- Denman Wildlife Area
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Denman Wildlife Area IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)Location Jackson County, Oregon Nearest city Eagle Point, Oregon Coordinates 42°26′54″N 122°50′11″W / 42.4484589°N 122.8364295°WCoordinates: 42°26′54″N 122°50′11″W / 42.4484589°N 122.8364295°W[1] Area 1,760 acres (7.1 km2) Established 1954 Visitors 40,000 (in 2008) Governing body Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife The Denman Wildlife Area (originally the Rogue Valley Game Management Area) is a wildlife management area located near Eagle Point, Oregon, in the United States. It was named in honor of Kenneth Denman, an attorney from nearby Medford, Oregon who lobbied for the creation of the area in 1954.[2]
The area is adjacent to TouVelle State Recreation Site and the Upper and Lower Table Rock lava formations.
Contents
History
Kenneth George Denman was born in Corvallis, Oregon in 1904. His father, George Washington Denman, was superintendent of Benton County schools and began practicing law soon after the birth of his son. Kenneth's mother, Minnie Hodes, died when he was 17 years old and beginning to practice law himself.
Denman married a French teacher from Salem in 1930 named Margaret Bolt. The two of them moved to Medford for job opportunities. He remained very active in the Rogue Valley for many years until his death in 1962.
After World War II, Denman was offered a position in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (then called the Game Commission). He took the spot in 1944 and remained there for about a year and a half. Denman was reappointed in 1951 and was elevated to chairman a year later.
The Denman Wildlife Area is situated on land originally owned by the United States Government. In 1942, the US Army had established Camp White in what is now known as White City, a census-designated place located in Jackson County, Oregon. The 174 km2 (67 mi2, 43,000 acre) training facility had remained in service until the end of World War II, and almost all of it was sold as real estate.
The US Government trusted the remaining land to Department of Fish and Wildlife for use as a wildlife management area in April 1954. By then, only 7.122 km2 (2.75 [[mi2]]) of the Camp White land remained.
Kenneth Denman, who had asked legislators in Salem, Oregon to set the area aside as a wildlife preserve, was regarded by Southern Oregon residents to be most responsible for the area. In March 1963, less than a year after his death, the area was renamed in his honor.[2]
Geography
The Denman Wildlife Area consists of two units. One, south of the White City Industrial Park, is centered around the Gregory Ponds and contains the Wildlife Area's office. The other, north of the Industrial Park and the Touville State Recreation Site, contains frontage on both sides of the Rogue River and on the Little Butte Creek. Features in this unit also include partially-underground World War II-era ammunition storage buildings, ponds and marshes. Recreational facilities include horse trails and a nature loop trail. The gated Touville Road provides access to the interior of the refuge on both sides of the river.
Development
In January 1999, the ODFW took action against the problem of littering in the wildlife area by installing locks on one of the gated entrances. Keys were made available at no charge to hunters and fishermen who requested them. A similar move two years earlier saw great success in eliminating much of the illegal dumping that was occurring.[3]
In 2009, a project was approved to construct a $70,000 building for equipment stored at the Denman Area.[4] The building is expected to be completed within a few months of being started and will be approximately 2,880 square feet (268 square meters).
Future Goals
In an October 2006 meeting, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife identified two long-term goals for the Denman Wildlife Area.[5] The first goal involves habitat conservation and calls for provisioning the wildlife area in four overlapping parts; 2.95 km2 (1.14 mi2) of wetland habitat, 1.18 km2 (0.45 mi2) of upland habitat, 2.91 km2 (1.13 mi2) of vernal pool habitat, and 0.49 km2 (0.19 mi2) of forage land.
