Rough and Ready Creek: Priceless waters and botanical riches threatened under the 1872 Mining Law

Rough and Ready Creek is host to the highest concentration of rare and endemic plants in Oregon. It's eligible to be added to the National Wild and Scenic River System and much of its watershed was recommended as Wilderness by the Secretary of Agriculture under the Bush Administration. It's water quality, botanical, hydrologic and scenic values are nationally outstanding. It includes a State of Oregon Botanical Wayside, a BLM Area of Critical Environmental Concern and a Forest Service Botanical Area. All these values are threatened by a proposal for a nickel smelter and mine submitted to the Forest Service in June 2011.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• conservation
• clean
• water
• wildflowers
• mining
• preserve