Next field trip: Jamison Creek

This coming Saturday is Public Lands Day! Join the Friends of Plumas Wilderness on their third field trip to explore beautiful Jamison Creek and learn about Wild & Scenic Rivers – how are they designated? Do they protect more than the river? What does WILD vs. SCENIC mean anyway?

Join experts fly-fishing wiz Josh Olivera of FoPW’s board of directors (and Feather River College’s Art Program Director) and Plumas National Forest Wildlife Biologist Rachel Bauer on the river. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Blairsden Forest Service Ranger Station to carpool and caravan on Saturday, September 24.

Macroinvertebrates, river ecology, and fly-fishing skills are on the docket, along with river conservation.

“This field trip series has been an amazing way to explore hidden gems all around our watershed, learn from experts, and connect with others,” said Darla DeRuiter, Executive Director. “Everyone is welcome – it should be a beautiful day by this very special creek.”

In the early 1990s, Plumas National Forest staff identified 200 miles on the forest along 26 rivers and creeks that are eligible for Wild & Scenic River designation. The only designated W&S River currently on the Plumas is the Middle Fork Feather, which was designated in 1968 with the passage of the act when eight river segments were designated nation-wide.

Less than ¼ of 1 percent of the nation’s total river miles are Wild & Scenic, while over 600,000 miles (17%) lie behind 75,000 large dams. There is much more potential for W&S river designation, including locally.

There are four permanent tools of protection that Friends of Plumas Wilderness is exploring.  Through the field trip series, information is being shared about each of these tools: Research Natural Areas, Wild & Scenic Rivers, Wilderness Areas, and National Monuments.

The Research Natural Area trip to learn about Baker Cypress happened on September 10th, and the rest of the series continues in October, with an adventure to Grizzly Peak Inventoried Roadless Area with Bill Battagin, Lethi Watson, and several FoPW board members. Learn about what IRAs are, and what it takes to get permanent protection there. That event is October 22nd at 10am.

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Finally, Friends of Plumas Wilderness are honored to host Charles Wilkinson in November to talk entitled “Is a National Monument the right fit for Plumas?” This hybrid event will be held at the West End Theater with options to attend virtually.

Meeting locations, what to bring, and more information about each field trip can be found at https://plumaswilderness.org/connect/events-outings/ or by emailing [email protected].