Rough and Ready Creek

by Friends of the Creek

The NICORE mining project threatens to destroy the pristine Rough and Ready Creek, located in the South Kalmiopsis Roadless Area of Southern Oregon. The 23,000 acre Rough and Ready Creek watershed is the product of over forty million years of evolution. This geologically distinctive place harbors numerous plant species found nowhere else on Earth. The rare indigenous (native only to this place) plants depend on the undisturbed condition of this wild, remote "redrock rainforest" which receives 60 to 110 inches of precipitation annually. Rough and Ready Creek runs crystal clear, like a sparkling emerald jewelÑeven at flood stage. Port Orford cedar and the rare insectivorous California pitcher plant grow along the shores of this picturesque creek.

On January 15, 1998, the Siskiyou National Forest released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the NICORE Mining Plan of Operation. The mining project would leave behind toxic mining pits, miles of road, and the industrial pollution of a smelter. The proposal includes a plan to stockpile the nickel ore on a BLM-designated "Area of Critical Environmental Concern." The official deadline for input to the DEIS is March 16, although your comments are still important after that date.

Local activists are touring Oregon and the Northwest with a slide show about Rough and Ready Creek and the proposed mining project, while the community organizes against it locally.

Your help is needed to protect this rare and unique place. Act now to keep Rough and Ready Creek forever wild.

What you can do:

Write or call: Mary Zuschlag, District Ranger, Illinois Valley Ranger District, 26568 Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, OR 97523, (541) 592-2166.

Suggested messages:

* No mining should be allowed in Rough and Ready Creek; withdraw the watershed from mineral entry.

* As a significant part o the largest sheet of exposed serpentine rock in the world, this region needs to be studied. The Forest Service should document and protect all populations of sensitive and endangered species.

* Rough and Ready Creek has been recognized globally as a biological treasure, harboring endemic plant life found nowhere else on Earth.

* The Forest Service should encourage a National Wild and Scenic River study.

* Rough and Ready is a drinking water source, as well as a popular place to swim.

* No road construction or re-construction should be allowed on this fragile land.

* Support the "No Action" alternative.

We have Siskiyou Project videos about Rough and Ready Creek (several free copies available), an Action Kit for tabling (includes a video, 3-panel display, Action Alerts, and postcards), Siskiyou Wildflower posters, Rough and Ready Creek gift cards, and color postcards.

For more information contact: Friends of Rough and Ready Creek, P.O. Box 2093, Cave Junction, OR 97523. Phone: (541) 592-3386. Email: debbie.lukas@sfsierra.sierraclub.org

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Webmeister: Dale Glaser
Email: Mendocino Environmental Center
Last Update: 4/2/98