Table Rocks

Exploring the Table Rocks on BLM’s Medford District The BLM Junior Explorer program helps introduce young explorers like you to the lands and resources the BLM manages. This “Table Rocks Activity Book” focuses on plant and wildlife communities found in the Table Rocks Management Area. There are four different communities or habitats found on the Table Rocks and this book will take you through each of them. They are as follows: 1. Oak Savanna habitat 2. Chaparral habitat 3. Mixed woodland habitat 4. Mounded prairie/vernal pools habitat You can work through the activities on your own or invite a sibling, parent, or an adult you know to join you. After you complete the activities, go to the last page in the book and say the Junior Explorer pledge, sign the certificate, and you’re on your way to exploring and protecting America’s public lands. We hope you have fun exploring and learning about this unique area that is home to so many plants and animals! 1 2 PUblic lands belong To YoU! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a federal government agency that takes care of more than 245 million acres of land. Most of these lands are in the western part of the United States. These lands are America’s public lands, and they belong to all Americans. The BLM manages public lands for many uses. The lands supply natural resources, such as timber, coal, oil, natural gas, and other minerals. The lands provide habitats for plants and animals. People enjoy the big open spaces on the lands. The lands also contain evidence of our country’s past, ranging from fossils to Native American artifacts to ghost towns. The Upper and Lower Table Rocks are two of the most prominent topographic features in the Rogue River Valley. The Table Rocks are designated as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern to protect the special plants and animal species, unique geologic and scenic values, and provide educational opportunities. This area is managed by the BLM and The Nature Conservancy in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians – all working together to protect the Table Rocks for present and future generations. UN, WALK, & PLAY ON DESIGNATED TRAILS. This is helpful in preventing damage to soils needed to grow all the beautiful plants and flowers you see. XPLORE EVERYTHING ENTHUSIASTICALLY BUT AT A DISTANCE. Remember that the Table Rocks are home to many unique species and we are the visitors. HARE THE TRAIL. BE KIND AND COURTEOUS TO OTHER HIKERS. The Table Rocks are visited by over 40,000 people each year! That’s lots of sharing! LEASE BE A “PACKER”. IF YOU PACK IT IN - PACK IT OUT. This will help keep the Table Rocks clean and beautiful. We love bugs as long as they aren’t litter bugs! NJOY THE FLOWERS! LET OTHERS ENJOY THEM AS WELL BY NOT PICKING THEM. Take as many pictures as you want so you can share their beauty . AREFUL OF SNAKES. The Table Rocks have many different types of snakes that play an important role in keeping the ecosystem healthy. The Western Rattle Snake is the only one that is venomous in Oregon. While it’s rare to see this shy creature act agressively, OR keeping your distance NOT TO TOUCH? POISON OAK will keep you safe from harm. If you IS A PLANT YOU WON’T WANT encounter a rattlesnake, TO TOUCH unless you like having remain calm and ease your way around it. O TO UCH itchy, painful skin rashes! Remember:“Leaves of 3, Let them be!” 4 Table Rocks bingo When you are out exploring the Table Rocks, play Table Rocks Bingo! When you find something that matches a box below, cross out that box. Play until you have five in a row crossed out, whether up and down, left to right, or diagonal. Each of the four habitats are represented within the Bingo game. Give yourself extra points if you can identify the habitat where the plant or animal is found. HIKER BEE FROG BALSAMROOT FLOWER SNAG SQUIRREL BUTTERFLY BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER WOODPECKER DWARF WOOLY MEADOWFOAM any wildflower MOSS OAK GALL MISTLETOE see page 14 for reference BLACK OAK LEAF TURKEY VULTURE ANIMAL TRACKS LICHEN LIZARD CAMAS INDIAN PAINTBRUSH BLUEBIRD WHITE OAK LEAF PINECONE SNAKE Table Rocks WoRd seaRch The Table Rocks are thought to be about 7 million years old. They were made when lava flowed out of a volcano and cov­ ered a large area that included the present day Table Rocks. Since then, erosion from moving water, weather and freez­ ing/thawing activity has carved away at the lava flow and left only the Table Rocks standing. What happened when the land around the