The city of Rogue River is in western Jackson County, on the north side of the Rogue River. One of the eight rivers established with passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968, the designated segment of the Rogue extends from the mouth of the Applegate River … [34], In 1827, an HBC expedition led by Peter Skene Ogden made the first direct contact between whites and the inland Rogue River natives when he crossed the Siskiyou Mountains to look for beaver. [131], This article is about the river in Southern Oregon. The Rogue River in Southern Oregon is one of America’s top whitewater rafting and kayaking destinations for the incredible scenery, whitewater, wildlife, and amazing river-side lodges. [6] The maximum flow occurred between December 1964 and January 1965 during the Christmas flood of 1964, which was rated by the National Weather Service as one of Oregon's top 10 weather events of the 20th century. Although it changes direction many times, it flows generally west for 215 miles (346 km) from the Cascade Range through the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest and the Klamath Mountains to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. Many public parks, hiking trails, and campgrounds are near the river, which flows largely through forests, including national forests. The BLM administers the river Check-in Thursday. The Rogue River—Siskiyou National Forest and the Medford District Bureau of Land Management are pleased to welcome you to the Rogue River. A CLASSIC OREGON ADVENTURE . Perched at an elevation just 1,000 feet above sea level, the city is in the heart of a region where three mountain ranges meet. These struggles culminated with the Rogue River Wars of 1855–56 and removal of most of the natives to reservations outside the basin. Course of the Rogue River (Oregon) § Discharge, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, International Union for Conservation of Nature, "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Hamaker Butte, Oregon quad", "Water-data report 2007: 14372300 Rogue River near Agness, OR", "Bits of Lost Takelma Language Preserved", "Recreation: Wild and Scenic Rogue River (Upper)", "Water-data report 2007: 14330000 Rogue River below Prospect, OR", "Water-data report 2007: 14339000 Rogue River at Dodge Bridge, near Eagle Point, OR", "Water-data report 2007: 14359000 Rogue River at Raygold, near Central Point, OR", "Water-data report 2007: 14361500 Rogue River at Grants Pass, OR", "Oregon's Top 10 Weather Events of 1900s", "Geomorphic Provinces: Cascades Province – High Cascades", "Geomorphic Provinces: Cascade Range – Western Cascades", "Meet The 'Mitchell Ornithopod': Oregon's 1st Dinosaur Fossil Find", "Where Living Waters Flow: Place & People: War & Removal", "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Marial, Oregon quad", "On Snake River, Residents Get Mail by Rapid Delivery", "Pacific Coast Fisheries, Interesting Facts about the Methods of Work", "The ODFW Visitors' Guide, Southwest Region: Cole M. Rivers Hatchery", "Cole Rivers Hatchery Operations Plan 2009", "Notable Oregonians: Ginger Rogers – Actress, Dancer", "Notable Oregonians: Kim Novak – Actress", "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: McLeod, Oregon, quad", "Epic Rogue River Near Reversal of Fortune", "Stimulus Spurs County on Gold Ray Dam Removal", "Savage Rapids Dam, Rogue River Near Grants Pass, Oregon", "Corps Complete Notching of Elk Creek Dam", "United States Geological Survey Topographic Map: Trail, Oregon, quad", "Order Issuing New License: PacifiCorp Project No. It carries the Rogue River Loop Highway (Oregon Route 260) over the river west of the city. [38] From 90 to 100 wagons and 450 to 500 emigrants used the new trail later in 1846, passing through Rogue Indian homelands between the headwaters of Bear Creek and the future site of Grants Pass and crossing the Rogue about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) downstream of it. For example, the Rogue basin temperature standard approved by the EPA in 2004 says in part that "The seven-day-average maximum temperature of a stream identified as having salmon and steelhead spawning use on subbasin maps and tables set out in [government documents] may not exceed 13.0 degrees Celsius (55.4 degrees Fahrenheit) at the times indicated on these [documents]". Blakely is excited to be in southern Oregon, a place that gets all the seasons and has similar temperatures to Arizona in the summer! [11], The Lower Rogue River Trail, a National Recreation Trail of 40 miles (64 km), runs parallel to the river from Grave Creek to Illahe, in the Wild Rogue