Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385-3357
(805) 323-5569
E-mail: kern-kaweah.chapter@sierraclub.org
Correspondence secretary needed
For many years the late Ruth Allen served as Historian and
Correspondence secretary for our Chapter. It is with our utmost
appreciation that Michele Hoffmann has graciously volunteered to
serve as our Historian. We need, in addition, a correspondence
secretary. If you have the time to write thank-you notes, occasional
potential member responses please contact Glenn Shellcross,
661/832-3382.
We are hoping to start a Bakersfield Sierra Club Group, which would meet on a monthly or other regular basis. It would be an opportunity for members to get together, and there would be programs, discussions, presentations of trips to interesting places, and speakers on environmental issues. The meetings would be open to the public, and would be held at a public place. If you have an interest in this idea, know of a meeting place, have suggestions for programs, or any other inputs, please call Glenn Shellcross, 832-3382, email gshellcross@juno.com or Mel Rubin, 831-3333, email melr@netxn.com.
Urge members of congress to sign letter to
Clinton opposing global free logging agreement
A bi-partisan Congressional sign on letter to the President from
Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Merrill Cook (R-UT) was
released yesterday opposing the Global Free Logging Agreement at the
World Trade Organization (WTO). The letter asks the President to stop
negotiating the forest products agreement until a comprehensive
environmental impact assessment can be conducted with full citizen
participation &emdash; a demand thus far rejected by the
Administration.
It is vital that we get as many Members of Congress to sign the
letter to President Clinton as possible. The forest products
agreement would lead to increased logging by expanding the market for
forest products world-wide without protecting domestic laws;
encouraging sustainable logging practices; or protecting endangered
forests, ecosystems or biodiversity.
What you can do: call/write your representative and urge him/her to
sign the letter today
Call (202) 225-3121 or toll free at 800-985-8762 or 888/898-7717 to
be connected to your Representative's office. Write: The Honorable
__________ (your Representative), Washington, DC 20515
- Ara Marderosian, P.O. Box 988, Weldon, CA 93283-0988
Last Friday President Clinton indicated he would sign the Emergency
Spending bill even though a number of anti-environmental riders were
still attached. As a result, calls to remove the riders from the bill
were ignored by Congress and a last minute effort for a House vote to
strip the riders from the bill was stopped by the Democratic
Leadership and Appropriations Minority Leader David Obey (D-WI). This
is a disgraceful outcome that could have been avoided if the
President had stuck with his initial threat to veto the bill until
all of the objectionable provisions were removed. We will see more
anti-environmental riders attacking our environmental laws and public
lands until the President decides to stand up for the environment and
keep vetoing a bill until it is “clean.” Please contact the
White House at 202/456-1111 (9-5pm EST) and urge the President to
veto the Emergency Spending bill until all the anti-environmental
riders have been removed.
- Steve Holmer, Campaign Coordinator, American Lands, 726
7th Street, SE, Washington, D.C. 20003, 202/547-9105,
202/547-9213 fax,
wafcdc@americanlands.org
or
http://www.americanlands.org
Headline: Fight the Kern River
Freeway
Members living in the City of Bakersfield
should have received a flier requesting they contact their City
Council member (Councilor). Call Arthur Unger 323 5569
<
alunger@juno.com>
for a flier or to discuss this issue, or to accompany Arthur on a
lobbying visit to your Councilor, as Monty Harper and Mary Carroll
are doing. Thanks to all who have contacted their Councilor and
special thanks to those who call and remind us: Judy Allen, Vicki
Araujo, Carol Benston, Laura Dennison, Bonnie East, Chris Geyer, Jean
Pretorious, Monty Harper and Mary Carrol.
