Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385-3357
(661) 323-5569
E-mail: kern-kaweah.chapter@sierraclub.org
Cover Photo by Andy Honig
Every Thursday Evening Conditioning Hike. 4-5 miles in northeast Bakersfield area. Meet at 7 pm at the Casa Ramos (formerly Cadillac Ranch) parking lot just east of Mesa Marin on Hwy 178. Call Leaders Eva & Gordon Nipp (661) 872-2432 or Larry Wailes, (661) 873-8060 for details.
Jan. 15 (Sat) Climb Slate and Searles Peaks, seldomly visited summits in the Slate Range. An 8 mile round trip, cross country hike to the 5093 ft summit of Searles Pk, with 2600 ft gain. Ridgecrest hikers meet at Cal Trans Park & Ride, at East Ridgecrest Blvd and Richmond Rd. at 7:30 am. Others call Don; 760-375-8599 or Dennis; 769-375-7967.
Jan 15-16 (Sat-Sun) Montana De Oro State Park Car camping and hiking in a beautiful ocean park. Hiking in the hills above the ocean, tide pool exploring, birding, and enjoying the sunsets. Sat.night potluck dinner - bring food to share. May extend camping to Mon. if interested. Information call Theresa 559-781-0594.
Jan. 17 (Mon) Owens Peak Group Monthly Meeting. Ted Schade of the Great Basin Air Pollution Control District will speak about the Owens Lake dust problem. Meet at Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores. 7:30 pm, Ridgecrest. Call Dennis at 760-375-7967 or Jeanie at 760-375-8973 for details.
Jan 22 (Sat) Keyesville Gorge Trail with the Kern River Valley Hiking Club. Follow this easy-to-moderate trail, which has a few short, steep ascents, as it winds below highways 178 and 155 and snuggles up to the Kern River. Below the dam and just west of the town of Lake Isabella. 4.5 RT. Leave Isabella Park at 9:00 a.m.
Jan 28-30 (Fri - Sun) X-C Ski Tour in Sequoia Natl Forest. Intermediate or better X-C skiers come join us for a weekend of day skiing on meadows, mountains, and roads at "The Ponderosa" in Sequoia National Forest above Porterville. 6-8 mi RT, 800 - 1000 ft. gain. Fri night (optional) and Sat night sleeping accommodations will be at the leader's cabin at Camp Nelson. Includes 2 breakfasts and 1 dinner. Group size limited. Send 2 lg (4 x 9) SASE, resume of recent skiing experience, H & W phones, rideshare data, and 2 checks (payable OCSS) for $20 (refundable at trailhead) and $35 (non-refundable to RESERV/ASST: Paulette Landers, 2740 Pine Creek Circle; Fullerton, CA 92835. E-Mail: cavebear2@aol.com
Feb 5 (Sat) Dump Loop Hike with the Kern River Valley Hiking Club. Easy. Will circle the county dump via roads, and then on a moderately steep, 1 mile jeep road we will climb to the site of a gold mine and a functional relay station. Some will hike farther up to the nearby 3726 ft. peak for great views. 800 ft el. gain. Meet at the turnoff to the county dump, west of the river, 4.0 miles south of Kernville on Sierra Way. Leave at 9:00 a.m.
Feb 11-13 (Fri - Sun) X-C Ski Tour in Sequoia Natl Forest. See Jan 28-30 for description.
Feb. 19 (Sat) A leisurely hike in the southern Coso Mountains, with spectacular views in another seldom visited area. An easy 2.5 mile cross-country hike with 900 ft gain. Two easy summits with 360 degree views over the spectacular volcanic Coso lands, he Coso Geothermal plant, Rose Valley, and the Sierra front. Ending with a side trip to the impressive pictographs, with a Shaman or two, at Ayers Rock. Meet at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7:30 am. For info, call: Don; 760-375-8599 or Dennis; 760-375-7967.
Feb 20 (Mon) Owens Peak Group Monthly Meeting. Dolph Amster will give an illustrated talk about his recent trip to Asia. Meet at Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores. 7:30 p.m. Ridgecrest. Call Dennis at 760-375-7967 or Jeanie at 760-375-8973 for details.