Wilderness, 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Grants Pass. [126] The Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area has campsites overlooking Lost Creek Lake. [26] In 2018, a geologist from the University of Oregon found a toe bone of a plant-eating dinosaur near Mitchell in the east-central part of the state where the coast lay 100 million years ago. I-5 leads west (northbound) 9 miles (14 km) to He knew he wanted to open another store and felt the town was the perfect place to do it. They were relatively isolated from the outside world until 1895, when the Post Office Department added mail boat service along the lower Rogue. [91], In 2008, the city of Gold Hill removed the last of the Gold Hill Dam, a diversion dam slightly downstream of the Gold Ray Dam. Aside from dams, threats to salmon include high water temperatures. The concrete dam, 50 feet (15 m) high and 384 feet (117 m) wide, impounds water from the Rogue and nearby streams and diverts it to power plants, which return the water to the river further downstream. Of the eight Rogue basin sites tested during the water years 1997–2006, five were ranked good, one was excellent, and two—Little Butte Creek and Bear Creek, in the most populated part of the Rogue basin—were poor. [10][11] The Rogue is one of only three rivers that start in or east of the Cascade Range in Oregon and reach the Pacific Ocean. ". I highly recommend running the Rogue river … [66][67], For thousands of years, salmon was a reliable food source for Native Americans living along the Rogue. It’s a massive, 80-mile-long gorge that’s as much as 4,000 feet deep, and truly an impressive sight, but it’s not our only gorge. To protect the river from overuse, a maximum of 120 commercial and noncommercial users a day are allowed to run this section. [48], Suffering from cold, hunger, and disease on the Table Rock Reservation, a group of Takelma returned to their old village at the mouth of Little Butte Creek in October 1855. [18] United States National Forests and other forests cover about 83 percent of the basin; another 6 percent is grassland, 3 percent shrub, and only 0.2 percent wetland. [23] The High Cascades are composed of volcanic rock produced at intervals from about 7.6 million years ago through geologically recent events such as the catastrophic eruption of Mount Mazama in about 5700 BCE. [112], The EPA approved temperature TMDLs for three Rogue River tributaries: Upper Sucker Creek in 1999, Lower Sucker Creek in 2002, and Lobster Creek in 2002. Although the rocks formed in the Jurassic, evidence suggests that they faulted north as part of the Gold Beach Terrane after the Klamaths merged with North America. The premier Rogue River jet boat trip. After the war, settlers expanded into remote areas of the watershed and established small farms along the river between Grave Creek and the mouth of the Illinois River. [76] The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) built the hatchery in 1973 to offset the loss of fish habitat and spawning grounds in areas blocked by construction of the Lost Creek Dam on the main stem and the Applegate and Elk Creek dams on Rogue tributaries. [129] Valley of the Rogue State Park, 12 miles (19 km) east of Grants Pass, is built around 3 miles (4.8 km) of river shoreline. Backpackers use the trail for multiple-day trips, while day hikers take shorter trips. The trail connects to many shorter side trails as well as to the 27-mile (43 km) Illinois River Trail south of Agness. The 5,156 square mile Rogue River Basin is located within Jackson, Josephine, Curry, Douglas, and Klamath Counties in Oregon and Siskiyou and Del Norte Counties in California. Rogue River Trail 1168 continues west 12 miles along the north side of the river from Agness to the Morey Meadow Trailhead. From Grave Creek to Foster Bar, all but the lower 15 miles (24 km) of which is closed to jetboats, anglers fish for summer and winter steelhead, spring and fall Chinook, and Coho. Best Dining in Rogue River, Oregon: See 438 Tripadvisor traveler reviews of 17 Rogue River restaurants and search by cuisine, price, location, and more. [20] Others in Jackson County lived in the cities of Shady Cove (2,300), Eagle Point (4,800), Butte Falls (400) and Rogue River (1,800). Rooms. It features 7 open-spandrel 230-foot (70 m) arch spans, 18 deck-girder approach spans, and many ornate decorative features such as Art Deco entrance pylons. The Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is a varied, magical landscape that takes visitors from higher-elevation conifer-dominated forests nearly to the Pacific Ocean, and has some of