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The geographical and biological significance of the Southern Sierra will be the central theme of this program. Fine pictures of the flora and fauna of the area will help to tell the story, a wonderful treat for all of us to enjoy. The program is beautifully done and beautifully presented. This will be a summer treat for us all. Ms. Barbara Nusbaum will be the Chairperson for the evening.
Preceding the program, everyone will be able to view a wildflower display featuring local plants (including some shrubs and trees). Lynn Stafford and Mary Ann Lockhart will do the arranging. The display will be ready for viewing at 5PM. Keep your fingers crossed that there will be more in the way of bloom to display than we are noticing at this time.
Also, as per usual, preceding the program will be THE potluck, starting at 6 PM. Please bring a dish to share with everyone and your own dinner service. And the usual marvelous wonderful raffle will be held. Bring a raffle prize item and you will receive a FREE raffle ticket (maybe two).
Join us and bring your friends. (For each newcomer you encourage to come, another free raffle ticket!!) It is going to be a lovely time!
Greetings to Ches, our chairperson for over eight years. Moved back to his Kentucky roots, Ches said he was going to be a starter of a Sierra Club group in the area of his new home and enjoy once again some of the beautiful areas he knew growing up.
We are all very grateful for his leadership over these last years, taking care of everything from scheduling our meeting rooms to participating in developing and writing comments on our local issues. He was always a gracious MC for our group meetings. All of his work was recognized by the Kern Kaweah Chapter this spring when he was awarded the CUP, the highest honor of the Chapter.
Happy Trails, Ches, and we hope your new trails may someday lead you back our way. And don)t forget your new challengecchange that red state to blue.
Keeping you up to date
Congratulations to Tom Kuekes, our local National Forest District Ranger. He has been chosen California National Forest Ranger of the Year, an honor richly deserved.
Lynn Stafford and Mary Ann Lockhart have been appointed co-chairs of the Condor Group to serve the rest of this year.
Proponents of Centennial will be going back to the drawing board to do more than considerable revising of their draft EIR.
The suit in regard to the water extraction proposal for the Gorman Hills will be heard in August.
Gorman Post Road Wildfllower Preservecthat is a proposal that has inspired much interest. The possibilities are being explored by several persons, including some in our group.Want to help? Call Karen Cotter, phone no. 818.763.0716.
Everyone is welcome, Sierra Club members and non-members, to join in any of the outdoor activities . Requirements: You must be in condition for type of hike, equipped appropriately for the activity, and prepared to sign a Sierra Club release from liability. You must be willing to follow leader)s directions. Unprepared for the prospective hike? It will be a no-go for you. Please let the leader know ahead of time that you are intending to participate. Customary appropriate equipment includes good hiking shoes, plenty of water, snack, sunglasses, sun tan lotion, layered clothing. Long pants recommended. It is always wise to call before coming to a listed activity as cancellations, changes may have to be made!
Please call Dale(661) 242.1076 or Barbara 661.242.1843 for further information on hikes. Other info: call Mary Ann (661.242.0432)
SUNDAY STROLLS (sun). Every Sunday, June thru August More info? Call Mary Ann 661.242.0432.
June 3 (sat) 6 PM Potluck, 7 PM Program. Take a photo visit to the Kern Preserve. Allison Sheehey will be tour guide. Potluck: Bring a dish to share and your own tableware. Meetings held at PMC)s Pool Pavilion Room.
June 24 (sat) Yellow Jacket Trail. Visit several vernal pools and an unnamed stream which should be full of water. 9 miles roundtrip. Wet feet possible on this trip. Meet at 8 AM at tennis courts, PMC.
July 22 (sat) Our wonderful Peak to Peak Hike. Starting at Mt. Pinos go to Cerro Noroeste or vice versa. Beautiful 8 miles of views, forests, flowers and some strenuous challenges to hikers. Every year the experience has its special delights. Always comfortably cool at that altitude. Starts at 8 AM from PMC.