Feb 26 (Sat) Pinnacles National Monument. 7 mile loop through caves and over the high peaks of the mountains near Hollister. Moderate to strenuous. Stacey Chicoine 559-734-8830
Mar 18-19 (Sat-Sun) Kern River Preserve near Kernville. Car camping and hiking in the scenic beauty of Kern Valley. Bob Barnes will lead hikes exploring the South Fork area, the largest riparian forest in California. Bring food to share for Sat. night potluck dinner. Information call Bob Barnes at 760-378-3044 or E-mail bbarnes@lightspeed.net. or call Theresa, 559-781-0594.
Apr 1 (Sat) Sequoia National Park. Marble Falls is a lower elevation, moderate, all-day hike. This should prove to be a great day for wildflowers and rushing water. The falls are on a white marble bed with interesting formations carved out of the rocks. Stacey Chicoine (559) 734-8830
Apr 22 (Sat). Annual Kern-Kaweah Chapter Banquet. Note change from usual March date.
Condor Group Activities. For the year 2000, The Condor Group's potlucks will be on the 1st Saturdays, every other month, the hikes on the 4th Saturdays every month. This schedule is due to conflict with PMC group activities, such as the tennis club.
For complete list of CNRCC desert outings go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/nv/rolgroup/text/desert.html
Happy New Year! I hope you and your family and friends are looking forward to peace, prosperity and happiness in the coming year.
As we enter the new millennium now or next January, depending on which interpretation you wish to follow, we Sierra Club members will continue to have an ever increasing role in influencing the quality of life for ourselves and our posterity. Read your Sierra Magazine and stay up on issues so that you will know what kind of leadership this new millennium requires. The ballot box and our countless letters and comments are the source of our strength and influence, and our outings and special events are what bring us together to share our common objectives and values.
Recently, the Sierra Club actively opposed the World Trade Organization's effort to have a new round of trade negotiations. In Seattle, Washington, the Club coalesced with many organizations and individuals from all over the world to successfully frustrate the WTO in that endeavor. The Club's position is that trade is healthy and beneficial only if human rights, health and justice along with environmental protection are factors on the table during trade negotiations. The WTO was not prepared to include these matters and thus ended their meeting. It is hoped the next meeting of the WTO will address these issues.
March 2000, Proposition 12: The Neighborhood Park Bond initiative will be on the ballot. If passed, the bonds will provide funds to enhance and restore nature within our cities and suburbs. The Club supports this initiative. Our communities will benefit.
Earth Day 2000 will be celebrated on April 22, 2000. Save the date on your calendar. It is a Saturday, and we will hold our annual dinner meeting in celebration of Earth Day and John Muir's birthday. The fact that this will be our first annual meeting in the year 2000 gives this meeting an additional reason for celebration. If you are a Sierra Club member in the Kern Kaweah Chapter, please plan to attend. Invite your family and friends as well. More detail will follow as we get closer to the date.
Yosemite National Park was the result of John Muir's crusade for our first National Park, and on his way to that end, he founded the Sierra Club. As a child, some 50 years ago, I was a visitor to the Park, and I have re-visited often during the intervening years. Much seems the same as always. The vistas, the overwhelming visual impact and the awesome beauty is intact, but there are worrisome problems. My worst nightmare is a scenario of high rise apartment buildings on the valley floor, with Wal-Mart and Home Depot anchoring a mall in the meadows. The valley becomes a parking lot, and wild animals are eliminated as they are regarded as pests or threats to safety. The Merced River is polluted, and the smog obliterates the scenery. When I wake, I am glad there is a Sierra Club to see that this nightmare never becomes a reality.
- Glenn Shellcross
Paul Gipe has worked with wind energy for more than two decades and is a member of the Sierra Club's national energy committee; was a registered lobbyist for the Sierra Club's Pennsylvania Chapter in the early 1980s; has previously served on the Kern-Kaweah Ex-Com.
Monte Harper has been Sierra Club member for over 30 years; has served on the Executive Committee as Treasurer; activities include attending numerous meetings, writing letters, visiting legislators, walking precincts in support of candidates and issues, recruiting new members, and speaking out at public meetings; recipient of the Chapter's Sierra Club Cup.