the most incredible diversity in the country! [96] Elk Creek enters the Rogue River 5 miles (8.0 km) downstream from Lost Creek Lake. Two years later, two of the survivors and others on a cattle drive organized by Young killed the first two Indians they met north of the Klamath River. [39] Despite fears on both sides, violence in the watershed in the 1830s and 1840s was limited; "Indians seemed interested in speeding whites on their way, and whites were happy to get through the region without being attacked. “We were definitely skeptical on opening during this time,” Jimi Lasquete, part-owner and chef of The Millennial. A veteran river guide explains why she chose to settle on Oregon's wild and scenic Rogue River. Along its course, it carves out the Rogue River Gorge, where river runners, fishermen, and other recreationalists gather to partake in its energy. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) operates five stream gauges along the Rogue River. Building : Access information concerning building codes, permits, and inspections. Rogue River Rogue River. ". They consist of partly altered volcanic rock from vents in both volcanic provinces, including varied lavas and ash tuffs ranging in age from 0 to 40 million years. The Woodville post office operated from 1876 until 1912, when the name was changed to Rogue River. [19], In 2000, Jackson County had a population of about 181,300, most of them living in the Rogue River Valley cities of Ashland (19,500), Talent (5,600), Phoenix (4,100), Medford (63,200), Central Point (12,500), and Jacksonville (2,200). The Rogue River Walk is about a 6-mile (10 km) trail along the south side of the river continues west to a trailhead about 4.7 miles (8 km) east of Gold Beach. [113] By comparison, the average OWQI score for the Willamette River in downtown Portland, the state's largest city, was 74 between 1986 and 1995. The 505-foot (154 m) structure has a single arch. This was from a drainage basin of 3,939 square miles (10,202 km2), or about 76 percent of the entire Rogue watershed. [123][124], Sport fishing on the Rogue River varies greatly depending on the location. [3][1] [26] Chemically unsuited for growing plants, widespread serpentinite in the Klamaths supports sparse vegetation in parts of the watershed. It is our privilege to jointly manage this national treasure. The Rogue River Valley has its place in the history of the western expansion and early settlement of the United States. Zillow has 26 homes for sale in Rogue River OR. By 2009, all but one of the main-stem dams downstream of a huge flood-control structure 157 miles (253 km) from the river mouth had been removed. Originally built to provide power for a cement company, it was 3 to 14 feet (0.91 to 4.27 m) high and 900 feet (270 m) long. [29] Radiocarbon dating suggests that they arrived in southwestern Oregon at least 8,500 years ago, and that at least 1,500 years before the first contact with whites, the natives established permanent villages along streams. The Rogue River drainage is over 5000 square miles of Southwest Oregon. As fish runs continued to dwindle, the state legislature finally closed the river to commercial fishing in 1935. The Ament Dam, built in 1902 by the Golden Drift Mining Company to provide water for mining equipment, was slightly upriver of Grants Pass. [23] Common tree species in the forests along the upper Rogue include incense cedar, white fir, and Shasta red fir. To protect the eggs from hatching en route, they were packed in crates of wet moss, and the crates were packed in boxes filled with ice and sawdust. Adventurous jet boating, wildlife, scenery, and commentary. Rogue Wild & Scenic River. The volcano hurled 12 to 15 cubic miles (50 to 63 km3) of ash into the air, covering much of the western U.S. and Canada with airfall deposits. [113] On the Rogue River itself, scores varied from 92 at RM 138.4 (RK 222.7) declining to 85 at RM 117.2 (RK 188.6) but improving to 97 at RM 11.0 (RK 17.7). Highlights along the trail include a river canyon cut through pumice deposited by the explosion of Mount Mazama about 8,000 years ago; the Rogue Gorge, lined with black lava, and Natural Bridge, where the river flows through a 250-foot (76 m) lava tube. Der Fluss ist 346 km[4] lang und mündet bei Gold Beach in den Pazifik. [29], The first recorded encounter between whites and coastal southwestern Oregon Indians occurred in 1792 when British explorer George Vancouver anchored off Cape Blanco, about 30 miles (48 km) north of the mouth of the Rogue River, and Indians visited the ship in canoes. Built in 1921 to divert river flows for irrigation, the dam was 