Box 3357, Bakersfield, CA 93385-3357
(661) 323-5569
E-mail: kern-kaweah.chapter@sierraclub.org
Cover Photo by Ann Williams: Greenhorn Summit in Sequoia National Forest
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 and Gordon Nipp (661) 872-2432 or Larry Wailes, (661) 861-1186 for details.
May 9, 6:30 p.m. - Visalia - Mineral King Group Ex Comm Meeting. Location TBA - call for location. All Tulare and Kings County Sierra Club members are welcome to join us for our monthly business and conservation meeting. For information, call Harold or Janet Wood, (559) 739-8527.
May 13 (Sat) Climb African Head, on the Kern Plateau near Bald Mtn. About 6 miles round trip, 1000 ft gain, cross country. If the road and gate are not open, we will hike elsewhere. Meet at Ridgecrest Cinemas at 7:30. For more info, call Dennis 760-375-7967 or Don 760-375-8599.
May 15 (Mon) Owens Peak Group Monthly meeting. Speaker to be decided later. Meet at Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores. 7:30 p. m. Call Dennis at 760-375-7967 or Jeanie at 760- 375-8973 for details.
May 18 - 7 p.m. - Visalia Borders Books (Sequoia Mall) -
Come meet author Cherry Good, as she gives a slide show and autographs copies of her new book, On the Trail of John Muir. This new book is not just another biography, but sets forth each stage of Muir's life and development is set within the context of the places that were special, magical to him - the Canadian forests, the glaciers of Alaska, Arizona's Grand
Canyon, and most important of all, the High Sierra of California. By following the directions and maps included in On the Trail, readers are able to participate in Muir's adventures on both sides of the Atlantic, to feel a part of Muir's world as they too experience the beauty of the wilderness and the need to preserve it. Sponsored by Mineral King Group.
Click here to read more about On the Trail of John Muir and the author
May 20th - Bull Run Creek - meet 0900 at former Cadillac Ranch/Casa Ramos parking lot, just east of Mesa Marin. This easy hike is targeted at families with children, but all are welcome. Trailhead is near Alta Sierra at the top of the Greenhorn mountains. Bring lunch and water. Leader: Larry Wailes.
May 21 (Sun) Windmill-Wildflower Hike on PCT will spotlight a little-known section of the trail as well as the 5,000 wind turbines in the Tehachapi Pass. The hike leaves the trail head at the junction of Cameron Road and Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road promptly at 9:00 am. Spring weather at 5,000 feet in the Tehachapi Mountains is unpredictable and hikers are advised to dress appropriately, bring their own water, and pack a lunch. This yearxs hike offers the public an opportunity to see Californiaxs first major xrepoweringx of an old wind farm site where FPL Energy removed old wind turbines and installed newer wind machines. This is also the first opportunity to gauge FPL Energyxs progress revegetating disturbed soils on its site and controlling gully erosion visible from Highway 58. A car pool will leave from Bakersfield at 7:30 am. For more information or to car pool from Bakersfield call Paul Gipe at 661-822-9150 or Tony Swan at 661-363-5106.
May 27 (Sat.) Condor Group Dick Smith Wilderness Hike. This is a repeat visit for a hike taken last year which really delighted those who were able to take part. For information call 661-242-0423 or 661-242-0432.
May 27-28 (Sat-Sun) CNRCC Desert Com, San Gorgonio Chp Trip to Telescope Peak in Death Valley. Spectacular views from the campground, so non-hikers are welcome to enjoy camp. Probable short hike Sun down in Wildrose Cyn if flowers are good, before the long drive home. Come prepared for large range of weather. High clearance vehicle needed. Camp fees and park fee. Email your name, address including zip, phone, type of vehicle to: bryfam@earthlink.net. Mention that you are in Kern-Kaweah Chapter and need info on meeting time and place. Ldr: Steve Bryant 909-989-5145 after 7 am and before 8 pm. Prefer email.
June 3-4 (Sat-Sun) Kern River Preserve near Kernville. (Rescheduled from March). 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 Cal. Bring food to share for Sat. night pot-luck dinner. Information call Bob Barnes at 760-378-3044 or E-mail bbarnes@lightspeed.net, or call Theresa, 559-781-0594.
June 19 (Mon) Owens Peak Group Monthly Meeting. Supervisor Jon McQuiston will discuss Kern County environmental issues. 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.