Mary Ann Lockhart is a member of the Condor Group which is active in the Frazier Park /Pine Mountain Club area; has served two years on the Ex-Com of the Kern Kaweah Chapter.
Glenn Shellcross currently is Chairperson of the Kern-Kaweah Chapter Ex-Com; plans to work on recruitment of new members and expansion of local groups within the Chapter.
Arthur Unger has served four years on the Chapter Ex-Com; has held most Chapter offices and worked on recruitment of Chapter activists; has received 3 Chapter awards including Sierra Club Cup.
Sierra Club Council
Lorraine Unger - The Council advises the national Board regarding internal matters that relate to club entities, e.g. forming new chapters, funding for chapters, etc.; has been either a chapter regional conservation delegate or alternate for the last twelve years and served on the Ex Com of the Chapter for eight years.
Please save your Sierra and similar magazines. Bring them to any Group or Chapter event and they will be saved in order to be given to folks at one of the many fair booths our members serve at each year.
Bonnie East, her son, Tony Robles, age 13, and Lorraine and Arthur Unger manned a Sierra Club booth at the "Christmas on Lakeview" celebration in southeast Bakersfield. We gave children Sierra Club postcards and buttons after talking to them about what the Sierra Club stands for. We handed out previously read environmental magazines to both adults and children for their reading and viewing pleasure.
Small children also made Sierra Club sun shields (visors), which went very fast. As a result, Lorraine Unger, who piloted this mini activity, has mentioned that she needs to get more of these shields printed. If any one can donate light-green colored cardstock as well as access to printing, the Chapter could have a nice supply of these shields on hand for future booths. Children who color, cut out and wear the sun visors not only advertise the Sierra Club to our community but by taking an active role in making them, may recall just what the Sierra Club is.
To have fun at a future booth, please call 661-323-5569.
There are two efforts moving ahead right now to protect wild areas on our public lands in California. One is the Wildlands 2000 Project and the other is the President's Roadless Area Proposal.
The Wildlands 2000 Project has been under way for about two years. A coalition of California environmental organizations has a goal of getting all roadless areas on our state public lands which qualify for Wilderness designation added to the Wilderness System. The first phase is nearly completed. Volunteers have been out on the ground accurately mapping these areas, taking photographs, and making field notes. The field work in Sequoia National Forest has been completed and this winter we will be busy compiling the information into organized reports that will include maps, photographs, and narrative descriptions. In addition we have some proposals for Wilderness designations inside of Sequoia National Park and on Bureau of Land Management areas. There will be several hundred thousand acres of land in the Kern-Kaweah area alone.
Statewide we expect to have several million acres of roadless areas in our inventory. We hope to have the information gathering phase finished by the end of 2000 so that we can go to Congress in 2001 to ask for legislation to be introduced that will add these areas to the Wilderness System.
More recently President Clinton has proposed protecting roadless areas in the National Forest System. His proposal would protect some 40 million acres nationwide and include all roadless areas over 5000 acres. Roadless areas in Sequoia National Forest alone amount to about 350,000 acres. We are asking Mr. Clinton to include all roadless areas down to 1000 acres in size and the roadless areas in Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Our request would protect about 60 million acres. If successful, this will be the single biggest action to protect the nation's forests since President Teddy Roosevelt created the National Forest System nearly 100 years ago.
Of course, how those areas are managed will determine if they are truly protected. We are asking that the roadless areas be managed to protect their naturally occurring ecosystems. In Sequoia National Forest giant sequoia groves, wildlife habitat for forest carnivores and California Spotted Owls, among others, must be protected. We are asking that no roads be built, no off-road vehicles be allowed and that no logging occur in the roadless areas.
Meetings will be organized in 2000 by the Forest Service to get public input. A Draft Environmental Statement will be published in the Spring with a final document and a decision by the President by the end of next year. The President has the authority to make the decision but he must know that he has public support to make the strongest decision possible. This is an opportunity for a giant step forward for protection of our public lands. The active support of all Sierra Club members is needed to make sure the President's Roadless Area proposal is successful.