Table Rocks eroded away? They became… 5 oak saVanna habiTaT � 6 This plant community is well known for its colorful wildflowers. Have fun coloring all these flowers and drawing your own Southern Oregon Buttercup. (see the inside cover for an example of this beautiful flower) SOUTHERN OREGON BUTTERCUP Draw buttercup flower below. DEATH CAMAS Zigadenus venenosus Flower are always white and smaller than common camas. This plant is called Death Camas because it is poisonous. CAMAS Camassia quamash Flowers are purple and sometimes white. The blooms are larger than death camas. TRees oF liFe 7 While hiking the Table Rocks, you will see two different types of oak trees… White Oaks grow in lower elevations while Black Oaks grow in higher elevations. White Oaks have leaves Black Oaks have with rounded edges and short, round acorns. leaves with pointy edges and long, pointy acorns. Acorns from both White and Black Oaks were used by Native Americans as one of their most important sources of food. Black Oak acorns contain more fat and have more protein, so they were preferred. Look on the front inside cover to find a bird who stores acorns in trees. Fill in the blanks below to name this bird: _____ __________ 8 Use red and orange to color in the plant in the top corners of page 8 and page 9. Chaparral habitat is a shrub community. Plants in the Chaparral must be able to survive hot, dry conditions in shallow soils. You will see mostly bushes or shrubs with woody, round, waxy leaves adapted to prevent water loss. This plant community is home to numerous bird species that find protection in the thick vegetation. One such bird is a very small songbird: the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. Have you seen our hidden visitor from the South? If you look very carefully in the shrubs along the Table Rocks trails you might see a tiny pair of eyes watching you. The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is a small, active bird who loves to eat gnats and flies. What do they look like ? The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is smaller than a sparrow with a slender, long tail. It is gray above, white below, and has a white eye ring around its eye. Both parents construct the nest and feed their young. They lay 4-5 pale blue eggs with brown spots in a small cup nest made of plant material, lichen, and spider webs. Look for this delightful little bird as it has traveled a long way to the Table Rocks. In fact, it’s the most northern place in the western United States that this bird will stop! Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers measure at 3.9”–5.1” 9 While hiking in the Chaparral habitats, you may see Western Fence Lizards, small, brown lizards with blue bellies, sunbathing on the rocks. Lizards are cold blooded and they need the sun to give them energy. Check Out that Blue Belly! What is the name of the plant in the design to your right? __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ WesTeRn Fence liZaRd Amazing Adaptation: Fence lizards have a detachable tail that helps them survive an attack from a predator. They escape to safety while their tail stays behind! Don’t worry; it will grow back. Both male and female western fence lizards have a blue belly, but the male’s belly is especially bright. They like to show it off by doing push-ups. This attracts females and scares off other males. 10 The Mixed Woodland habitat consists of Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, madrone, Douglas-fi r, California black oak, incense cedar, and many other plant species, including numerous colorful wildfl wildflowers. owers. This forest community is home to many different species of plants and wildlife due to the shade cover created by the dense tree canopy. Temperatures are cooler which make for thick understory vegetation and abundant food resources. Grasses, fruits, nuts, and berries attract wildlife - especially bears! The Lupine is named after “Lupus,” the Latin word for wolf. It is in the pea family with seeds that look like pea pods but don’t be fooled into eating this plant! Lupine is poisonous and will make you very sick. When this plant was named, people thought that both the wolf and the plant killed livestock. Although lupine is poisonous, it is an important part of a healthy habitat. After a forest fire, fire, Lupine grows rapidly and puts vitamins and nutrients back into the soil. This helps the forest grow! Arrow-Leaf Balsamroot The leaves of this beautiful yellow flower are shaped like an arrowhead and that’s where it gets its