The Kalmiopsis Wilderness is located in South Western Oregon and was one of the nine original wilderness areas established in 1964.  When it was established in 1964 it included about 77,000 acres now the wilderness consists of almost 180,000 acres. Two large watersheds start in the wilderness the Chetco River and the North Fork of the Smith River, A large section of the Illinois River is within the wilderness as well. The closest access point from Ashland is the Illinois River trail roughly a 2.5 hour drive. 

Named for Kalmiopsis leachiana a rare endemic flower found only in the region.

The area is quite rugged with rocky and steep terrain and remains difficult to access due to little maintenance on access roads and trails.

One of the things that makes the Kalmiopsis such a unique place is the soils found there. The soils are very rich in heavy metals including nickel, magnesium, iron and chromium which many plants can't survive in so special adaptations are necessary for plants to survive the harsh soil.  This has resulted in many endemic plant species and has the added bonus of making it not particularly  valuable to farmers and ranchers.  That is probably a big part of why this area is so remote and why it was made into a wilderness area.  The downside of course is that it continues to face the threat of mining operations being put in.  Efforts to put in a 3000 acre nickel strip mine just outside of the wilderness are still being fought.      

The Kalmiopsis Wilderness was almost entirely burned by the 2002 Biscuit fire which burned over 500,000 acres.


The fire has left a lot of Kalmiopsis wilderness in a state of regeneration with undergrowth now pretty well reestablished but few large trees remain and the ones that do remain are falling  hazards.















Bob Marshall is given credit for seeing that the Kalmiopsis was an area worth protecting.  He wanted to protect the entire area from the Smith river to the Rogue River but only a small section of this vision was realized with the Kalmiopsis Wilderness.


Native American tribes in this area may have included the Takelma, Galice, Applegate, Dakubetede, Chetco and possibly a few others.

The Chetco people lived on the mouth of the Chetco river, relying on the water that came from the Kalmiopsis wilderness and likely traveling up into the watershed for food. The tribe was at one time pretty large but they were moved to a reservation in Tillamook county in 1850's and their villages were destroyed by settlers.  The last remaining full-blooded Chetco was thought to have died in 1940 and only around 1500 descendants remain.




The Kalmiopsis is a fairly unknown wilderness area, it receives pretty limited use due to it's remote location and poorly maintained trails and access roads much of which has to do with the Biscuit fire. Current activist efforts are focused on preventing the proposed nickel strip mines and gold dredge mining.

Permits: "A mandatory Wilderness Permit is not required but we do ask that you fill out a voluntary registration card at the trailheads where they are available."
Permits are required to float the wild and scenic section of the Illinois and Chetco Rivers.















Links
http://kalmiopsiswild.org/kalmiopsis-wilderness/
http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=287

Bibliography

Hodge, F. W. (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: A-M. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Kalmiopsis Wilderenss. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2016, from http://kalmiopsiswild.org/kalmiopsis-wilderness/

tribe-map_lg.jpg (520×800). (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2016, from http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/images/takelma/tribe-map_lg.jpg

Wilderness.net - Kalmiopsis Wilderness - General Information. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2016, from http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=287