To all who have email and are interested in an email notice of
outings (day hikes mostly) and meetings for the Owens Peak Group,
please send me your email address and indicate whether your interest
is outings or meetings. The list will respect privacy; only the
recipient’s name will appear to each recipient. Don Peterson,
Owens Peak Group
donpete@ridgecrest.ca.us
Thanks to those you helped person the Kern-Kaweah table at the
Bio-region Festival in Kernville. On April 24th Kyle
Ernst, LeAnn Banducci, Enid and Monte Harper, Joanne and Glenn
Shellcross, and Lorraine Unger volunteered. They disseminated Sierra
Club literature and our point of view on the world. Also, we
collected 72 postcards that we will send to various politicians. Way
to go! Put the Kern Valley Turkey Vulture Festival on your calendar.
It’s September 24-27 and we need volunteers to help again in
Kernville. Call Lorraine to volunteer at (661)323-5569.
LOCAL SIERRA CLUB OUTINGS &
EVENTS
These are local Kern-Kaweah Chapter, Sierra Club outings, except as noted. Everyone is welcome; you need not be a Sierra Club member. Space on some outings may be limited by the leader. So as not to hold back the other participants, you should be in appropriate condition and have appropriate expertise for the outing you choose. Note that Sierra Club outings rules are in effect! Call (661) 872-2432 for information about future outings.
If you know of an interesting walk or hike that you know of or have experienced that you would like to see initiated or repeated, please call Gordon Nipp, Outings Chair, 661-872-2432
Regular Events:
Thursday Evening Conditioning Hike
4-5 mile conditioning hike in the northeast Bakersfield area
every Thursday evening to keep us in reasonable shape. Meet at
7pm at the Cadillac Ranch parking lot, just east of Mesa Marin. Call
leaders, Eva or Gordon Nipp, at (661) 872-2432 for details.
Tuesday Morning Birding in the Bakersfield Area. Every Tuesday
from 7:30 to noon, at various local birding hot spots. Novice to
expert birders are welcome! For locations, call La Dona Matthews at
Kern Audubon Society, (661) 831-5637. Please note this is not
a Sierra Club event.
Special Events:
June 2 Wed. 6pm easy walk in the Kern River Wildlife Migration Corridor. Meet in the Board of Trade parking lot, on Oak, at 22nd St. Call leader, Lorraine 323-5569, 834 2675, for details or if you will be late.
June 5, Saturday. Rock Art Sites on way to Mesa Springs, Mt. Pinos District of Los Padres. 8 hour, down-hill first, hike. Strenuous. 8 AM meeting time at Pine Mountain Clubhouse parking lot. Lunch, lots of water, really good walking shoes, layered clothing. For further information and reservations call Ray, 661-242-2009 or Ches,661-242-0423. (Please bring Adventure Pass if you have one.)
June 9 Wed. 6pm Easy Evening Walk in the Kern River Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Drive west on Stockdale Highway, turn right onto the remnant of the former Stockdale Highway about 30 yards before the Highway crosses the Kern and park. You may also turn north off Stockdale at Buena Vista. Sneakers OK, boots better. Call LEADER Lorraine 323 5569, 589-3921, 323 5569, 834 2675 with questions.
June 11, Fri- 6pm. Walk in the Kaweah Oak Preserve. Meet at the entrance to the Preserve on Road 182, _ mile North of Hwy 198, 10 miles east of Visalia. For more info phone Theresa 781-0594 or Beverly 592-9865.
Jun 11-17 Fri-Thurs Toiyabe Chp/S Nevada Grp Paria River Backpack, UT-AZ. Easy-mod. BP, mostly down cyn, much wading in ankle deep water, 40 mi total. Main cyn is a narrow sensously shapped 23 mi long red-orange sculptured shape with a side slot tributary. Optional side trips with day pack will be available or relax in camp. In June the normal temps, outside cyn at Lee’s Ferry are 105F day & 75F eve. Can be cool to cold in cyn. Group size limit 10. Send $30 (David Hardy) non-refundable BLM fee by 3/1, $20 (Sierra Club) refundable deposit (if you go or cancel 8 days before trip). All deposits are required for wait list and are fully refundable if you do not go. Send SASE, h&w phones, rideshare info to Ldr: David Hardy, Box 99, Blue Diamond, NV 89004, (702) 875-4549.
