Our Story
In 1997, a dedicated group of rural residents in southern Oregon united to protect their watershed from the devastating impacts of clearcut logging, mining, and unregulated off-highway vehicles. This grassroots movement in the Applegate Valley led to the formation of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, known as KS Wild, which was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Williams, Oregon. In 2000, KS Wild relocated its headquarters to Ashland, Oregon, to be closer to a larger population center.
Over the past two decades, KS Wild has emerged as the leading public lands conservation organization in the Klamath-Siskiyou region, which spans southern Oregon and northern California. The organization pioneered a public lands monitoring program that has successfully protected hundreds of thousands of acres of some of the best remaining old-growth forests in the area. As a vigilant watchdog, KS Wild has provided critical commentary on nearly every public lands management proposal affecting the Rogue, Siskiyou, Klamath, Six Rivers, and Shasta-Trinity National Forests, as well as the Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District.
With a focus on shifting public lands management from logging ancient forests to restoration, KS Wild advocates for a region recognized as an Area of Global Botanical Significance by the International Union on the Conservation of Nature. This area is also noted as one of the most botanically diverse regions in North America by the World Wildlife Fund.
In the early 2000s, KS Wild expanded its mission to proactively promote the conservation of special habitats and wild places. This included exploring conservation opportunities for rare species, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and large intact blocks of roadless wildlands. Significant milestones in KS Wild's growth include the establishment of the Rogue Riverkeeper Program in 2009, which continues to be a vital part of the organization, and the merger with the Siskiyou Regional Education Project in 2011, enhancing advocacy efforts in the Illinois Valley and the Siskiyou Wild Rivers region.
As KS Wild looks to the future, the rich history of National Forest advocacy in this region, bolstered by the Siskiyou Project merger, inspires ongoing efforts to protect this unique and vital area of the Pacific Northwest.