blue ledge mine

SECTIONS 34, TOWNSHIP 48 N, RANGE 11 W

Blue Ledge Mine Site is located on private land within the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, in Siskiyou County, California, in the 2nd Congressional District. Copper, cadmium and other metals from past copper and zinc mining operations have contaminated sediments and surface water at levels that are toxic to aquatic organisms. Impacts include the absence of fish for more than three miles downstream and potential negative impacts to fisheries all the way to the Applegate Reservoir, nearly eight miles downstream. The site is an abandoned copper, zinc, gold and silver mine located in Siskiyou County on private land within the Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest, approximately 3 miles south of the Oregon-California border. The site operated as a mine from approximately 1904 to 1930. More than two miles of underground excavations were developed about 800 vertical feet above Joe Creek. The Forest Service removed 56,000 cubic yards of waste rock in 2010/2011. Acid mine drainage (AMD) discharging from adits flows directly to Joe Creek. Fish and amphibian surveys conducted in the area by EPA and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) document that the water quality of Joe Creek is impacted below the site. Fish survey data confirmed there are no fish in Joe Creek. Elliott Creek, the Applegate River, and the Applegate Reservoir are considered recreational fisheries. Sensitive, threatened and endangered species have been identified in the vicinity of the site including the northern goshawk, the Siskiyou Mountains salamander, and the northern spotted owl.