August 5 (sat) Mountain Lions, presenter from Lion Preservation Group. 6 PM Potluck: Bring a dish to share and your own tableware. 7 PM program. You can come for just the program if you care to. Meetings held at PMC)s Pool Pavilion Room.
August 28 (sat) Toad Springs Trail. This close-at-hand trail will lead to area of a big slide that has closed off the further side of the trail. We will discuss the hows and whys of such slides, predictions for the future. Please, no children under 16. Meet at 8 AM at PMC tennis courts.
We have been looking over the collection of back issues of the Condor Flyer trying to find out what happened whencand just got started rereading the contents. It struck us that some of the stories would be interesting and delightful to dust off and bring out into the light again, especially when considering the many new members we have. The pieces are as relevant as ever, and perhaps they can inspire these authors and others to do more writing of a similar kind. So here goes!
This excerpt from the June/August 2000 number of the Flyer is most appropriate to accompany our June program. The following remarks were made by Mike Foster, the botanist for Los Padres National Forest, who, sadly, passed away two years ago. He and his wife Cheryl set up our first wildflower show, which was terrificcand so we continue to carry out their tradition each year.
How do the mariposa bulbs get down so deep in the ground when the seeds fall on the surface? If all goes well, the seeds sprout, sending roots into the ground during the wet times of the year. When the dry season comes, the roots dry up and contract, pulling the newly-forming bulb down in the ground. This repeats season after season, so after time the bulb is 4 to 5 inches under the surface. These are called contractile roots.
Bees and birds carry the pollen from one plant to another. How does the pollen from one species get to another specimen of the same species without being left on the flower of a different species? The shape of the flowers determines where the pollen lands on the bee or bird that is moving from one plant to another. For example, if the flower is like a long tube, the pollen may just land on the head of the bee. When the bee flies to another flower that may be shaped like a plate, the pollen will remain on its head while pollen from the second plant clings to its feet. And so on.
Why are lupines called lupines? In the 1700s the folks associated this plant with worn out land not good for farming. They thought that this plant had stolen all the goodness from the earth and they likened it to the wolf, who they also thought harmed the lands. Thus from the Latin name for wolf, Lupus, the plants were called Lupine.
Why do plantings along hillsides often not succeed? The natural chain of things is neglected. Foster recommended that goats be added to hillside plantings, to tramp down the seeds, then munch on the grasses that might outdo the wildflowers. This would lead to the animal defecating, thus providing more fertilizer for the plants, and in this way the natural chain of life would have the chance of being firmly established.
There was so much more, but this can)t end without reporting what Foster said were his four laws of ecology:
There is no free lunch.
Everything goes somewhere.
Everything is connected.
Nature knows best.
Now there is something for us to think about!
from Condor Flyer, Dec 01/Feb 02
Encounters such as Jack experienced and described in this great article make many of us green with envycand stimulate a little tension in our minds: great to go walking in the wonderful places here in Los Padres National Forest, but what if we encountered a denizen of the out-of-doors such as Jack did? What would you do? How would you feel? Jack hoped he would see another one someday, and in fact he later did, in the San Emigdio Canyon, and wrote about that one in the Flyer too.
It was a good thing I hadn)t yet read that article on mountain lions in Discover Magazine when I decided to take a brief overnight jaunt to Sawmill last August, because if I had, I would have been thoroughly alarmed when a lioness and her cub practically stumbled over me at sunrise. As it was, I was thoroughly enchanted, blissfully unaware of the new data suggesting that mountain lions appear to be changing in their behavior towards us, in one case or two seeming to regard us as a good source of protein.