June 16 Wed. 6:30pm - Easy Evening Walk in the Kern River Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Beginners welcome. Meet at River and Panorama Boulevards. Call LEADER, Lorraine 589-3921, 323 5569, 834 2675, for details.
Jun 16, Wed 6:30 pm. Kaweah Group Annual end of year pot luck in Diane’s back yard in Porterville. For information call Diane 781-8897 or Theresa 781-0594
Jun 19, Sat. 7:30 am. Climb Pleasant Point, from Cerro Gordo. Spectacular views all around. A moderate hike with 1600 ft elevation gain to the 9690 ft summit. Meet in Ridgecrest at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7:30 am. For info call Don, (760) 375-8599 or Dennis, (760) 375-7967.
Jun 21 Mon., 7:30 pm. Owens Peak Group Monthly Meeting, Ridgecrest. A speaker from Death Valley National Park will discuss conservation issues related to park management. Meet at the Maqturango Museum, 100 Las Flores. Call Dennis at (760)3757967 or Jeanie at (760)3758973 for details.
June 23 Wed. 6:30pm easy evening walk in the Kern River Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Beginners welcome. Meet at Albertson’s clock tower, Stockdale and Gosford. Call LEADER, Lorraine 589-3921, 323 5569, 834 2675 for details.
June 30 Wed. 6:30pm - Easy Evening Walk in the Kern River Wildlife Migration Corridor, Bakersfield - Drive west on Stockdale Highway, turn right onto the remnant of the former Stockdale Highway about 30 yards before the Highway crosses the Kern and park. You may also turn north off Stockdale at Buena Vista. Sneakers OK, boots better. Call LEADER Lorraine 323 5569, 589-3921, 834 2675 with questions.
July 3, Saturday. Peak to Peak (Mt. Pinos to Mt. Cerro Noroeste) Hike. Mt. Pinos Disrict, Los Padres. More details in future editions of Roadrunner.
July 3-5 Sat-Mon CNRCC Desert/Toiyabe Chp Blue Lakes/Pine Forest Mtns WSA Backpack, NW Nevada. Easy backpack (1 mi) to basecamp at beautiful, spring & snowmelt-fed, high elev. (7,968 ft) Blue Lakes located just E of Sheldon Nat’l Wildlife Refuge. Backdrop of Duffer Peak (9,397 ft). Glacial moraine areas/willow, aspen, whitebark & limber pine, mtn mahogany forests. Wildflowers should abound. Sun either cross-country climb Duffer Peak or wildlife watching at all five Blue Lakes, Outlaw Meadows, or nearby Onion Vly Reservoir. Birdwatch opps for Pine Grosbeaks & Red Crossbills; also Pronghorn Antelope & Bighorn Sheep. Send lg SASE, h&w phones, rideshare info to Co-ldr : Sharon Kiel, 50 Suda Wy, Reno, NV 89509, (702) 322-2465. Co-ldr: Lelia Heading, (775) 331-5631 Lheading@aol.com .
Aug 6-8 Fri-Sun CNRCC Desert, Toiyabe Chapter Santa Rosa/Paradise Pk Wilderness Area Expl Car Camp, No Nevada. Explore little known wilderness N of Winnemucca, NV. Car camp Fri eve at Singas Crk trlhd nr Paradise, NV. Sat am, long all-day expl hike (11.5 mi rt, 2,100 ft elev gain, mostly on trail). Trail passes thru lush vegetation, alternating between aspen/willow & grass/sagebrush country, with panoramic views of Paradise Vly below. Grand finale places us on Abel Summit (8,750 ft) for a grand vista. Wildflowers & birds should abound in this Bighorn sheep habitat.
