Southern Oregon Land Conservancy
$20,000

Replacing a degraded bridge on the access road to Pompadour Bluff, an iconic, newly conserved 55-acre natural area preserve in the upper Bear Creek valley east of Ashland, is the first step toward safe access to the preserve for future habitat restoration, recreation, trail development and fire prevention. Pompadour Bluff and its 55 acres of dramatic rock outcrops and diverse wildlife habitat were gifted to Southern Oregon Land Conservancy in July 2021 after being isolated by private ownership for the past 50 years. Pompadour Bluff itself is an iconic geologic formation visible from the I-5 corridor and Ashland’s viewscape, surrounded by intact oak woodland, native grasslands, shrubland, and habitat for multiple native, sensitive plants and animals. Donated to form a preserve with public access, Pompadour Bluff is in designated deer and elk winter range (Grizzly Unit) and is closely adjacent two Conservation Opportunity Areas and the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. With its prominent place on the eastern horizon of the upper Bear Creek valley and history of inaccessibility as a private property, Pompadour Bluff has already begun to stir community interest for visits to see the 360-degree views from the summit and fulfill previously distant appreciation of the bluff’s beauty. A bridge across an irrigation ditch on the access road to Pompadour Bluff is eroded on one footing, rated unsafe for service and fire safety vehicles. To support planned conservation and recreational activities, the access bridge must be replaced with to meet code (60,000-pound capacity) to permit safe access to Pompadour Bluff for equipment to develop recreation facilities, school buses to bring students, fire trucks to prevent possible wildfire, and for long term conservation management to sustain the natural habitats, and initiate recreational use. Requested funds will support approximately one third of the cost of replacing the degraded bridge on the access road to Pompadour Bluff.

Project Report