None of that was on my mind when I decided one morning to walk down from the top of Mount Abel (courtesy of a lift from Sonia) to Mesa Springs to see if I could find the petroglyphs, and then back up the mountain for a night on Sawmill. Depositing a gallon of water at the top of the mountain, I made my way down the south side of Abel, passing through the Jeffrey pine belt, then through a delightful alpine meadow, and next through the pinyon forest at the base of the mountain, continuing down all the way to the open Mesa itself, thinking to find the outcropping where the petroglyphs can be found. Two promising candidates proved to be false leads, as I sweated my way up the mountain towards formations that I figured any self-respecting Chumash would want to use for some rock art. No dice. But just as I had decided to give up and make my way back up to the top of Abel. I spotted yet one more promising formation, and sure enough, three was the charm. For those of you who have visited this site, you know how well worth the visit it is. Somehow, these petroglyphs have a wilder feel to them than those one can see in the Carrizo Plain, and to see them alone, with no one around for miles (it)s a tough hike to get to this site) made the sight even more special.
This mission accomplished, I set out on the long uphill return, back to my water cache and on to the summit of Sawmill. Sawmill Mountain, on the way between Cerro Noroeste and Mt. Pinos, is a dazzling site for an overnight stay, tentless beneath the stars, with the southern San Joaquin Valley sparkling out to Bakersfield and all PMC at your feet. It is also a very difficult place to find a level open space for a sleeping bag. This I finally found, with room for just one, and passed a pleasant night under the stars, only to be greeted at dawn by a sight even more impressive than petroglyphs or even condors: my mountain lion and cub.
These things just happen, you know. One minute I was munching a breakfast bar and the next, I found myself staring at the gorgeous golden head of a mountain lion, who was watching me intently from a distance of about fifty yards. As I reported the exciting news to Sonia, a spotted cub, speckled like a fawn, suddenly bounded out of the rabbit brush about thirty yards from me, back towards mom. I suppose that if it had decided for an even closer look at me I wouldn't be telling you this story now, but the tale has a happy ending. Mom and kitten gave me one last look and majestically (this is the only word) vanished into the brush. A few minutes later, a deer completed the tableau by bounding away to the east (exactly the opposite direction from the lions), and, with my bottle of water running out it was time for me to return home.
And as I now think of it, maybe I should contact Discover Magazine and tell them that their tales of mountain-lion-devoured joggers just might be a bit too alarmist. Well, one can)t be certain, of course, but I am certain that the mountain lions belong just where they are, and it is up to us visitors to their realm to be careful when we tread there. Who knows, in another lifetime or so I may be lucky enough to see the same sight again.
From the Flyer for June/August 2002:
Harry Nelson as an accomplished journalist just took it upon himself to look up the history of some of the names of places arouind here. Here is the story of his findings about just one outstanding geographical landmark in our area.
There has been considerable discussion over the years concerning the name of the range of mountains along the north side of Mil Potrero highway from I-5 on the east to Highway 33 on the west. This range includes Tecuya Ridge and San Emigdio Mountain. Some people refer to the mountains as the Transverse Range. Others look at it as a natural extension of the Tehachapi Mountains, which lie on the east side of I-5. San Emigdio Mountain (singular) has been so named on all federal maps since 1903, although it was often spelled San Emidio on non-federal maps.
In March of 1973 the U.S. Department of Interior recommended that the entire 34-mile range from I-5 to Highway 33 be named San Emigdio Mountains. A few months later the Kern County Planning Commission approved the recommendation but spelled it San Emidio. The commission used the Americanized spelling on grounds that while the original Spanish grant in 1823 or 1824 was named San Emigdio, the 1866 U.S. patented claim referred to San Emidio. Shortly afterwards, at the request of both the California and the U.S. agencies responsible for geographical names, the Kern County Board of Supervisors agreed to the older spelling. The board said this was because of "a longstanding policy of both the state and federal committees to adopt the original historic spelling on proposed names in the case of conflicting preferences."
But the issue of what to call the range did not end there. In 1988 a mapmaker from the U.S. Geological Survey recommended the name San Emigdio Mountains be removed from federal maps but made no mention of changing the name of the mountain. His reasoning was that the name San Emigdio was not being used locally to define the entire range. He said one local resident said he recalled seeing a reference to the range as referring generally to all the transverse mountains between the Coast Range and the Tehachapis. Another resident, standing in the southern foothills of the San Joaquin Valley and pointing south, said the range was "over there." However, all other residents interviewed said they had never heard of the San Emigdio Mountains. One problem was that in its 1973 decision the Department of Interior had made no mention of the range)s southern border. For example, one might ask whether Frazier Mountain, Mt. Pinos, Sawmill and Cerro Noroeste call south of the main ridgecwere also a part of the San Emigdio range. It was concluded that San Emigdio is not a term that brings up a conceptual group of mountains and the name should not appear on maps.