39 feet (12 m) tall and created a reservoir that seasonally extended up to 2.5 miles (4.0 km) upstream. Near the mouth of the river, the only dinosaur fragments ever discovered in Oregon were found in the Otter Point Formation, along the coast of Curry County. Rogue River Map » Oregon. [10] In 1988, an additional 40 miles (64 km) of the Rogue between Crater Lake National Park and the unincorporated community of Prospect was named Wild and Scenic. [75], As of 2010, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) operates the Cole M. Rivers Hatchery near the base of the dam at Lost Creek Lake, slightly upstream of the former Rogue–Elk Hatchery built by Hume. The damaged dam was completely removed before construction of the Savage Rapids Dam in 1921. Nonnative species include redside shiner, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, catfish, brown bullhead, yellow perch, carp, goldfish, American shad, Umpqua pikeminnow, and species of trout. Er hatte eine wichtige Rolle im Krieg der USA gegen Mexiko gespielt, und Präsident James K. Polk ernannte ihn zum ersten Gouverneur des Territoriums Oregon. The TMDL limits for the Rogue River depend on a combination of biological, natural, and human-use criteria that vary from place to place. The Rogue River Walk is about a 6-mile trail along the south side of the river continues west to a trailhead about 4.7 miles east of Gold Beach. Copy link. Lasquete and his family came here from Las Vegas. [2][n 1] In 1835, Rogue River people killed four whites in a party of eight who were traveling from Oregon to California. Illinois River. These three ranges - the Cascades, the Siskiyous, and the Coast Range - meet in the Rogue Valley to create an enviable climate. [82] From 1940 to 1990, actress and dancer Ginger Rogers owned the 1,000-acre (400 ha) Rogue River Ranch, operated for many years as a dairy farm, near Eagle Point. The Millennial is a barbeque Hawaiian fusion style restaurant. More than eighty-four miles from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to the Lobster Creek Bridge are protected under the act, 33.6 miles of which are considered wild, 7.5 scenic, and 43.4 recreational. From 235 to 267 Indian people are thought to have been killed in the war, together with fifty soldiers, among them … To do the 40 miles, you can drive 2 cars … [128] TouVelle State Recreation Site is a day-use park along the river at the base of Table Rocks and adjacent to the Denman Wildlife Area, about 9 miles (14 km) north of Medford. View listing photos, review sales history, and use our detailed real estate filters to find the perfect place. [29] The home villages of various groups shared many cultural elements, such as food, clothing, and shelter types. Geography. [33] The total early-1850s native population of southern Oregon, including the Umpqua, Coos, Coquille, and Chetco watersheds as well as the Rogue, is estimated to have been about 3,800. [49] By then, fighting had also ended near the coast, where, before retreating upstream, a separate group of natives had killed about 30 whites and burned their cabins near what later became Gold Beach. [103] Also designed by McCullough, the Rock Point Bridge carries U.S. Route 99 and Oregon Route 234 over the river near the unincorporated community of Rock Point. Southwestern Oregon’s Rogue River was one of eight rivers to be protected under the original 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. [18] The basin borders the watersheds of the Williamson River, Upper Klamath Lake, and the upper Klamath River on the east; the lower Klamath, Smith, and Chetco rivers on the south; the North Umpqua, South Umpqua, Coquille, and Sixes rivers on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It just opened at the beginning of the month. It is known today for its recreational activities: whitewater rafting, salmon fishing, hiking trails, and forested scenery. [120] Other sections of the river are open to jetboats. It ended in June 1856 with the removal of most of the Natives in southwestern Oregon to the Coast Reservation, which later became the Siletz Reservation. [23] Considered one of the global centers of biodiversity, it contains about 3,500 different plant species. [26], Among the oldest rocks in Oregon, some of the formations in these terranes date to the Triassic, nearly 250 million years ago. You can do the full 40 mile hike, or you could just go from either end, as far as you wanted, and then back to where you began. There are many swimming locations along the river, several parks one can stop, rest, pick-nick, bar-b-q if caring supplies in a large enough craft to hold coolers. A 