July 22-30 (Sat-Sun) Kearsarge Pass / Forester Pass. Explore the high Sierra lake basins and headwaters of the Kern River. Start Saturday for a 9-day sttrenuous back pack which will take us over Kearsarge Pass and Forester Pass, to Lake South America. Most of the trip will be above 11000'. Enjoy wilderness at itxs best: high mountain lakes, lush meadows, mountain streams, waterfalls, and wild flowers. Approx. 60 mi. R/T and 13,000' gain/loss. No beginners, no tigers. Bearproof container required. Send 2 large SASE, resume of recent backpacking experience, Hand W phones, rideshare data, and 2 checks (payable OCSS) for $20 (refundable at trailhead) and $10 (non-refundable) to Asst/Reserv: Paulette Landers, 2740 Pine Creek Circle, Fullerton, CA 92835. Phone: 714-529-8154. Limit 8. Leader: Gary Landers.
Condor Gp 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.
The Kern-Kaweah Chapter Website is http://kernkaweah.sierraclub.org There you will find links to the Chapter's Condor, Kaweah, Mineral King and Owens Peak groups and the current and back copies of The Roadrunner. If you wish to receive The Roadrunner online, contact Arthur or Lorraine Unger at alunger@juno.com. Please specify whether you still wish to receive a paper copy of The Roadrunner by U.S. Mail.
The Chapter Awards Dinner on Saturday, April 22 was well attended as we breathed a sigh of relief. (We worried that because the date of our dinner was the day before Easter attendance might suffer.)
The celebration of Earth Day, John Muir's Birthday and the President's creation of the Sequoia Monument brought our members together in a spirit of celebration. The unrelenting efforts of many members of this chapter contributed substantially to the achievement of that Monument. It was inspiring to hear the reasons for which recipients were given awards.
As members of the Sierra Club and/or readers of this newsletter, please give some thought as to how you, too, can get involved in what we do. Attend an outing or attend an event . Meet new friends, and find new interests. The Sierra Club is a way to give something back to the community. We volunteer, and we serve to make our communities pleasant, sustainable, healthy and safe for ourselves, our children and their children.
We look forward to whatever level of participation you can spare. There is always a letter that needs to be written, a call to be made or an outing to take. Give us a call, 661-832-3382. - Glenn Shellcross
I was interviewed on camera by Channel 17 in Bakersfield this past Earth Day. The main questions the reporter asked were: "Why is there no outdoor Earth Day celebration for the general public this year? Has the public lost interest?" How would you respond?
The public response to the annual Earth Day celebrations of the early and mid nineties was tepid. If there is someone who will organize a community wide event, or who can design a more modest celebration, please come forward. During the next eleven months, I pledge you one hour of my time for every two hours of your time, for up to 40 hours of my time. You may write me at: Kern-Kaweah Chapter, Sierra Club; P.O. Box 3357; Bakersfield, CA 93385.
-Arthur Unger
"These lands will continue to be managed by the Forest Service, as it once again embraces the conservation ethic that inspired its creation 95 years ago. More and more Americans are discovering our national forests, with places to hike, camp, ride horses, enjoy a few hours of quiet contemplation. Years from now, Americans will come here to do all these things, and these majestic trees will continue, as John Muir said, to 'preach God's forestry fresh from heaven.'"
With these words, President Clinton gave short shrift to the critics opposing his desire to protect these trees who so ridiculously believe that somehow public access will be reduced.
Many local members of the Sierra Club's Sequoia Task Force and the Kern-Kaweah Chapter attended this event by special invitation of the White House.
We Monument advocates were honored to meet the President, unlike all the local politicians of Tulare and Kern County who have so witlessly opposed the national monument designation.
We were all bused up to the Trail of 100 Giants from Porterville in less-than-new Forest Service firefighter crew buses. About 150 people, attended the event, probably half of them from the press, and many Forest Service employees, with perhaps 40 environmentalists.
The Secret Service searched all of us electronically and examined our backpacks carefully. We then entered the Trail of 100 Giants area, where we were seated by a small podium constructed on the trail itself, immediately before a magnificently huge Giant Sequoia.
We waited for the President and his party to arrive. Chapter activists Harold and Janet Wood, Bugs Fontaine, and Ara Marderosian were seated in the second row. Other Sequoia Task Force members Mary Moy, Rich Kangas, John and Marcia Rasmussen were in the third row, along with a group of students from Burton School in Porterville, all of whom were very excited to be meeting the President and see history being made.