We need your help. Please call any member of the Chapter Executive Committee or Joe Fontaine at 661-821-2055 to find out how you can help with both of these projects. Help us make sure the opportunity of a lifetime does not slip through our fingers.
- Joe Fontaine - Sequoia Task force
We wish to thank Chapter members who attended Roadless Area EIS Notice of Intent meetings. It is activists like these who enable us to accomplish our environmental goals. Those attending the Porterville meeting on December 14, 1999 were Joe and Bugs Fontaine, Arthur and Lorraine Unger, Monte Harper, Glenn Shellcross, and Gordon Nipp. Attending the Lake Isabella meeting December, 15, 1999 were Ara Marderosian, Charlene Little, Chris Quinnert and Debbie Dishington.
The Merced River Plan (MRP) has been anticipated for some time. Many are waiting to see what plans are being made to protect Yosemite and the Merced River for the future. Yosemite is currently so burdened by the volume of visitors and their cars and their impacts upon the Park, that some hard choices have to be made to protect the Park while retaining the opportunity for people to experience it. A meeting is scheduled in several locations around the state to unveil the plan. ( For dates & locations go to http://california.sierraclub.org/yosemite
The Bakersfield meeting date & location is:
February 1, Tuesday
Sheraton Four Points Hotel
5101 California Ave.
4:00-9:30pm
* Public Comment Period: Jan. 7 - March 7.
* To receive the Draft MRP: e-mail
YOSE_planning@nps.gov or write Yosemite Planning, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389. Ask for the Draft MRP - it will be a large document.
* To get on the Yosemite Update/Alert List or to help, contact Joyce Eden at yojo@batnet.com or 408-973-1085 or Glenn Shellcross, Chapter Chair, 661-832-3382; e-mail: shellcrossg@earthlink.net.
Be sure to attend the California Wilderness Conference 2000, May 5-7, 2000 at California State University Sacramento. Keynote speakers, including Dave Foreman, Gary Snyder, Barbara Boyle, Jim Eaton and Doug Scott, will inspire us. Workshops on wilderness, rivers, organizing, and media will empower us. Entertainment, art and displays will invigorate us.
David R. Brower says, "The early California Wilderness Conferences helped protect untold thousands of wild acres, overcoming the opposition of every private interest group imaginable."
People who had been wilderness spectators became wilderness activists.
But there is still much more to do. We have more roadless acres that need to stay that way under permanent protection of the Wilderness Act.
We have a new mission too - "rewilding" the places that can be restored to health, letting nature be the doctor.
The California Wilderness Conference 2000 will bring us and wildlands together. See you there!
To volunteer and for registration information contact Bob Schneider, 530-304-6215, verve@dcn.davis.ca.us or CWC, 530-758-0380, info@calwild.org.
The Natural Resources Defense Council has decided to petition President Clinton to create a 400,000 acre Giant Sequoia National Monument that would include all Giant Sequoia trees and their surrounding watersheds now in U.S. Forest Service hands.
You can help in this effort, by signing an electronically faxed letter to President Clinton to this regard, by going to the NRDC "Save Wild California" web address for "Giant Sequoia - ACTION", http://www.nrdc.org/wildcalifornia/seqact.html, Please pass this message on to others interested in saving Giant Sequoias for future generations.
- Ara Marderosian, Sequoia Forest Alliance, P.O. Box 988,Weldon, CA 93283-0988; phone, 760-378-4574; sfa@lightspeed.net.
Bonds of affection and respect between human beings and domestic animals are age-old, and probably even precede written history. However, it is only lately that our interest and empathy have extended to wildlife , not just to our own native species but also to creatures of every element and clime the world around. Clearly much concern has been generated by scientists whose objectives are derived from their understanding of the connection between human and animal welfare. But it is sometimes surprising to see how far that awareness has spread throughout the general population and into the lives of children. We can be grateful for the efforts of science teachers, programmers of children's television, authors of juvenile literature and conscientious parents whose minds embrace the whole world their children must grow up in.