The second goal announced at the October 2006 meeting involves improving the recreational aspect of the area, with discussions touching on improving wheelchair-accessible trails, predator control, blackberry overgrowth, and the ongoing problem of littering.[3][5]
Another project in the works is a 10-year plan to restore the flow pattern of Little Butte Creek, a tributary of the Rogue River which was straightened into a man-made canal during the 1950s.[6] The straight canal is prohibitive to juvenile coho salmon, which use small streams as a wintering refuge. By restoring a "natural" winding path, the endangered salmon gain not only another such refuge, but new spawning grounds as well. As of 2007, the project has no funding or engineering plans in effect.[6]
Events
The Denman Wildlife Area is a high-use hunting zone, especially for game birds.[7] Since 1992, the Area has hosted the Youth Game-Bird and Waterfowl Hunt. During this annual event, only children and teenagers are allowed to hunt in the area. The ODFW takes reservations and allows up to 90 hunters at a time the chance to catch stocked pheasant. In 2007, five-hundred pheasants were purchased for the event, which lasts for two days.[8]
References
- ^ "Ken Denman State Game Management Reserve". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1134757. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ a b Miller, Bill (April 2007). "Who Inspired the Denman Wildlife Area". Our Valley 2007 (Mail Tribune).
- ^ a b Freeman, Mark (1999-01-11). "Denman Wildlife Area to be locked". Mail Tribune. http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/99/jan99/11199n2.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ Freeman, Mark (2009-02-06). "Wildlife area will get $70,000 building as part of stimulus". Mail Tribune. http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090206/NEWS/902060332/-1/COMM16. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ a b "Staff Summary". Commission Agenda Oct 2006. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2006-10-06. http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/06/oct/Exhibit%20B/B_3_Staff.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b Freeman, Mark (2007-01-08). "Turning back". Mail Tribune. http://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0108/local/stories/littlebutterechannel.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
- ^ "Denman Wildlife Area Ponds". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/easy_angling/southwest/denman.asp. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- ^ Freeman, Mark (2007-09-13). "Spaces still open for Denman youth hunt". Mail Tribune. http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/SPORTS/709130331/-1/OREGONOUTDOORS02. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
Protected Areas of Oregon Federal State Arcadia Beach • Bob Straub • Bradley • Cape Kiwanda • Cape Lookout • Cape Meares • Clay Myers at Whalen Island • Del Rey Beach • Ecola • Elmer Feldenheimer • Fishing Rock • Fort Stevens • Gearhart Ocean • Haystack Hill • Hug Point • John Yeon • Manhattan Beach • Munson Creek Falls • Neahkahnie–Manzanita • Nehalem Bay • Oceanside Beach • Oswald West • Rockaway Beach • Sunset Beach • Sunset Highway Forest • Symons • Tolovana Beach • Tolovana Beach • Twin Rocks • Wilson River Highway Forest
Agate Beach • Alsea Bay • Beachside • Beaver Creek • Beverly Beach • Boiler Bay • Carl G. Washburne • Collins Creek • D River • Darlingtonia • Devils Lake • Devils Punch Bowl • Driftwood Beach • Ellmaker • Fogarty Creek • Gleneden Beach • Governor Patterson • H.B. Van Duzer • Heceta Head Lighthouse • Jessie M. Honeyman • Joaquin Miller Forest • L. Presley & Vera C. Gill • Lost Creek • Muriel O. Ponsler • Neptune • Neskowin Beach • Ona Beach • Otter Crest • Pritchard • Roads End • Rocky Creek • San Marine • Seal Rock • Smelt Sands • South Beach • Stonefield Beach • Tokatee Klootchman • W. B. Nelson • Whale Watching • Yachats • Yachats Ocean Road • Yaquina Bay
