The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center is looking to team up with the U.S. Forest Service to help repair two sites that have been damaged by off-road vehicles along the Siskiyou Crest range of mountains west of Mount Ashland.

The rehabilitation effort, expected to take years, follows similar work involving KS Wild and volunteers helping the U.S. Forest Service to restore and protect two sites near the Illinois River northwest of Cave Junction in Josephine County.

Initial discussions have taken place about how to rehabilitate damaged Siskiyou Crest areas near the Meridian Overlook and Big Red Mountain along Forest Service Road 20, which extends west from the Mt. Ashland Ski Area.

“There’s lots of work to do,” said Allee Gustafson, events and volunteer manager for KS Wild, an Ashland-based conservation organization.

The work is expected to involve concealing off-road-vehicle routes and fire rings, reintroducing native seeds and young plants, and adding fencing and boulders to prevent unauthorized access. Workers also would install signs to educate and direct the public.

A meeting involving KS Wild and the U.S. Forest Service about the projects took place last week; another meeting is tentatively set for early summer on site, followed later in the year by workdays.

Brian White, a Forest Service operations director, said things are in the conception stage and that he’ll know more in the spring.

“The Siskiyou Crest has long been a draw for its unique geology, rare flowers and plants, as well as terrific views and recreational opportunities,” he said in a written statement.

KS Wild, based in Ashland, has worked with the Forest Service for about six years on Forest Service-managed land in the Eight Dollar Mountain area of Josephine County, to help restore and protect the Days Gulch Botanical Area and another area just east of the Illinois River, off Forest Road 4201.

The two areas were hotspots for trash dumping and illegal off-road driving.

During those years, volunteers and the Forest Service built fences, installed signs, cleaned up trash and planted native seeds. Since then, there’s been significant regrowth of plant life and a corresponding decline in damage.

“Native plants are flourishing, illegal (off-road) usage is negligible and the amount of garbage left in this area has nearly halted,” according to a KS Wild statement. “So much so that we have begun our transition out of these two areas so we can hone in our focus on other areas of concern.”

Those other areas include the Siskiyou Crest, an east-west range of mountains straddling the Oregon-California Border.

“We have built this long-term relationship with the Forest Service,” Gustafson said. “We can work together on this new project.”

Gustafson sent pictures of the Meridian Overlook, located about 5 miles west of the ski area, and Big Red Mountain, located about 6 miles farther west. U.S. Forest Service Road 20 to the sites is gravel. The Pacific Crest Trail roughly parallels much of the route, also known as the Siskiyou Crest Bike Route.

The pictures of the Meridian and Big Red sites show two ruts from off-road vehicles cutting across the landscape. The Meridian site might get the bulk of attention this year.

“We’re going to conceal that route,” Gustafson said. “You’re not going to see two lines of dirt.”

“This is a project that’s going to be many years in the making,” she said. “We’re not going to get to everything this year.”

The hope is that plant growth will emerge from soil that is now compacted by the vehicles. Of prime importance is the raising of signage to alert motorists about where to go and not go. Signs might also be put up to provide information about the area’s history and plant life.

In addition to the Forest Service, Gustafson would like to partner with other groups, including tribes, hikers and schools. She also would like to bring in the off-road community so those motorists have a stake in the project.

“We would love their input,” she said. “I really hope for their partnership this year.”

For more information, contact Gustafson at KS Wild at 541-488-5789. Reach White at the U.S. Forest Service office in Medford at 541-618-2061.