About the Jacksonville Woodlands Association

Purpose:
The purpose for which the corporation is formed is set forth in Articles of Incorporation which will include the following:

• Engage in cooperative actions with various public-sector and private-sector agencies-along with private citizens- to preserve the natural resources and acquire lands for preservation and for the benefit of the general public.
• Acquire and preserve scenic wooded hillsides and historic open spaces in and around the City of Jacksonville, Oregon, and other areas throughout Jackson County, to preserve the scenic beauty, protected and enhance wildlife, and protect and preserve the land and forests located therein.

Proposed Projects

October 2007

Rich Gulch Historic Mining District

To our many supporters,

Each year the JWA Board of Directors proposes projects that will improve the Hiking Experience within the Jacksonville Woodlands. In the past these projects have ranged from trail building and maintenance and forest fuel reduction, to land purchases, to Hike-A-Thons, to educational displays and brochures and maps.

The French Gulch/Rich Gulch Mother Lode Improvement Project

This year and for the next three years we are proposing one of the largest woodlands enhancement projects in our 18 year history. The proposed project will be multifaceted including new trails, displays, protective fencing, trail bridges, and trailside panels.

The following are some of the projects being proposed:

• 1,000 feet of new trail opening up access into French Gulch; the deeply mined incised gully in the direct center of Rich Gulch. (The Mother Lode of Rich Gulch.)
  
  
• Hydraulic Mining display complete with sluice box and mining water pipe.
  
  
• 2 trailside displays down on Oregon Street telling the Petard Family History of Mining and grape growing within the Rich Gulch Mining District.
  
  
• Panorama Point viewing platform, including seven displays featuring the Cascade/Siskiyou mountains and the history of Rich Gulch.
  
  
• Three in-town displays featuring the recent restoration of the historic Cameron House, the living Jacksonville legacy of Robby Collins, and the early contribution of the Peter Britt Wine Cellar to the Rogue Valley's agricultural development.

It is estimated that the project will cost about $33,000. So far about $9,000 have been committed to the project. And we are just beginning the drive to raise the balance.

The total project has been broken into 25 fundable segments ranging in cost from $500 to $7,000. We are asking our supporters to consider funding one or more of the project segment.

Please contact Larry and he will send you a more detailed project list. info@jvwoodlands.org; 541-899-7402

February 5, 2008

Organizational Background for the JACKSONVILLE WOODLANDS ASSOCATION

The Jacksonville Woodlands Association is a non-profit, tax exempt, citizen based organization that is coordinating the preservation and establishment of the JACKSONVILLE WOODLANDS HISTORIC NATURAL PARK AND TRAIL SYSTEM. There is no paid staff. All work is done by volunteers or by contract. The JWA is operated by an eleven member Board of Directors, meeting monthly.

The Jacksonville Woodlands Park and Trail System is a 310 acre hillside woodland park that, when fully established and protected, will surround 70% of Jacksonville's Historic District. The Woodlands project, after 18 years of effort, now stretch from ridge-top to ridge-top, thus visually protecting the scenic views that have circled the town since its founding in 1852.

Much of the Rich Gulch/Daisy Creek Drainage and upper watershed has also been protected. Since the founding of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association in 1989, 21 parcels of forested woodlands, totaling more than 300 acres, have been placed under protection by either purchase or by donation. Several adjoining landowners, including the BLM, are working with us to protect their adjacent parcels.

The JWA has established a network of educational and environmental trails. The Beekman Native Plant Botanical Garden provides an outstanding educational resource for local elementary, high school, and college students, as well as for Southern Oregon residents and town visitors who are interested in learning more about the unique natural and human history of Jacksonville and the surrounding region. Our 20 trail exhibits, plant identification booklets, interpretive brochures, and student activity books are developing an understanding of the uniqueness of the flora and fauna of the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon.

The JWA Mission Statement summarizes our efforts: The Jacksonville Woodlands Association is protecting the heritage and historic landscapes that define our town, thus preserving our quality of life for future generations.

Our mission includes: fund raising, grant writing, land acquisition, recreational and interpretive trail construction, the placing of conservation easements, creating educational and interpretive materials and displays, and the formation and support of an active citizens' support group to accomplish these objectives. Our nationally recognized woodlands project will preserve the livability of life in Historic Jacksonville and will serve as a catalyst for increased tourism, an essential element of the city's economic life-blood. Nowhere in the state of Oregon does there exist an opportunity such as we have in Jacksonville to interpret and preserve the combined story of one of our Nation's greatest gold rushes and the story of the diverse plant life found in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon.

Think of our woodlands trail system as our own private HEALTH CLUB!

Fuel Reduction Grant work on schedule to be completed

The last 105 acres of piles on private lands within the Wildland/Urban Interface around Jacksonville are scheduled to be burned this coming winter/spring. When completed, the JWA will have reduced the fire hazard on 1335 acres in and around Jacksonville. The work that the JWA has done has been funded through four grants that the Association received through the National Fire Plan totaling $908,500. Besides reducing the fire hazard in the Jacksonville Woodlands, the JWA also partnered with over 90 private landowners and reduced the fire hazard on their properties to help increase the effectiveness of the fuel reduction treatments around Jacksonville.

Noxious Weeds being controlled in the Woodlands

Scotch Broom, an introduced non-native plant classified as a noxious weed in Oregon, is being brought under control in the Woodlands and surrounding lands. The Association has completed the second spraying of Scotch Broom this summer hitting the new sprouts and seedlings that had come up since last year The JWA has spread native grass seed in areas that were heavily infested with Scotch Broom. The Association intends to restore and maintain the native species and vegetation in the Woodlands and in particular to preserve the habitat for the rare and endangered Gentner’s Fritillaria. Key to the success of the control of Scotch Broom has been JWA’s partnership with adjacent private landowners to control the Scotch Broom present on their properties. Besides controlling Scotch Broom, JWA is also currently looking to control yellow Star Thistle within a few areas of the Woodlands and around the Jacksonville Pioneer Cemetery in partnership with the City of Jacksonville, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and adjacent private landowners.

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