USGS referred the mapmaker)s recommendation to the U.S. Board on Geographical Names for review. According to the Board, however, the review never occurred, or if it did, the Board has not been able to locate a record of its conclusion, according to a spokesman. So, for the time being at least, San Emigdio Mountains remains official. If you want to play mapmaker, you can include Mt. Pinos and the other peaks to the south of Pine Mountain Club. But you may be on shaky ground.
San Emigdio is named after a rancho at Mission Santa Barbara. Saint Emigdius was a German martyr who became the saint evoked against earthquakes. According to the Kern County Planning Commission, the name was given by Father JosÈ MarÌa Zalvidea, a missionary from Santa Barbara, not because of its proximity to the San Andreas Fault but because Father Zalvidea camped there on August 5, 1806, the day of St. Emigdius.
In the Spanish-Mexican and early American days until the 1860s, San Emigdio Creek was the route of the Camino Viejo (Old Road) which was the only passage through the mountains into the San Joaquin Valley for people and goods travelling north into the valley from Los Angeles. Old maps show a branch of the road breaking off as it enters the canyon at a point about where Yellowstone Drive is today, heading westward through present-day Pine Mountain Club and appearing to end at approximately Apache Saddle. Exactly when that branch was lengthened all the way to present-day Highway 33 is not clear. That portion of the road may long have been a Chumash or game trail that gradually became a road during the late 1800s or early 1900s. The road from it to the top of Cerro Noroeste was constructed in the early 1930s.
The original story added several more names to be explored. How about it, Harry? Will you do a little more research in the future for all of us?
From the Flyer for Dec 02/Feb 03
It is special when one of the members of our Condor Group also has a large fund of training and expertise on matters pertaining to the environment. Lynn is an outstanding example, and we have frequently benefitted from his words at group meetings. Here he addresses an important question that affects our immediate area as well as nature in general. The intention here was to begin a series of articles dealing with questions folks ask about the natural environment. We have continued with such pieces to some extent, but if you want to see more about certain topics in the Flyer, just let us know and we will do our best to oblige. Here is to more such pieces in the future, including from Lynn himself. How about the birds of our area, Lynn?
Ecology is the branch of biology dealing with the relationships between living things and their environment. The concept of ecosystem is the tool used by ecologists to study the community of all the organisms living within it, along with their physical environment. Since a mountain forest or a desert may cover a huge area, for managability and convenience, ecologists study smaller units such as a meadow or hillside within a larger area.
In a healthy ecosystem, organisms interact with each other and their physical environment, influencing each other)s lives and evolution. Nutrients that allow growth and change in organisms are recycled over and over and may flow through adjacent ecosystems also. A continuous input of energy, primarily from the sun, is required. Elements within the system may change: a tree dies, shifts in populations of animals may occur, but the basic structure continues and is sustainable.
Ecologists tend to categorize the organisms in an ecosystem as producers, consumers, and decomposers. Producers are primarily plants and some bacteria and single-celled organisms having chlorophyll or other photosynthetic molecules which capture and store outside energy (mostly sunlight) as food. All other living things are dependent on producers. Consumers are organisms, primarily animals, which take advantage of this stored organic energy for their own needs by either eating plants, or eating animals that eat plants. Finally, there is a large group of creatures that break down the remains, or detritus, of other organisms. These are the decomposers, which include bacteria, fungi, and many microorganisms. The products of decay from decomposers are, in turn, used by green plants to carry on more photosynthesis. In this way, matter in nature is recycled, and balance is established and maintained in the cycle of life.