Some of the press corps were walking with the President through the Trail of 100 Giants, but the President was led by Forest Supervisor Art Gaffrey and Springville Eagle Scout Alexander Reed-Krase not only on the trail, but on a side-trail directly through a massive Giant Sequoia which had a large cavity. The impression to the audience was of a Boy Scout and the President literally emerging like magic from within a Giant Sequoia to approach the audience! The crowd hushed as the President and his party came onto the podium, where the President smiled and mildly said, "Hello everybody."
There were four speakers: Sequoia Forest Supervisor Art Gaffrey; Secretary of Agriculture Daniel Glickman; Marta Brown, the widow of late Congressman George Brown who had championed the cause of the Giant Sequoias in Congress for many years, Springville Eagle Scout Alexander Reed-Krase, and President Clinton. All the speakers introducing the President expressed their support for the National Monument.
The President gave an evocative description of the Giant Sequoia trees and their longevity. He also stressed that not only the Big Trees themselves, but the entire forest ecosystem was deserving of protection. He said, "We're looking forward to the first Earth Day of the 21st century, and I think the best way to celebrate it is to designate the Trail of 100 Giants, more than 30 nearby sequoia groves, and the magnificent forest that surrounds them, the Giant Sequoia National Monument." At this point there was firm applause and cheers from the audience, and your author was heard crying, in the famous words of Sequoia Task Force Chair Carla Cloer, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
President Clinton wrapped up his remarks on the Giant Sequoias with these comments: "I know there have been strong and sometimes conflicting views about the best way to manage these federal lands. Secretary Glickman recommended that they be protected after careful analysis and consultation with the residents of the area, state, tribal and local officials and members of Congress. The Forest Service will work with the local community closely to develop a long-term plan. We want to ensure that all of the interests are respected and that we help to bring jobs and opportunity to the area.
"This is not about locking lands up; it is about freeing them up for all Americans for all time. We're here because we recognize that these trees, though they live to be very old and grow very large, like life itself, are still fragile. The roots are surprisingly shallow and the greatest threat to the trees' life is any disturbance to the tenuous balance between the tree and the ground that anchors it."
The President then went on to describe some of the progress that has been made in the last 30 years in environmental protection, protecting air quality, drinking water, and cleaning up toxic waste sites. Detailing another environmental proposal of the Administration: the Lands Legacy Initiative to protect green spaces, from the most remote mountains to the nearest city park he said, "This year, I've asked Congress to provide $1.4 billion to protect those special places, including nearby Dillonwood Grove, the last privately held grove of giant sequoias."
He also spoke about other environmental initiatives, including preserving tropical forests and biodversity, and addressing "the greatest environmental challenge of the new century, climate change and global warming."
The President concluded his remarks by giving special recognition to one city within the Kern-Kaweah Chapter, which is now the headquarters of the Club's Mineral King Group: "Now, before I sign a proclamation, let me just remind you that for over a hundred years, beginning with the residents of Visalia, California, Americans have sought to save these giant sequoias. Earth Day brought groups of Americans together on a crusade to save the treasures of our planet.
"Today, let's remember, even here on the Trail of 100 Giants, the global village presses even closer upon us. We have to look within our communities and beyond our borders for allies to deal with our common environmental challenges. We're doing our part today to make sure that the monarchs survive after we're long gone, rooted strong in the web of nature that sustains us all."
With that, the President moved to a small table, and using a set of pens which he afterwards gave to the other speakers, he signed the Proclamation establishing the Giant Sequoia National Monument. You can read the full text of the Proclamation itself, setting forth the rules of management for the new Natonal Monument, which runs 6 pages, at the White House website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/.
Signficantly, the President pointed out in the Proclamation that the Giant Sequoias themselves were only one part of the life to be protected by the new National Monument, specifically mentioning wildlife such as the fisher and other old-growth forest dependent species: "The area's elevation climbs from about 2,500 to 9,700 feet over a distance of only a few miles, capturing an extraordinary number of habitats within a relatively small area. This spectrum of ecosystems is home to a diverse array of plants and animals, many of which are rare or endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada. The monument embraces limestone caverns and holds unique paleontological resources documenting tens of thousands of years of ecosystem change. The monument also has many archaeological sites recording Native American occupation and adaptations to this complex landscape, and historic remnants of early Euro-American settlement as well as the commercial exploitation of the giant sequoias. The monument provides exemplary opportunities for biologists, geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and historians to study these objects."
