Opal Creek Wilderness

The {{convert|20746|acre|adj=on}} Opal Creek Wilderness is adjacent to a designated "scenic recreation area" of {{convert|13538|acre}}, creating a nearly {{convert|35000|acre|adj=on}} protected area.{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/willamette/recreation|title=Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|access-date=2015-09-17}} In addition, the {{convert|36870|acre|adj=on}} Bull of the Woods Wilderness in the Mount Hood National Forest shares its southern boundary with the Opal Creek Wilderness.{{cite web|url=http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=87|title=Bull of the Woods Wilderness|publisher=Wilderness.net|access-date=2015-09-17}}

The Opal Creek Valley contains 50 waterfalls and five lakes. Eight hiking trails, remnants of the early day prospecting and fire access routes, total {{convert|36|mi|km}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/willamette/recreation|title=Opal Creek Wilderness|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|access-date=2015-09-17}} The valley forms the largest intact stand of old-growth forest in the western Cascades, and 500- to 1000-year-old trees are common. The most abundant trees are Douglas fir, Pacific silver fir, and western hemlock. Common hardwoods include bigleaf maple and red alder. Understory vegetation includes huckleberry, vine maple and rhododendron.{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/generalinfo/willamette/recreation/generalinfo/?groupid=19753&recid=4211|title=Opal Creek Wilderness: Overview/Background|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|access-date=2015-09-17}}

The wilderness was designated on September 30, 1996, after a nearly 20-year battle to protect the area from logging and mining. In 1980, the District Ranger of the Detroit Ranger District, Dave Alexander, vowed to "cut Opal Creek." By late 1981, clearcut boundary markers were placed. Lawsuits were filed, Wild and Scenic Rivers were designated, and multiple bills to protect the area failed, including an attempt to make it a state park. When books and photo essays were published in the early 1990s, national attention was brought to the area.{{cite book

| url = https://archive.org/details/showdownatopalcr00davi

| title = Showdown at Opal Creek: The Battle for America's Last Wilderness

| author = David Seideman

| date = June 1993

| publisher = Carroll & Graf

| isbn = 978-0-88184-867-0

| url-access = registration

}}

Finally, in 1996, after working with all stakeholders, including environmental groups, local communities and representatives of the timber industry, to draft consensus legislation, United States Senator Mark Hatfield obtained passage of expansive legislation to protect Opal Creek.{{cite web

| url = http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/01/donnelly.html

| title = Opal Creek Preserved

| author = Michael Donnelly

| work = Alternatives

| publisher = Get Real Inc.

| date = Spring 1997

| access-date = 2007-08-20

}}{{cite speech

|title=Hatfield Recounts Final Negotiation to Protect Opal Creek

|last=Hatfield

|first=Mark O.

|author-link=Mark_Hatfield

|event=Opal Creek 5th Anniversary Luncheon

|location=Portland, OR

|date=February 5, 2004

|url=http://www.opalcreek.org/hatfield-recounts-final-negotiation-to-protect-opal-creek/

|access-date=2016-12-27

}}

The Opal Creek Wilderness is within the burn zone of the Beachie Creek Fire that began approximately two miles south of Jawbone Flats on August 16, 2020, one of several major wildfires on the West Coast that summer. As of September 2020, the severity of the damage within the wilderness is unknown.{{cite web

| url = https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2020/09/12/beachie-creek-fire-growth-oregon-santiam-canyon/3474149001/

| title = Oregon Wildfires: How the tiny Beachie Creek Fire blew up and ravaged the Santiam Canyon

| author = Zach Urness

| work = Statesman Journal

| publisher = USA Today Network

| date = 12 September 2020

| access-date = 2020-09-12

}}

• List of old growth forests
• List of Oregon Wildernesses
• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• Wilderness Act

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.opalcreek.org/ Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center]
• [http://www.oregonwild.org/oregon_forests/old_growth_protection/forests-global-warming/forests-and-global Forests and Global Warming] - Oregon Wild

{{Protected areas of Oregon}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Protected areas of Clackamas County, Oregon

Category:Protected areas of Marion County, Oregon

Category:Wilderness areas of Oregon

Category:Old-growth forests

Category:Willamette National Forest

Category:1996 establishments in Oregon

Category:Protected areas established in 1996