Most ecosystems are only partially understood. They are complex, have developed through vast amounts of time, and are continually evolving. Natural ecosystems do not need to be managed by people. They need to be left alone in order to function fully. What manages ecosystems is evolution of organisms through time in response to competitive and predatory pressure from each other and to changes in environmental conditions, such as climatic shifts and changes in landforms.
This is where the human animal comes into the picture. There is considerable evidence that for many thousands of years, our species maintained relatively constant numbers, and occupied fairly static relationships with nature. However, in the last few thousand years, that balance has changed as we humans have created ever larger and intrusive human-centered ecosystems, everything from aquaria to farms, and even space stations! In the process we have learned to enslave many species of plants and animals and have changed their identities through breeding programs. We have developed elaborate tools, harnessed immense sources of energy, altered courses of rivers, even changed weather patterns. We are using up existing resources without clear notions of replacement, and without clear notions of what else to use up when we have consumed them. We have vastly speeded up the migration rates of different forms of life throughout the regions of the world. And, at present, we are producing these changes at an ever-accelerating rate. The last two hundred years have seen the greatest impact of humans in all the thousands of years of our existence. Thus, we are not in balance with nature and are putting our species in the position of being self-destructing. We are destroying the patterns of nature which provide the water and air on which our very lives depend. And we are destroying the ecosystems within which many other organisms function.
What is there to be done? A good beginning is to educate ourselves as to the functioning of the natural world. Consider actions and projects being proposed in our own locale, in the state, and in the nation in terms of their impacts on the natural world as well as on the human-created world. Take further time and effort to ask questions and express opinions based on your studies to those who make the decisions as to how things are to be done, whether it is the president of the United States or your spouse!
An excellent source of ecological information for California, which is so unique in so many ways, is Allen A. Schoenherr)s A NATURAL HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, No. 56 in the California Natural History Guides, published by the University of California Press, 1992. With a basic introduction to the study of California ecology, one can read on to specific geographic and ecological areas of the state. Well written, well organized, it is a book for the layman to adventure into a fuller understanding of the natural world of California, and of some of the changes caused by modern humans.
You never knowcthe story of another wildland encounter.
From the Flyer for Dec 02/Feb 03
The remembrance of experiences like this one are treasures that cannot be taken from youcand for some they are worth more than any gold to be offered. The possibility of such encounters is one of the precious advantages of living in our mountain area.
It was a lovely summer morning. No heat yet. The trail was shady but the time was past for the creek to be running for the "rainy season" was long over. The last remnants of blooming flowers found in the woods were scattered here and there.
The walker was not in a hurry. Just a casual stroll up to a favorite, familar place was all that was in mind. But then something very unfamilar for that spot occurred.
Something else was following the path, just ahead of the walker. First glance made the walker think, dog? A second look and there was no doubt. It was a coyote, just ambling along, or so it seemed.
Nobody was in a hurry, the walker or the coyote. The coyote did not seem agitated that this human was on its tail, the human was not anxious about the presence of the coyote, rather just delighted to have this wild creature be so apparently unafraid of the follower.
Then it happened. The coyote disappeared out of sight around a corner of the trail. A huge fir tree blocked the trail ahead from the view of the walker. When the walker came around the fir, there was the coyote not scurrying up the trail but lying flat on the ground, not seeming to move at all. It was stretched out like a dog might lie in front of the fire on a cold winter)s night.
All kinds of thoughts ran through the walker)s mind. What had happened? Had the coyote really died? Had the coyote been poisoned? Had the coyote . . .?
The coyote suddenly, with obviously great effort, raised its head, its eyes looking directly at the walker. Such a look, a look never to be forgotten. A look of pleading? A look of sorrow? A look of pure exhaustion? The coyote held its head up for just a few moments. Then it sagged down, trembling, once more lying flat on the ground.
What to do? The walker stepped back ten feet, not wanting to be thought of as a threat but wanting to observe the animal still stretched out on the ground. There was no further movement. But after seeing that sign of life, the walker decided that the only thing to do was to leave this wild animal as it was and go back down the trail.
