturdy car, maps and plenty of water, both roads offer longer day trips and hikes such as Babyfoot Lake, Star Flat, and Briggs Creek. Drive 4.5 miles south of Cave Junction on US 199, just past the airport, to Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside to visit a unique serpentine plant community next to Rough and Ready Creek.
If you have questions that aren't answered here, send email to annualmeeting12@siskiyou.npsoregon.org.