1924 history of Southern Oregon, up to 1853. [109][n 4] The Oregon 303(d) list of pollutants for 2004–06 indicated that some reaches of the surface waters in the Rogue River basin did not meet the standards for temperature, bacteria, dissolved oxygen, sedimentation, pH and nuisance weeds and algae. Study area: Rogue River on the southern Oregon coast. [24], Older and more deeply eroded, the Western Cascades are a range of volcanoes lying west of and merging with the High Cascades. [45] At about the same time, more white emigrants, including women and children, were settling in the region. It raises rainbow trout (steelhead), Coho salmon, spring and fall Chinook salmon, and summer and winter steelhead. Designed by McCullough and built in 1931, it replaced the Robertson Bridge. Only small, sparsely inhabited parts of the watershed are in Klamath and Douglas counties in Oregon[20] and Siskiyou and Del Norte counties in California. [89] Jackson County, which owned the dam, had it removed with the help of a $5 million federal grant approved in June 2009. Other native species of freshwater fish found in the watershed include coastal cutthroat trout, Pacific lamprey, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, Klamath smallscale sucker, speckled dace, prickly sculpin, and riffle sculpin. Administration : Learn about the responsibilties of the City Administrator/Recorder. [99] As of 2005, there were about 80 non-hydroelectric dams, mostly small irrigation structures, in the Rogue basin. [51][52] To protect 400 natives still in danger of attack at Table Rock, Joel Palmer, the Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs, ordered their removal, involving a forced march of 33 days, to the newly established Grande Ronde Reservation in Yamhill County, Oregon. [81], In the 1930s and 1940s, many other celebrities, attracted by the scenery, fishing, rustic lodges, and boat trips, visited the lower Rogue. [132] Indian Mary Park, part of the Josephine County park system, has tent sites, yurts, and spaces for camping vehicles on 61 acres (25 ha) along the Merlin–Galice road at Merlin. North Umpqua River North Umpqua River. [49] Confronted by volunteers and regular army troops, the Indians at first repulsed them; however, after nearly 200 volunteers launched an all-day assault on the remaining natives, the war ended at Big Bend (at RM 35 or RK 56) on the lower river. The Rogue River begins at Boundary Springs on the border between Klamath and Douglas counties near the northern edge of Crater Lake National Park. He originally had a location in Roseburg but has lived in Rogue River for some time now. Salmon could pass the dam during high water, but most were blocked: "For half a mile below the dam, the river was crowded with fish throughout the summer. [119] The state of Oregon in 2005 listed Rogue spring Chinook salmon as potentially at risk. [23] The average annual precipitation for the entire basin is about 38 inches (970 mm). [36] During his 32-year tenure, Hume's company caught, processed, and shipped hundreds of tons of salmon from the Rogue. [86] The dam, which is 345 feet (105 m) high and 3,600 feet (1,100 m) long,[86] prevents salmon migration above this point. Rogue River steelhead alone provide an outstanding fishery resource with thousands of fish entering the lower Rogue River canyon every year. Rafting trips on the Rogue River can range from 4 hours to 4 days making sure everyone can find the perfect trip for them. … The de-construction projects were all meant to improve salmon runs by allowing more fish to reach suitable spawning grounds. [23] Most of this falls in winter and spring, and summers are dry. It’s a massive, 80-mile-long gorge that’s as much as 4,000 feet deep, and truly an impressive sight, but it’s not our only gorge. Everybody knows the business owners and so that really helps out with the support.”. For the most current releases of water out of Lost Creek Reservoir, call 1-800-472-2434. During the twentieth century, the river gained renown for … Municipal Court : Search for Municipal Court meeting times and location. About our Company. