This is why Opal Creek Wilderness is the perfect place to explore the range and extent of species of the bryophytes a lichens. These organisms are essential to the diversity of life found in this biosphere, as well as many others around the world. Opal Creek is an important place geographically, ecologically, and culturally.įungi, bryophytes, and lichens make up a majority of the biomass at Opal Creek Wilderness. Present day Opal Creek Wilderness spans upwards of 35,000 acres, some of which is federally owned, some privately owned by the conservation group. When mining ceased the Shiny Rock Mining Company gave Friends of Opal Creek all 151 acres of their land for preservation. Mining on Jawbone Flats continued until 1992 when attention was called to preserve the Opal Creek area by a conservation group called ‘Friends of Opal Creek’ which established itself in 1989. Hewitt began official construction of the Jawbone Flats mining camp. This region remained practically pristine until 1859 when miners discovered gold, and in 1930 “Grandpa” James P.
There is some evidence that the nearby Whetstone Mountain was retreated to for vision quests (History & Ecology, Opal Creek Wilderness Center) Also, the surrounding ‘Whetstone Mountain Trail’ was most likely a common trade route for indigenous tribes around the Pacific North West and is significant to the lifestyles of the original people of the PNW. Opal Creek was first inhabited by the Santium Molalla tribe who, camped in the Jawbone flats during the summer time. It is a recreational area as well as an educational opportunity, and a Native American cultural site. Opal Creek’s rich natural history attracts over 20,000 visitors annually. Its history is filled with conflict between settlers, miners, native residents, as well as conservationists before it became a federally protected wilderness area on Sept 20 th, 1996 after a 20 year battle. This wilderness area represents some of the last old growth forest in all of Oregon, and has withstood several forest fires (which are low intensity and are natural and essential for a healthy true Old Growth Forest). Opal Creek Wilderness is an old growth forest situated in the heart of Oregon near the Cascade Mountains. Bethany, Kelsi, Wyatt, Jenny, Patrick, and Will.We hope you enjoy our blog, and stay tuned for more updates on our project! Each of us will be writing a blog post to outline our experience studying the amazing diversity of bryophytes and lichens found at Opal Creek. Specifically, this blog focuses on the creation of an annotated checklist for the Opal Creek Ancient Old Growth Forest. This blog is written and produced by students of “Bryophytes and Lichens of the Pacific Northwest” an ecology and field botany oriented program focused on exploring the diversity of lichens and bryophytes of the Pacific Northwest.
0 kommentar(er)