Aug. 8-14, Sun-Sat. &endash; Big Bird Lake Backpack &endash; This is a seven-day backpack in the Sequoia National Park backcountry. We will visit the Tablelands, Big Bird Lake, Deadman Canyon, and elsewhere. There will be some cross-country hiking; this is a trip for a limited number of experienced backpackers in good condition &endash; no beginners. Call leaders Gordon and Eva Nipp at (661)872-2432 for details and reservations.
Aug 27-29 Fri-Sun CNRCC Desert, Toiyabe Chapter Inyo Mtns Study & Car Camp. Friday: estab dry basecamp at Badger Flat (8,000+ft elev) off Mazourka Cyn Rd, explore old mines & surrounding pinyon/limber/bristlecone pine forest, with eve potluck. Sat: strenuous, steep up & down (8 mi rt, 1,500-2,000 ft elev gain) hike to cowcamp inside Inyo Wilderness, where grazer wants continued vehicle access (assess situation) in outstanding country w/typical Great Basin flora. Potluck Sat nite. Sun: sleep in, then slowly make way down mtns to Independence & finish w/Owens Vly water history, around noon. Trip ltd to 6 vehicles. Send lg SASE, h&w phones, rideshare info to Ldr: Michael Prather, Drawer D, Lone Pine, CA 93545, (760) 876-5907 (before 8:30 pm), prather@qnet.com.
Nov. 14-21, Sun-Sun. &endash;
Fundraiser Cruise to Mexican Riviera &endash;
Carnival
Cruises is offering this cruise from
San Pedro to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas at 50% off
brochure prices to Sierra Club members with a 5% rebate to the
Chapter. Prices start at $689. Reserve early since there are a
limited number of discounted cabins. Call Gordon Nipp at
(661)872-2432 for more information, or call directly to Montrose
Travel at (800)301-9673.
MIDGEBUZZINGS
I have been reading a wonderful little book by
Marie Winn on Birding in New York City. It is entitled "Red Tails in
Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park". Featured is a surprisingly
wide variety of birds to be found in all seasons in the park,
including a mated pair of Red-tailed Hawks which nest on a ledge of
the Fifth Avenue high-rise above the apartment of Mary Tyler Moore
and across from Woody Allen’s. As endearing as the birds is a
small army of devotees known as the "Regulars" who are in the park
daily with binoculars and spotting scopes, and who record their
sitings in an old notebook they call the "Register" which they keep
in the boathouse by a lake. The key word here is "daily", and that
means that these people are in the park all year around, including
the coldest days in winter. They brave sub-zero temperatures to feed
overwintering birds; occasionally they face up to City Hall, and even
to the formidable apartment dwellers, for cooperation with efforts to
preserve habitat for the birds. And so far, except for a rare theft
of the Register and an even rarer theft of a nest, the Regulars have
enlisted willing support and assistance from just about everyone.
Once, for instance, Winn discovered a regurgitated pellet below the
nest of a Saw Whet Owl and took it to the American Museum of Natural
History. There a mammalogist dissected it with exquisite care and
learned from the tiny, indigestible bones, of the presence,
previously unknown, of white-footed mice in Central Park.
It seems that an abundance of wildlife in the
center of New York City has resulted from casual falling into lovely
chaos of the clipped and manicured park so cherished by its Victorian
planners, and so hopelessly expensive to maintain. Pretty obviously,
the less manicured the habitat, the better for wildlife. Happily for
us, some wild and bird-lively places exist on the outskirts of
Bakersfield as well. I spent last Tuesday morning, armed with
binoculars and a newly-acquired spotting scope, with the Bakersfield
Regulars in one of the finest of such areas, near and along Poso
Creek. Before entering the green zone, we went up the old road toward
Granite Station, past the creek to some Cottonwood trees where a
Red-tail nest had been reported. We found it, with the last of three
fledglings still perched beside it, appearing to ponder the risk of
flight. The mother, circling above us on the other side of the road
and harassed by ravens, executed a dramatic three-hundred-sixty
degree barrel roll as a diversionary tactic. "Aaahhh!" said the
Regulars. That maneuver, and the sight of brilliant Orioles flying in
and out of their "pendant cradle", just below the hawks’ nest
and discernible by scope through the leaves, portended an excellent
day of birding.