name. Native Americans used its seeds for food. They ate them raw or ground them and mixed them with fat to form balls. The balls were rich in energy and were stored for winter use. The Black bear is an intelligent animal with keen senses of smell and hearing. It can detect the slightest scent of food, which can lead the bear to recreation sites. Odor from carelessly stored food and garbage can lure bears long distances. Drought may result in a food shortage, causing bears to travel many miles in search of food. While these bears are generally shy and secretive and usually fearful of humans, they can lose this fear. Fortunately, unlike grizzly bears, black bears are seldom aggressive toward humans. Be careful and remember these big animals are wild! 11 This page shows trees found in different habitats on the Table Rocks. Read the list of tree descriptions, then look at the six pictures on the right to match the correct letter next to the description. 1. _____ My leaves have rounded lobes and my fruit is an acorn. I grow in the savanna in the lower elevations of the Table Rocks. 2. _____ I have needles in bundles of three. I protect my seeds in cones and when I get older, my bark gets thicker and helps protect me from fire. 3. _____ My leaves have pointed lobes and grow larger than my relative who lives lower on the Table Rocks. I also have acorns as my fruit. 4. _____ My bark is reddish color and peels away showing my inner bark. My broad leaves are dark green and leathery. I am an evergreen because I keep my leaves all year. I have bright, red berries. 5. _____ I am a conifer (a cone-bearer) with short needles. My seeds look like a snakes tongue that sticks out of my cone. 6. _____ Sometimes I am a shrub, but I can grow up to 40 feet tall! My leaves are fuzzy and I keep them throughout the year. My seeds look like they have a feather on them. 12 This unique and rare plant community includes a thin layer of impermeable volcanic rock with mounds of earth on top. Water collects seasonally in depressions between the mounds, creating vernal pools. While hiking the Table Rocks, you might see Turkey Vultures soaring in the wind. These awkward looking birds are the “janitors” of habitats because they eat and remove dead things. Can you imagine what our world would look like (and smell like) if we didn’t have Turkey Vultures? They have an incredible sense of smell and can find dead animals up to one mile away! Vernal pools support a federally threatened animal called the vernal pool fairy shrimp. These very rare and wonderful creatures lay little sacks of eggs that wait out dry seasons. Sometimes these eggs will rest for years at a time, but when it rains, the eggs hatch. This cycle repeats itself over and over again. The Pacific tree frog lives in large numbers on the Table Rocks, while tadpoles of the rarer Western toad can be seen only between March and May. Diagram of fairy shrimp cycle 13 A state endangered plant, called the dwarf wooly meadowfoam is endemic to the Table Rocks, meaning it is found nowhere else in the world! Scientists have discovered that the seeds of the meadowfoam contain a very high quality oil that is similar to sperm whale oil. We use this type of oil on spaceships, airplanes, and in cosmetics. This plant grows in the wet areas on top of both Table Rocks. It grows low to the ground and has small leaves. Please admire with care. They are Very Rare! The flower is small and white with five petals. It usually blooms in the month of April. Unlike frogs, the Western toad has warty skin and will walk or crawl more than hop. This toad sounds like the weak peeping of a baby chick. It is recognized by the light-colored stripe down the middle of its back. Careful not to touch as this toad has glands that secrete poison! The Table Rocks are home to over 70 species of animals and 340 species of plants, which includes over 200 species of wildflowers! The tracks below represent some of the wildlife species that live among the Table Rocks. Use these as a reference for playing Bingo on page 4 of this book. 14 Raccoon Dusky Footed Wood Rat Coyote Ringtail Gray Fox Jack Rabbit Deer Western Gray Squirrel Cougar Bobcat Elk California Ground Squirrel Bear Wild Turkey Kangaroo Rat Killdeer Find your way through the maze ... from the start where a seed is nourished in the soil until it finally blooms into a colorful wildflower. Keep an eye out for the many wild­ flowers found on the Table Rocks so that you can check off your FREE space on page 4 of the Bingo game. 15 START · ~~ FINISH 16 T he C ow C