But credit must be given, as well, to the hearts of children. During a recent family visit I was approached by my two-year-old grandniece and namesake, Annie Williams, with a request that I open for her the sliding glass door to the back patio. "I wanna see my cat," she said. I opened the door and ushered her out, then turned to finish a kitchen task. When I went back to the window by the door and looked out, Annie and her cat, Sidney, sat side-by-side on a step gazing out over the back garden. Our baby had her right arm around the cat, while with her left hand she finished a cracker. Then she brought her left arm around to complete the embrace, drew Sidney even closer and, with great tenderness, kissed the top of his head. The two continued in mutual peace and enjoyment for some time.
At such a moment one feels a rush of genetic pride and a flood of memories. My father was known for his gentleness with animals, and for rather an unusual affinity with them. Once, at a small zoo in Vera Cruz, Mexico, I saw him hold silent communion with a caged monkey. He and the monkey regarded each other for awhile, and then the monkey reached out and drew a pen from Dad's shirt pocket. The creature turned the pen over and studied it, then handed it back. Next he reached for my father's hand and turned it palm up, studying it, too. Finally, Dad took the monkey's hand and turned it palm up also, regarding it with an interest just as grave and respectful. We moved on, but my impression never did. In his great-grandchild I saw that same remarkable affinity, and felt a new hope for the world.
© Ann Williams, 2000
Officers and Committee Chairpeople
Executive Committee (All but noted codes are 661)
Chair: Glenn Shellcross, 832-3382; VC: Neil Fernbaugh, 559-798-0343; Sec: Bonnie East, 832-9775; Treas: Mel Rubin 831-3333; At Large: Arthur Unger, Ara Maderosian, Mary Ann Lockhart; Richard Garcia, Gordon Nipp.
RCC Delegates: Bonnie East, Glenn Shellcross;
Alternates: Neil Fernbaugh, Lorraine Unger
Committee Chairpeople: Membership: Lorraine Unger, 323-5569; Political Committee Ch: Harry Love; S.C.Cncl Rep: Arthur Unger; Outings: Theresa Stump, 559-781-0594.
Kaweah Group (Porterville, area code 559)
Chair: Theresa Stump, 781-0594; VC: Diane Jetter; Conservation: Carla Cloer; Outings: Jim Clark
Mineral King Group: (Visalia & Hanford, 559)
Chair: Neil Fernbaugh, 798-0343; V.C. & Outings: Brian Newton,627-3571; Secretary: Nina Stone, Conservation: Mary Moy; Treasurer: Janet Wood, Membership: Patty Booth; Environmental Ed & Webmaster; Harold Wood; Fundraising: Richard Garcia; Social: Bev Garcia
Owens Peak Group (Desert Area Code 760)
Chair: Dennis Burge, 375-7967; V.C.: Steve Smith; Conservation: Jeanie Haye; Treasurer: Dolph Amster; At Large: Dororthy Vokolek; Outings: Don Peterson, 375-8599
Condor Group (Frazier Park & Pine Mountain)
Chair: Chester Arthur; Mbrship: Barbara Matthews; Outings: Ray Albridge & Harry Nelson; Conservation: Kevin Royle; Hospitality: Elsbeth Feldman; Publicity; Karen Cotter: Treas: Jean & Ed Rustvold; Ast Treas: M Albridge; Newsletter: Mary Ann Lockhart; At Large: Marta Bigler
Editor: Andy Honig (661) 325-0026. Contributions of news, articles, press releases, opinion, art and photographs (black & white), letters to the editor, should be sent to: andym@lightspeed.net.
Want to submit an article for the Road Runner or express opinions?
Suggested length: 650 words or less. Thats
about a column or 2 12 pages double spaced.)
Deadline: 15th
of the month BEFORE desired month of publication-mail
Copyrighted articles, graphics and photos can only be reprinted with the owners permission.
Published 12 times per year by the Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra Club, Bakersfield, CA. All non-copyrighted material printed in the Roadrunner may be reprinted in any Sierra Club publications with acknowledgement.
The Kern-Kaweah Chapter newsletter is available at the Sierra Club website. You can save the Chapter mailing costs and save a tree by notifying us if you want your paper copy discontinued. Please e-mail Lorraine Unger at alunger@juno.com with your name and your membership number (found on the label). Any one who wants an extra hard copy anytime call (661) 323-5569.
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