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The Denman Wildlife Area (originally the Rogue Valley Game Management Area) is a
wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its Habitat, habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, population control, gamekeepi ...
area near Eagle Point,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, in the United States. It was named in honor of Kenneth Denman, an attorney from nearby
Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...
, who lobbied for the creation of the area in 1954. The area is adjacent to TouVelle State Recreation Site and the
Upper and Lower Table Rock Upper Table Rock and Lower Table Rock are two prominent volcanic plateaus located just north of the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, U.S. Created by an andesite, andesitic lava, lava flow approximately seven million ...
lava formations.


History

Kenneth George Denman was born in
Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...
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 The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon n ...
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 The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is a state government, government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for programs protecting Oregon fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The agency operates hatcheries, i ...
(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 The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
. In 1942, the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
had established Camp White in what is now known as White City, a census-designated place located in
Jackson County, Oregon Jackson County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 223,259. The county seat is Medford, Oregon, Medford. The county Oregon Geographic Names ...
. The 174 km2 (67 mi2, 43,000 acre) training facility had remained in service until the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...
to set the area aside as a
wildlife preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
, was regarded by
Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...
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.


Geography

The Denman Wildlife Area consists of two units. One, south of the White City Industrial Park, is centered on the Gregory Ponds and contains the Wildlife Area's office. The other, north of the Industrial Park and the TouVelle State Recreation Site, contains frontage on both sides of the Rogue River and on the
Little Butte Creek Little Butte Creek is a tributary of the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists of approximately of Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County and another of Klamath County, Oregon, Klamath Co ...
. Features in this unit also include partially underground
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
-era ammunition storage buildings, ponds and marshes. Recreational facilities include horse trails and a nature loop trail. The gated TouVelle 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
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
ing 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. In 2009, a project was approved to construct a $70,000 building for equipment stored at the Denman Area. 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. The first goal involves
habitat conservation Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in ter ...
and calls for provisioning the wildlife area in four overlapping parts; 2.95 km2 (1.14 mi2) of
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
habitat, 1.18 km2 (0.45 mi2) of
upland Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...
habitat, 2.91 km2 (1.13 mi2) of
vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the saf ...
habitat, and 0.49 km2 (0.19 mi2) of
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
land. The second goal announced at the October 2006 meeting involves improving the
recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...
aspect of the area, with discussions touching on improving
wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...
-accessible trails,
predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
control,
blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...
overgrowth, and the ongoing problem of
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
ing. Another project in the works is a 10-year plan to restore the flow pattern of
Little Butte Creek Little Butte Creek is a tributary of the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists of approximately of Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson County and another of Klamath County, Oregon, Klamath Co ...
, a
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the Rogue River which was straightened into a man-made
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
during the 1950s. The straight canal is prohibitive to juvenile
coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...
, which use small
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
s as a
wintering Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Differe ...
refuge. By restoring a "natural" winding path, the salmon gain not only another such refuge, but new
spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...
grounds as well. As of 2007, the project has no funding or engineering plans in effect.


Events

The Denman Wildlife Area is a high-use hunting zone, especially for game birds. 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 Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...
. In 2007, five-hundred pheasants were purchased for the event, which lasts for two days.


References

{{Protected areas of Oregon Protected areas of Jackson County, Oregon Eagle Point, Oregon White City, Oregon Oregon state wildlife areas Protected areas established in 1954 1954 establishments in Oregon