Contact: Gabe Howe
Tel: 541-708-2056
Cell: 503-545-4911
Email: howegabe@gmail.com
3 NOVEMBER 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SISKIYOU MOUNTAIN CLUB RECEIVES $20,560 OREGON STATE RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM GRANT TO RESTORE TRAIL NETWORK IN WILD ROGUE WILDERNESS AREA
3 November 2014 | Ashland, OR — In 2015 SMC trail crews will be busy working to restore a network of fading trails in the Wild Rogue wilderness area, circa the wild section of the Rogue River, world-famous among rafters, anglers, hikers, and a growing number of trail runners.
“We’ll get started by bringing to standard sections of the 40-mile Rogue River Trail that need attention,” says SMC executive director Gabe Howe. “Then we’re going to open up a trail network that connects with the Rogue River Trail.”
The Club will restore the Mule Creek Trail, Panther Ridge Trail, and Clay Hill Trail. The product will be a 30-mile loop or a challenging detour for hikers who want to get off the beaten path and into the heart of the wilderness area. Crews will work on weed removal projects as well.
“Some of these trails haven’t been worked for a really long time,” says Howe. “It is a one or two year project.”
Some sections have been damaged by windthrow from the 2005 Blossom Fire. The forsaken trails were once used by mule trains to supply the communities living on what is now the wild section of the Rogue River.
The Club will be hiring a group of 18-24 year olds from Jackson, Josephine and Curry Counties to work on this project and others in our 2015 calendar.
The grant requires a fiscal match from the community to receive reimbursement. Learn more at www.siskiyoumountainclub.org/wilderness/wild-rogue
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