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Rogue River rafting
photo: Medford BLM |
Anthropological records and oral history provide evidence of human settlement in the Klamath-Siskiyou region dating back nearly 11,000 years. With the arrival of Europeans over the past 250 years, the mountains, forests, rivers, and communities of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California were rapidly transformed due to a burgeoning population, resource extraction, and federally-sanctioned western expansion. This expansion had devastating consequences on Native American tribes that had long-established communities on most of the major rivers and low-elevation valleys throughout the region.
More recently, the transition from a resource-extractive to a more diversified, service-oriented economy has come slowly to residents of the Klamath-Siskiyou's rural communities. Social dislocation and high unemployment rates have hampered economic prosperity and a transition to more sustainable commerce. However, sustainable forestry and agriculture as advanced by WWF's forest certification and Salmon Safe programs coupled with jobs in ecosystem-based restoration have helped transition rural communities to more sustainable economies.
This economic transition has also resulted in a greater focus on outdoor recreation services, facilitated, in part, by the economic draw provided by national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas. In fact, a recent study by resource economists shows that such designated areas contribute positively to economic growth and income, drawing in new businesses and jobs associated with the region's quality-of-life values. The manufacturing and electronic industries relocating to the Rogue Valley of southwestern Oregon also illustrate employee preferences for outdoor recreation opportunities, clean air, fresh water, and intact forests.
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