The walker decided to come back up the trail in about three hours to see how the coyote was faring.
After half an hour the return trip could not be resisted. The walker started up the trail again, very slowly, very quietly, looking everywhere, trying to make sure the animal had not moved off to either side of the trail.
When the sighting spot had been reached, it brought a sigh of relief to the walker. The coyote was gone.
The hope was that the animal had recovered from what ever had floored himcthirst, being chased by dogs, chasing a prey for his day)s meal, whatever. The answer to this animal)s fate can never really be known, but the optimistic view seems to indicate that that coyote is once more roaming in the mountains, his home and ours.
The walker had never experienced such an encounter in the woods before. It will never be forgottenca wild animal and a "civilized" human being sharing such a strong feeling of empathy and trust in each other and then each going back to being a part of the world from which each had come.
From the Flyer for Sept./Nov. 2003
This is one report of the classic annual Peak to Peak hike that the Condor Group has sponsored over the years. Each trip is the same in the route to be traversed, between Mt. Pinos and Cerro Noroeste, but each is distinctive. The direction taken (west or east), the folks that come along, the weather of the year and the day, and what has happened in the natural world you travel through all provide a different picture in the minds of the hikers. Join us again for this year)s expedition!
Hike leaders Dale Chitwood and Ches Arthur were getting concerned. The deadline for participation on this annual premier July hike of the group had so few people signed up that there was consideration of cancelation. And then the phones started ringing, e-mails zinged thru to frazmtn. com. The great day arrived and a contingent of twenty-seven was ready to take on the challenge of hiking from Mt. Pinos to Cerro Noroeste, a good up and down hike of approximately 8 miles. Included were both many-year veterans of the route and first-timers. Armed with lunches and water (in various quantities, some amazing) in their backpacks, the hikers swung out from the parking lot at Chula Vista.
As the group proceeded it found the air bracing, the weather fine, the views spectacularcall things you can usually count on at that altitude (nearly 9000 ft). Normally late July along the high route also overwhelms the passerby with large displays of wildflowers long faded at lower altitudes, as well as many highland specialties such as the monochrome whitish purple mariposa lily and the miniature mat lupine. In this exceptionally good year for wildflowers in our whole area, it seems that the Pinos to Cerro Noroeste flowers must have bloomed early, for they were mainly gone, with only individual specimens here and there to admire. Eventually all the highland flowers were seen somewhere or other, though. And one veteran remarked that he had never seen the needles on the highland pines and firs so green and fresh.
Through the 1990s the hike usually proceeded from east to west; a few years ago that was reversed, partly because that way the spectacular knob on Sawmill Mountain comes at an ideal time for a lunch gathering, and some felt that the final steep climb on the west slope of Cerro Noroeste, lacking a single switchback, was a killer. This year the group once again went east to west, and some of the veterans felt that their memories had magnified the horrors of the Cerro Noroeste climb, which seemed to have become easier somehow, and was negotiated successfully by all.
It has long been a tradition to meet the hikers at the far end of the trail. Arrival time is never quite certain, so cars started to go up the Cerro Noroeste road to the trailhead around 11:30. One club member had most thoughtfully prepared cool drinks for those on the trail and set up her juices and cups on a nearby rock (thanks so, Candy). There was lots of chatter and much looking down the mountain side along the trail, watching for the hikers. Had everything gone okay on the trail? Guesses as to who might appear first were offered.
Not that this hike is race of any kind, but it is hard to resist making predictions to pass the waiting time. One rather nervous grandmother wondered if she would see her nine-year old grandson being carried on the back of his grandad and then cThere was a speck moving up the hill. Who could that be? Man or woman? Or was it just in our imaginations? In a short time we all knewca woman! Name? Dorothy Vokolek. Cheers went up for her. She kept saying, "but I started off from the last rest early," attempting not to claim championship status as the first to appear.