Albert H. Powers • Alfred A. Loeb • Arizona Beach • Bandon • Bolon Island Tideways • Bullards Beach • Cape Arago • Cape Blanco • Cape Sebastian • Conde B. McCullough • Coquille Myrtle Grove • Crissey Field • Elk Creek Tunnel Forest • Face Rock • Floras Lake • Geisel Monument • Golden and Silver Falls • Harris Beach • Hoffman • Humbug Mountain • Hutchinson • Maria C. Jackson • McVay Rock • Ophir • Otter Point • Paradise Point • Pistol River • Port Orford Cedar Forest • Port Orford Heads • Samuel H. Boardman • Seven Devils • Shore Acres • Sisters Rock • Sunset Bay • Sweet Myrtle • Umpqua • Umpqua Lighthouse • Umpqua Myrtle • William M. Tugman • Winchuck • Yoakam Point
Banks–Vernonia • Bonnie Lure • Government Island • L. L. "Stub" Stewart • Mary S. Young • Milo McIver • Tryon Creek • Willamette Stone
Ainsworth • Benson • Bonneville • Bridal Veil Falls • Crown Point • Dabney • Dalton Point • George W. Joseph • Guy W. Talbot • Historic Columbia River Highway • John B. Yeon • Koberg Beach • Lang Forest • Lewis and Clark • Lindsey Creek • Mayer • McLoughlin • Memaloose • Multnomah Falls • Portland Women's Forum • Rocky Butte • Rooster Rock • Seneca Fouts • Shepperd's Dell • Sheridan • Starvation Creek • Viento • Vinzenz Lausmann • Wyeth • Wygant
Alderwood • Bald Peak • Blachly Mountain Forest • Bowers Rock • Cascadia • Champoeg • Detroit Lake • Dexter • Elijah Bristow • Erratic Rock • Fall Creek • Fort Yamhill • Holman • Jasper • Lowell • Luckiamute • Maples • Maud Williamson • Molalla River • North Santiam • Sarah Helmick • Silver Falls • State Capitol • Thompson's Mills • Washburne • Willamette Mission
Ben Hur Lampman • Canyon Creek Forest • Casey • Collier Memorial • Illinois River Forks • Jackson F. Kimball • Joseph H. Stewart • Klamath Falls – Lakeview Forest • OC&E Woods Line • Prospect • Rough and Ready Forest • Stage Coach Forest • TouVelle • Tub Springs • Valley of the Rogue • Wolf Creek Inn
Cline Falls • Deschutes River • Dyer • Elliott Corbett • La Pine • Ochoco • Peter Skene Ogden • Pilot Butte • Prineville Reservoir • Redmond–Bend Juniper • Sisters • Smith Rock • The Cove Palisades • Tumalo • White River Falls
Bates • Battle Mountain Forest • Blue Mountain Forest • Booth • Catherine Creek • Chandler • Clyde Holliday • Crooked Creek • Deadman's Pass • Emigrant Springs • Farewell Bend • Fort Rock • Fort Rock Cave • Frenchglen Hotel • Goose Lake • Hat Rock • Hilgard Junction • Kam Wah Chung • Lake Owyhee • Minam • Ontario • Pete French Round Barn • Red Bridge • Succor Creek • Sumpter Valley Dredge • Ukiah–Dale Forest • Unity Forest • Unity Lake • Wallowa Lake • Wallowa Lake Highway Forest • Wallowa River
Bridge Creek • Dean Creek • Denman • E.E. Wilson • Elkhorn • Fern Ridge • Irrigon • Jewell Meadows • Klamath • Ladd Marsh • Lower Deschutes • Phillip W. Schneider • Prineville • Riverside • Sauvie Island • Snake River Islands • Summer Lake • Wenaha • White River • Willow Creek
Regions Portland metroBlue Lake • Cooper Mountain • Glendoveer • Howell • Oregon Zoo • Oxbow • Smith and Bybee • Mount Talbert
Cities PortlandForest Park • Washington Park
Heritage registers: National Register of Historic Places • National Historic Landmarks • National Natural Landmarks • World Network of Biosphere Reserves Categories:- IUCN Category IV
- Protected areas of Jackson County, Oregon
- Eagle Point, Oregon
- White City, Oregon
- Oregon state wildlife areas
- Protected areas established in 1954
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