The President outlined these core operating principles for the National Monument: "The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights. Timber sales under contract as of the date of the proclamation and timber sales with a decision notice signed after January 1, 1999, but prior to December 31, 1999, may be completed consistent with the terms of the decision notice and contract. No portion of the monument shall be considered to be suited for timber production, and no part of the monument shall be used in a calculation or provision of a sustained yield of timber from the Sequoia National Forest. Removal of trees, except for personal use fuel wood, from within the monument area may take place only if clearly needed for ecological restoration and maintenance or public safety."
Off road vehicle use on trails is to end by December 31, and are to stay on designated roads after that date.
The Proclamation requires a scientific advisory panel to be appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture with the assistance of the National Academy of Sciences, and requires the Forest Service to develop a new management plan within three years.
The Sierra Club and other environmental experts will study these provisions carefully and will work to ensure that the new Monument will provide full protection for the forest ecosystem.(Look for a future article in this publication!)
Following the President's remarks, and his signing the Proclamation, he came into the audience area and began shaking hands. What a warm, friendly person he is! He seemed to listen to everyone he spoke to, kindly posed for photographs, and seemed to really enjoy meeting us all. When the President came down the line to Sierra Club Sequoia Task Force Chair Carla Cloer, she had tears in her eyes as she told him he had fulfilled a decades-old dream of hers. Some of us nearby told the President who she was, and seeing her teary eyes, he exclaimed, "Oooooh!" and gave her a big hug!
Task Force member Joe Fontaine told the President that he had been working for nearly 40 years for something like this, and thanked him for making it finally happen. Bugs Fontaine asked the President to autograph a copy of Al Gore's book Earth in the Balance, and showed him her button reading "Hillary Rodham Clinton fan club."
Mineral King Group Vice-Chair Mary Moy shook the President's hand, and then gave him a "Sierra Club Eco-Veto" pen with which to veto any anti-Monument bill coming from Congressman Radanovich or any other anti-environmetal bill. Group Chair and Sequoia Task Force member Harold Wood gave the president, as a gift, a copy of the "John Muir Tribute CD," explaining to the President that this CD was a fund-raiser to build a new Education and Visitor Center at the John Muir National Hitoric Site in Martinez, where Muir had written the eloquent words that President Clinton had quoted in his speech. Harold thought that since President Clinton had given the world such a tribute to John Muir by establishing this Monument, he should know about the John Muir Tribute CD. President Clinton accepted the gift and said, "Thank you," while a White House staffer took Harold's card.
Mineral King Group Conservation Chair Neil Fernbaugh asked the President to come back and go hiking with us sometime, and he said he'd love to. Nearly everyone got to shake the President's hand, and thank him for this significant action to protect our Giant Sequoia forest and associated ecosystems.
It was a long bus ride home - with two of the buses failing due to mechanical problems. But NRDC lead attorney for Forest issues, Neil Lawrence, who has been so instrumental in the Monument designation and is a former mechanic, lept to the rescue and repaired one bus! President Clinton was very gracious and really took time to speak to people as he walked along the crowd. It was quite an moving experience. We really applauded his speech which touched on many environmental issues we care about. Certainly a day we will not forget!
- Harold Wood Chair Mineral King Group Member, Sequpoia Task Force
More than eighty people celebrated Earth Day 2000 at the Kern-Kaweah Chapter annual banquet.
After gracious thanks from Andrew Trlica, winner of the Sierra Club scholarship, chapter chairman Glenn Shellcross conducted the awarding of honors to several people for their work on behalf of the environment.
For the Long Trail award, Bugs Fontaine gave a beautiful walking stick, which she had selected, to Carla Cloer for her courage, constancy and determination in protecting the Sequoia forest from logging and development. Joe Fontaine was eloquent in his praise of Carla as well.
Michelle Hoffman and Ann Williams won the Chairman's Award, Harold Wood received the Susan B. Miller/Ruth Allen award, and Brian Newton won the Sierra Club Cup Award. Michelle Hoffman is to be specially thanked for her overall planning of the banquet, including reservations, securing the hall and the delicious meal from the La Costa caterers, arranging for gifts donated for the raffle, and organizing the setup.