More watching: Who would be next? Two more spots appeared, one much shorter than the other. The nervous grandmother was tentatively relieved but wanted more assurance. Could it really be the Grandad and Grandson team approaching? Goodness yes, and the smaller spot was doing well under his own steam. Grandmother, somewhat prepared for the occasion, whipped out a little banner proclaiming "You made it!" Grandson was pleased to be so acknowledged. The two also said they had left the last rest stop early.*
Happy hikers continued to trickle in, triumphant (but maybe panting a bit) that they had made one of the most rewarding hikes in the area, and cheered on by a rooting section including families and friends. And so the Annual Peak to Peak hike ended most satisfactorily, amid spoken and unspoken appreciation that these forestlands had been protected by the USFS and Sierra Club activists for the enjoyment of all who care for the great out of doors.
*Please note, the early departers were given permission by the hike leaders, one of Sierra Club hiking regs.
From same:
Greetings to our former Chair, Ches Arthur...
We send best wishes to Ches, our chairperson for over 8 years. Moved back to his Kentucky roots, Ches said he was going to be a starter of a Sierra Club group in the area of his new home and enjoy once again some of the beautiful areas he knew growing up.
Here we are all very grateful for his leadership over these last seven years or so, taking care of everything from scheduling our meeting rooms to participating in developing and writing comments on our local issues. He was always a gracious MC for our group meetings. All of his work was recognized by the Kern Kaweah Chapter this spring when he was awarded the CUP, the highest honor of the Chapter.
Happy Trails, Ches, and we hope your new trails may some day lead you back our way. And don't forget your new challenge....change that red state to blue.
And everybody let see if we can help with making one of Ches' favorite challenge come true....restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley to its former state of beauty. Read below what Ches wrote for his From the Chair column in the Sept./Nov. 2003 issue of the Flyer.
From the Chair: HETCH HETCHY yet another challenge
I think we all have our own personal connection with this place-name. Mine was a visit with my family to Yosemite some thirty years ago. After experiencing the awe of Yosemite Valley, the panoramic hikes and the grandeur of El Capitan and Half Dome, we took a drive to Tuolome Meadows. Upon returning, we took a side road and ended up in what we came to know was Hetch Hetchy, the destination of the Tuolome River.
Knowing nothing about what it was or how it came to be, the view from the dam to the far off waterfall had an overwhelming effect. Here was a valley rivaling the beauty of Yosemite but tragically marred by this dam and the large mud rim lining the reservoir. For the first time in my life I understood the motivation for eco-terrorism, vowing to help in some way to right this horrendous wrong.
Hetch Hetchy, even then in the protected National Park system, was dammed in 1913 amid substantial public outcry. The project was completed in 1923. The whole endeavor is said to have driven John Muir to an early grave.
Now we all know the difficulty inherent in removing Federal dams, but there is a distinct knocking at the door of opportunity. The Bay Area is currently in the throes of seeking approval for funding a massive update of the infrastructure of their water systems. This effort has earmarked several hundreds of millions of dollars to shoring up, you guessed it, none other than Hetch Hetchy. This is a distant twelfth in the size order of their reservoirs.
Now we all know of the stories of the "loving to death" of Yosemite and how its uniqueness is about to be lost. Don)t you think the monies earmarked for Hetch Hetchy could better be spent blowing up the dam and restoring it to its original beauty? Well so do I! Isn)t this also the best way to ease the burden on Yosemite Valley? An organization to do just that has been formed. Its website is "www.restorehetch hetchy.org". Give it a visit and let)s all do what we can to make this happen. Happy trails, Ches
Keeping you up to date
Congratulations to Tom Kuekes, our local National Forest District Ranger. He has been chosen California National Forest Ranger of the Year, a honor richly deserved.
Lynn Stafford and Mary Ann Lockhart have been appointed co-chairs to serve the rest of this year.
Proponents of Centennial will be going back to the drawing board to do more than considerable revising of their draft EIR.
The suit in regard to the water extraction proposal for the Gorman Hills will be heard in August.
Gorman Post Road Wildfllower Preserve...that is a proposal that has inspired much interest. The possibilities are being explored by several persons, including some in our group.Want to help? Call Karen Cotter, ll