Along Poso Creek, from the Granite Road to the oil fields, is a habitat treasury. On the southwest side is a high clay bank, rich with small nesting caves for swallows and owls. In heavy foliage along both sides, especially during migratory periods, there is a great diversity of life: plant, insect and avian. Such a small place compared to the over eight-hundred acres of Central Park, and yet I haven’t room to tell you all we saw that day. Standing outside their burrow across the creek were three fledgling Great Horned Owls - comic in their blinking and slow goose-stepping, well aware of us and cautious, but innocent enough to be seen. A little farther up the road we startled six young barn owls which rose up from underfoot and flew across the creek on enormous wings. Another "Aaahhh!" from the Regulars. After that, among others, an Alder Flycatcher; tiny Bush Tits flitting about in a thicket; a Wilson’s Warbler, a House Wren singing; a Lawrence’s Goldfinch, a Lesser Goldfinch, Orioles again; a mated pair of Western Tanagers; an Ash-Throated Flycatcher. And this is not to mention some very curious tiny insects crowding each other on a newly-opened thistle blossom. Next time I take a botany lens!
Happily for New Yorkers, Central Park is not for sale. Most everything around Bakersfield is. But with luck, potential for serious flooding will render the best areas along Poso Creek impossible for development so that future generations of birds and Regulars may enjoy mornings like the one I have shared with you.
Ann Williams © 1999
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRPEOPLE
All but noted area codes are (661)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair: Glen Shellcross 832-3382
Vice Chair: Neil Fernbaugh 559-798-0343
Secretary: Bonnie East 832-9775
Treasurer: Mel Rubin 831-3333
AT LARGE:
Arthur Unger, Ara Marderosian, 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 Chair: Harry Love
S.C. Council Rep: Arthur Unger
Outings: Gordon Nipp 872-2432
KAWEAH GROUP (Porterville, area code
559)
Chair: Theresa Stump 781-0594
Vice Chair: Dianne Jetter
Conservation: Carla Cloer
Outings: Jim Clark
MINERAL KING GROUP (Visalia &
Hanford, 559)
Chair: Neil Fernbaugh
Vice Chair: Brian Newton
Secretary: Nina Stone
Conservation: Mary Moy
Outings: Brian Newton
Treasurer: Janet Wood
Membership: Patty
Environmental Education & Computers: Harold Wood
Fundraising: Richard Garcia
Social: Bev Garcia
OWENS PEAK GROUP (Desert area code,
760)
Chair: Dennis Burge 375-7967
Vice Chair: Steve Smith
Conservation: Jeanie Haye
Treasurer: Dolph Amster
At Large: Dorothy Vokolek
Outings: Don Peterson 375-8599
CONDOR GROUP: (Frazier Park & Pine
Mountain area)
Chair: Chester Arthur
Membership: Barbara Matthews
Outings: Ray Albridge & Harry Nelson
Historian: Marion Knapp
Conservation: Kevin Royle
Hospitality: Elsbeth Feldman
Publicity: Karen Cotter
Treasurers: Jean & Ed Rustvold Ast Treas M Albridge
Newsletter: Mary Ann Lockhart
At Large Marta Bigler
Acting Content Editor: Larry
Wailes (661) 873-8060
Contributions of news, articles, press releases, opinion, art and
photographs (black & white), letters to the editor, should be
sent to:
lewailes@lightspeed.net
.
Want to submit an article for the Road
Runner or express opinions? Suggested length: 650 words or less.
That’s about a column or 2 1’2 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 owner’s 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.
SIERRA CLUB KERN-KAWEAH CHAPTER
Send To: P.O. Box 3357
Bakersfield, CA 93385
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