reek people hunt ed, f ished and gat hered in t he T able Roc k area sinc e t ime immemorial (t he beginning of t ime) T able Roc k is a part of t he T ribal homeland t hat provides many resourc es f or N at ive people suc h as; ac orns, c amas, salmon, lamprey, deer, elk, pine needles, c at t ails, maiden hair f erns, and muc h more. T hese it ems were hist oric ally used in daily lif e. XTAAN (Lamprey) A c c ording t o T akelma legend, lamprey are known as t he best singers of all t he f ish, bec ause of t he seven gill openings on eac h side. M( LO O r Ce d a ) (Elk) T KAM OHOP (Olivella Shell) YU L UM Cow Creek Takelma Language (Word Search) Y Q A N G W G L E X C K G F Y S A W K S I W K T A E N R C U D K H V W W X A X E G R B P L V S T A I Z A V T A L J V G U Y K I L M N M S L A L O Y L M F F B F O N K L V U D L C F I C F H Z I O A V I L U M V D C A X Q S T Z M T J M Q R P E M I A U P X G B U N M V T L I J F A N F E A R U P C N D L U B R V N T K A M U O T M E H Y M P A W E E T U M P P M T Z E T U W L B M Y X C I O A G F E O L P E N C I B G M H I R X F U J E J K H K L B I O H V Y Z R (Ea g le KEET (Beargrass) KWISKWAS (Chipmunk) LOOM (Cedar) I KW W SK AS MENA (Bear) OHOP (Olivella Shell) PIM (Salmon) TANMAHAY (Big Rock) TKAM (Elk) XTAAN (Lamprey) YOLA (Fox) YULUM (Eagle) MENA (Bea r) ) YO L A (F ox) k) un m p hi (C 17 TANMAHAY (Big Rock) Table Rock ra (Be a rg KEET s s) PO P Q U IZ !!! 1. What year did t he C ow C reek T ribe sign t he t reat y? 2. A c c ording t o riba l of T e n i r h a t… Doc t tes t T he a t s ty e r e ig n i th som w s So ve r e ow s, p er nment ed pow r t e v a o g g le ed In dian s, are not de a limit f n o o s i t r p e pow exce r been herent e neve v a h but in t ha ignty t d. sov ere extinguishe ed in ticulat , r a t s r w as f i preme Court e n i r t c u o This d y U S S arshall in b y r t un nM this co 832 ice Joh t s u J ia in 1 f g r o e Chie .G ester v Worch PIM (S a lm on) T akelma legend what are L amprey known as? 3. What is t he T alkelma word f or C hipmunk? T he C ow C reek Band of U mpqua T ribe of Indians signed a t reat y in 1853 t hat negot iat ed hist oric T ribal lands in exc hange f or a reservat ion, goods, and t he promise of annuit ies. T he T ribe’s A nc est ral t errit ory is loc at ed in t he Rogue and U mpqua Wat ershed areas of Sout hwest ern O regon. 2371 NE Stephens Street Roseburg, OR 97470 541-677-5575 Rhonda Malone, Cultural Coordinator A nswers: 1. 1853 2. G reat Singers 3. kwiskwas 18 Humans have lived in the Table Rocks area for at least 15,000 years. The Takelma tribes depended upon the area’s plants and wildlife to survive. Groups of families moved around as food sources became available. Generally, they traveled from the lower elevations in the spring to higher elevations during the summer and early fall, and then returned to their villages along the river for the winter. Each season represented a new round of food resources to be collected and work to be done. Draw a line connecting the season to the boxed list that best describes food resources or work done during that season. • story telling • weave and repai r baskets • repair ed huntin g tools • made new tools • bulbs • fruits • berries • nuts deer • hunting • elk • salmon ulbs • camas b materials • basketry • deer • elk • rabbits wl • waterfo ls • Squirre nks • chipmu • acorns • pine nu ts • hazel nu ts • grassho ppers • drying a nd storing foods for th e winter months Hint: spring is a “squirrel-ly” time of year; summer is the most “fruitful” time of year; fall is a bit “nutty”; winter is a “telling” time of year. ansWeRs Page page 5 - Word Search Key: page 5 - Bottom question fill in the blanks: I s l a n d s i n t h e S k y page 7 - Acorn Woodpecker page 9 - I n d i a n P a i n t b r u s h page 11 - 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. F - White Oak D - Ponderosa Pine C - California Black Oak B - Pacific Madrone A - Douglas-fir E - Mountain Mahogany 19 Bureau of Land Management Junior Explorer As a Bureau of Land Management Junior Explorer, I promise to: • do alii can to help preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources on our public lands, • be aware of how my actions can affect other living things and the evidence of our past, • keep learning about the importance of nature and our heritage, and • share what I have learned with others! Date Explorer Signature Students at the Table Rocks with Mt. McLoughlin in the background. BLM Medford District 3040 Biddle Road Medford, OR 97504 541-618-2200 www.blm.gov/or BLM/OR/WA/GI-14/026+1122.32