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This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Future access to Stukel Mountain in doubt
Irresponsible vehicle driving, vandalism may threaten access to local public lands
I could see the mountain plainly from the secondstory window of my new home. It dominated my view of the southern horizon from east to the west.
It was opening day of the 1977 deer season. Instead of being out hunting bucks, I was playing carpenter. I worked with the window open so I could hear the morning sounds.
As daylight arrived, so did the sounds of the hunters. Even from over a mile or two away, the sound of rifle shots could be heard plainly. It sounded like a fire fight in a war zone. There must have been a hundred riflemen on the mountain.
I had watched dozens of vehicles climb the mountain in the dark, their headlights giving away their positions.
Back then, there were so many mule deer and bucks on the mountain that a neighbor boasted that by Sunday evening he and his son had taken five bucks, putting family members’ tags on them.
An illegal act, but one practiced by too many hunters, even today.
Paying a price for greed
We’ve paid the price for such greed. Last fall, I listened at dawn and heard not a single shot. By the end of the weekend, I could count on one hand the number of hunters I had heard pop a cap.
Stukel Mountain begins at the Olene Gap in the north and extends 11 miles to the south. From east to west, it is nine miles across.
At less than 100 square miles, this mountain range, an old extinct volcano, isn’t too impressive. It rises 6,700 feet over the Klamath Basin and supports an array of radio and communication towers at the top.
Much of the top of the mountain is Bureau of Land Management land. On the slopes, several parcels of private land now belong to Jeld-Wen so public access is guaranteed, at least for now.
That could change.
Dick Strohkirch and I took a ride on the mules recently, beginning at the gate on Hidden Valley Road.
This gate, and the gates on Webber Road and the Klamath County gravel pit on Hill Road, used to be closed from October to April. The reason was to protect the roads from damage and the wildlife from winter harassment.
Vandals at work
A couple of years ago, vandals began cutting the fence to get around the Hidden Valley Road gate. This allowed grazing cattle to escape, causing the usual problems.
To solve the problem, Jeld-Wen put in a cattle guard allowing year around access. The BLM put signs up that the road was closed at its boundary, but no fence or gate.
Enforcement of the closure is sporadic at best.
We visited the mountain last year and there was some damage to the roads by trucks playing in the mud.
Erosion damage
This spring, the amount of damage is beyond belief. I struggle to find words to describe it. Some ruts are almost three-feet deep and were dug by big tires on high-rise trucks, not totally from erosion.
Speaking of which, the erosion is also beyond words.
That something needs to be done goes without saying.
Just exactly what remains to be seen?
Aside from that, Stukel Mountain is a recreation jewel sitting right in Klamath Falls’ back yard.
The view from the mountain of Klamath Falls is perhaps one of the best around. There is no angling on the mountain although there are numerous small livestock ponds, and even an occasional spring.
The ponds in the spring, before the cattle get to them, are quite lovely. Many of them support an array of wild flowers.
Jack
Elbert photo Hidden
stock ponds are like gems waiting to be discovered on the
slopes of Stukel Mountain in the spring.
Wildlife still present
Grouse can be found in the more timbered areas and there are even a few chukars to be found on the dryer southern slopes. I’ve seen them on the south end of the main ridge while driving up to the communication facilities.
I talked to Tom Collom, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife district biologist, and he says his office still gets reports of birds, occasionally.
While their numbers are down considerably from the 1970s, there is still a buck or two to be found. A nighttime count back then totaled over 6,000 deer. A recent casual count by an ODFW biologist produced less than 500.
Coyotes inhabit the mountain and their serenade can be heard in the evening and early morning. There are also cougars in the woods and, occasionally, animal damage control takes a cat or two after the cats have killed livestock on foothill ranches.
Stukel Mountain is not generally considered to be winter range for deer, except in milder winters. It is, however, important transition and summer range.
When I first moved to Crystal Springs Road, I noticed that as summer progressed and the browse dried up on the mountain, the number of deer visiting the irrigated pastures around the base increased.
Several years ago, there were reports of up to 27 elk on the mountain. Several were reported crossing the roads that encircle the range.
It has been a long time since I’ve heard of more about them, but the potential is still there for them to show up.
Extensive road system
Stukel Mountain has an extensive road system. Some are maintained, but most are never touched by a grader. It is an excellent place to ride a mountain bike, an ATV, a horse or mule or just hike for the exercise.
Most of the roads have gentle grades and, except for the vandalism on the lower areas, the roads are in pretty good condition. To my knowledge, there are no plans to rebuild the damaged sections, so be sure to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle.
There is also an eagle’s nest hidden in the timber on the north slope. This helps guarantee that most of the tall trees will never feel the bite of a logger’s chainsaw.
Reducing junipers
The junipers on the lower slopes, however, are catching heck from the BLM.
The BLM is actively removing hundreds of acres of overgrown juniper forests and, in many instances, replanting bitterbrush in the ashes of the slash piles.
There are no cuts scheduled for 2007, but there are several areas where trees are already down and available for firewood cutting. In fact, there is one area just beyond the maintained Hidden Valley Road.
Wood cutting is perhaps the best way to utilize the energy stored in the junipers. Permits are available at the BLM office on Anderson Street and cost only $5 per cord, with a minimum of two cords, and a maximum of eight, for personal use only.
Vandalism and irresponsible vehicle driving have left the access of public lands up to question. Those of who did the dirty deed might find themselves locked out — along with all of us.
Part of the problem is that any law without enforcement is
meaningless. Those who are thoughtless, and in some cases
mindless, threaten to ruin it for all of us.
Which are you?
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