Many other people helped make the evening a success: Carol White for her fine graphics work on the publicity; Theresa Stump for conducting the raffle; and Nancy Nies for her beautiful calligraphy on the awards and on the names of raffle contributors. Thanks also go to Eva Nipp for her delicious carrot cakes honoring John Muir; Georgette Theotig for securing our speaker, Ted Ayers; Christina Geyer and Ann Williams for keeping track of attendance at the door; Kathi Hinkle and Carol Huested for their help in setting up; and all the people who helped with tables and chairs. Contributors to the raffle were Richard Garcia, Garden District, La Costa, Eva and Gordon Nipp, Olcott's, Outback, White Forest Nursery, and World Records.
- Ann Williams
I have heard that a person must be dull company if all he can talk about is the weather. Yet what is there that is unaffected by weather? Even a prisoner kept long in the dark will remember it with yearning.
When I was a child, a friend and I enjoyed swimming in the irrigation ditch across from her house, and riding my old horse in his pasture nearby. We prowled that field looking for owls, and climbed from the patient swaybacked nag into sheltering mulberry trees for effete indulgence in their sweet, bland fruit. My friend's parents were rough-spoken, but her mother was perceptive. Once I heard her say to her husband as I was walking out of their house, "There goes the outdoorest kid I ever did see."
As the outdoorest kid, my most memorable sensory experiences were governed by weather. Weather enhanced the pungencies of scents from fallen leaves, sprinkled dust, and the bullfrog-haunted canal. It outlined, or enshrouded, the distant hills, augmenting awareness of their beauty, or creating a longing for the language of their shapes and forms. It drew out the mockingbirds that sang day and night around our house, or made lonely and mystical the flight calls of killdeer, sounds that always seemed to be in lament of something. It created enveloping fogs through which we crept our careful way to school, and either kept us prisoners during precious recesses, or beckoned us out of all order and composure to a mad dash for freedom, air and light.
Even now the quality of every day is determined for me by weather. Minutes after awakening I am out in it, fetching the newspaper, testing the temper of the hour, and planning or unplanning the direction of the day according to the sense of a phrase which we use almost habitually regarding anticipation: "weather permitting."
A few days ago two of us left in the midst of turbulent winds and thick, fast-moving clouds, to travel the length of Breckenridge Road over the mountain to Havilah. We gambled on the delay of rain, and were exquisitely rewarded. From the best points of view, the hills below us and the floor of the southern valley were all light and shadow, with bright intermittent highlights of lupine and owls' clover. We were enchanted, neither of us having driven so far up Breckenridge. Yet had we taken the same drive in a heat-created shroud in August, we would have been disgusted by the experience.
Weather is anything but dull. It is at the center of science, warfare and poetry. It charms and distracts us, and it pilots all our days, chart them as we may.
© Ann Williams, 2000
Officers and Committee Chairpeople
Executive Committee (All but noted codes are 661)
Chair: Glenn Shellcross, shellcrossg@earthlink.net 832-3382; Vice-Chair: Monte Harper; Secretary: Bonnie East, 832-9775; Treasurer: Gordon Nipp; Assistant Treasurer: Larry Wailes; Conservation: Ara Maderosian sfa@lightspeed.net; At Large: Arthur Unger, , Mary Ann Lockhart; Richard Garcia, Gordon Nipp.
RCC Delegates: Bonnie East, Glenn Shellcross;
Alternates: Neil Fernbaugh, Lorraine Unger
Committee Chairpeople: Conservation: Ara Maderosian; Membership: Lorraine Unger, 323-5569; Political and Compliance: Harry and Kathy Love; Council Rep: Arthur Unger; Outings: Theresa Stump, 559-781-0594; Publicity: Paul Gipe; State and Local Government: Neil Fernbaugh; Legal:Georgette Theotig; Fundraising: Richard Garcia; History: Michelle Hoffman and amp; Ann Williams; Environmental Ed.: Joe Fontaine, ; Phone Tree: Mary Ann Lockhart; Air Quality: Art Unger; Biodiversity: Harold Wood; Endangered Species: Art Unger: Energy: Paul Gipe; Environmental Justice: Art Powell; Forest Organizer: Ara Marderosian; Population Growth: Glenn Shellcross; Urban:Lorraine Unger; Wilderness/Parks/Refuges: Joe Fontaine and Gordon Nipp; Waste: Lorraine and Art Unger.
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: Harold Wood harold.wood@sierraclub.orgOwens 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 ches@frazmtn.com ; Membership: 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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