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. [119] Coho salmon in the watershed belong to an Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) that was listed by the National Marine Fisheries Service as a threatened species in 1997 and reaffirmed as threatened in 2005. The route, Price told the government, would serve perhaps 11 families and no towns. The Rogue flows 215 miles from Crater Lake to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. Check-out Friday. Oregon River Experiences is proud to offer this unique, 35 mile expedition in partnership with Sundance Kayak School, an outfitter based on the Rogue who has been leading kayak trips for over 40 years and is some of the best instructors around. “That’s something that we weren’t concerned about, was the pandemic,” Burrows said. [57], Propelled by rowing, poling, pushing, pulling, and sometimes by sail, the mail boat delivered letters and small packages, including groceries from Wedderburn, where a post office was established later in 1895. [131] Hellgate, 27 miles (43 km) long, begins at the confluence of the Rogue and Applegate rivers about 7 miles (11 km) west of Grants Pass. At Gold Beach on the Pacific Coast it averages about 80 inches (2,000 mm) a year, whereas at Ashland, which is inland, it averages about 20 inches (510 mm). Aged 18+ Children. Built in 1920 for $48,400, it replaced a wooden bridge at the same site. He was opening up a restaurant in the city but right before the pandemic hit, it fell through. 44 were here. [88], In 1904, brothers C.R. Much of the Rogue River watershed, including the Rogue River canyon, the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, the Illinois River basin, and Mount Ashland, are composed of exotic terranes. The maximum discharge during this period was 290,000 cubic feet per second (8,200 m3/s) on December 23, 1964, and the minimum discharge was 608 cubic feet per second (17 m3/s) on July 9 and 10, 1968. The lower river has spring and fall Chinook, as well as perch, lingcod, and crab near the ocean. Geography. From seven miles west of Grants Pass to 11 miles east of Gold Beach, the 84-mile long National Wild and Scenic … Between Lost Creek Lake and Grants Pass there are major fisheries for spring and fall Chinook salmon, and Coho salmon from hatcheries, summer and winter steelhead, and large resident rainbow trout. [36], By the 1880s, Robert Deniston Hume of Astoria had bought land on both sides of the lower Rogue River and established such a big fishing business that he became known as the Salmon King of Oregon. The river between Grants Pass and Grave Creek has productive runs of summer and winter steelhead and Chinook, as well as good places to fish for trout. [23] A few of the common animal and bird species seen along the river are American black bear, North American river otter, black-tailed deer, bald eagle, osprey, great blue heron, water ouzel, and Canada goose. Oregon’s Rogue River Gorge Is A Beautifully Brilliant Green. “You can’t get any of this here in rogue river.”. From its source in the high Cascade Mountains in southwestern Oregon near Crater Lake National Park, the Rogue, one of the longest rivers in Oregon, tumbles and flows more than 200 miles, entering the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. In the mid-1960s, a geologist also discovered the beak and teeth of an ichthyosaur in the Otter Point Formation. [116], Further downstream a diverse mix of conifers, broadleaf evergreens, and deciduous trees and shrubs grow in parts of the basin. The postmaster named the office Agnes after his daughter, but a transcription error added an extra "s" and the name became Agness. The Gold Hill Bridge, designed by McCullough and built in 1927, is the only open-spandrel, barrel-arch bridge in Oregon. [10], Soggy Sneakers: A Paddler's Guide to Oregon's Rivers lists several whitewater runs of varying difficulty along the upper, middle, and lower Rogue River and its tributaries. [116] The Klamath-Siskiyou region of northern California and southwestern Oregon, including parts of the southwestern Rogue basin, is among the four most diverse temperate coniferous forests in the world. [27] Between 165 and 170 million years ago, in the Jurassic, faulting consolidated the Klamath terranes offshore during what geologists call the Siskiyou orogeny. 1. Not until plate tectonics separated North America from Europe and North Africa and pushed it westward did the continent acquire, bit by bit, what became the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon. On a single day in 1913, Grants Pass crews using five drift boats equipped with gill nets caught 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of salmon. It was one of the original eight rivers named in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, which included 84 miles (135 km) of the Rogue, from 7 miles (11.3 km) west of Grants Pass to 11 miles (18 km) east of the mouth at Gold Beach. [117], The lower Rogue passes through the Southern Oregon Coast Range, where forests include Douglas-fir, western hemlock, tanoak, Port Orford cedar, and western redcedar, and at lower elevations Sitka spruce.