The Roadrunner

Bimonthly!Publication!of!the!Kern-Kaweah!Chapter!of!the!Sierra!Club!—!July/August!2003!

CHAPTER “DEVELOPMENT SUIT” REACHES SETTLEMENT.

CLEAN AIR PROSPECTS IMPROVED.
SPRAWL. Bakersfield is on the verge of a major explosion of sprawl development. Development interests
have targeted the rolling foothills and bluffs above the Kern River for future housing projects. These scenic
areas are mostly undeveloped, but business groups have mounted a major effort to extend water and sewer
infrastructure into these areas, paving the way for home construction. At present, at least twelve different
housing developments are in the planning stages.
CITY IGNORES. The city has ignored the environmental impacts of the proposed developments, instead
issuing perfunctory “negative declarations” under the California Environmental Quality Act. Even though
Bakersfield suffers some of the worst air quality in the country, the city routinely approves development
projects without considering increased air pollution caused by development-related traffic and construction
activities.
SUIT & GOALS. In 2003, the Sierra Club’s Kern Kaweah Chapter sued the City of Bakersfield for illegally
approving a residential development, consisting of 316 single-family homes designed to sprawl over 300
acres of bluffs, canyons, and rolling hills northeast of Bakersfield. The Club’s primary goal was to force the
City and/or the developer, through court order or settlement, to adopt sound growth management practices
and to halt the unregulated growth intended for the area. The Club’s secondary goal was to force the city to
require mitigation fees for air quality impacts and habitat loss resulting from future developments.
SETTLEMENT POINTS. Under the settlement that has now been reached, the developer must make
substantive improvements to the development, including: utilizing non-intrusive lighting for surrounding
open space; incorporating solar photovoltaic panels into the first model home and offering photovoltaics as
an option on all homes; dedicating 9,000 square feet to the City for a park-and-ride facility; and dedicating
the viewpoint area to the City. In addition, the developer must fund a study to be conducted by a California
State professor to identify suitable blunt-nosed leopard lizard habitat in Northeastern Bakersfield. Finally,
under the settlement the developer must pay a $1,200 “cumulative air quality mitigation fee” for each
residential unit to an air quality committee. The mitigation fee will be used for air pollution reduction
measures, such as purchasing cleaner buses and street sweepers to replace existing diesel vehicles, introducing
long-distance commuter vanpools, coordinating traffic signals, and building bicycle facilities.
WATCHDOG COMMITTEE. The air committee will have five members consisting of representatives of the
Sierra Club, Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District,
City of Bakersfield, and the developer. In the event the committee cannot agree on how to use the funds, the
committee will turn the money over to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
PRECEDENT. Establishing an air quality mitigation fee for this project could set a great precedent in the
City of Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is
actively considering imposing an air quality mitigation fee for all new development in the entire San Joaquin
Valley. In addition, the Club has been trying to convince the City to impose its own air quality fee on all new
development in Bakersfield. This settlement establishes a precedent to be followed by each of these entities.
OBJECTIVES ON TRACK. The settlement substantially achieves the Chapter’s objective of forcing the
developer to implement improvements aimed at mitigating the air quality and other impacts of the project. In
addition, the settlement sets an important precedent in the area of requiring developers to pay mitigation fees
to fund air pollution reduction measures to offset air quality impacts. The settlement thus represents a victory
for the Sierra Club and environmental interests in general. - Gordon Nipp
Much time, effort, and expertise went into planning and carrying out the action described above. Gordon
Nipp is lead person on this Chapter Action and deserves much appreciation for the work he has done in the
last months. Support speakers from the Chapter at hearings included Mitch Bolt, Paul Gipe, Mary Griffin,
Monte Harper, Harry Love, and Arthur Unger. Dr. Dan and Rosemarie Grabski, Glenn Shellcross, and
Lorraine Unger were present also. The Kern-Kaweah Chapter provided initial funds for the suit, all of which
will be repaid as part of the settlement.
2 THE ROADRUNNER

MORE AND STILL MORE VALLEY AIR NEWS

Air: Part 1. Agriculture. Your chapter continues to work on THE big concern of the Valley, Dirty Air. The
Sierra Club is working with a coalition of organizations and Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund to implement
legal strategies to force state and federal agencies to take stronger action to reduce the Valley’s air pollution.
The Club and its allies recently settled a lawsuit against the US EPA in which EPA agreed that its approval of
California’s exemption of industrial agriculture from the state’s Clean Air Act was unlawful and that the
exemption should be withdrawn by the California legislature.
However, in a retreat by EPA from its decision to enforce the Clean Air Act for agriculture, EPA intends to
allow agriculture to tell EPA how many hours per year their diesel irrigation pump engines will operate. A
better accountability process would be to consider that all diesel engines work to full capacity during the
main irrigation season, summer, a time when diesel fuels do the most damage because of their contribution to
ozone production. The latter is a “suggestion” to be made to the EPA. Arthur Unger
Air: Part 2. Bakersfield Californian. Air activists are finally beginning to see the fruits of their labors or at
least the beginning of public outrage over the state of the Valley’s air. The Bakersfield Californian, like
Valley papers in Fresno and Modesto, has published several hard-hitting stories on the issue within the past
year. The series by the Californian’s Matt Weiser that began June 14, with an accompanying editorial, was the
most extensive yet seen in the South Valley. Weiser’s damning interviews of developers’ and local
politicians’ attitudes toward air pollution were set against the law and the overwhelming evidence of the situa-
tion’s seriousness. One headline cried out “Who’s in charge here?” Indeed, when local leaders don’t take
action, the public must. While progress is painfully slow, we are finally beginning to see some movement.
Paul Gipe
TEJON OFFERS TO SELL 100,000 ACRES OF LAND FOR CONSERVATION.
Why now? asked the media and so do we!
There was a grand announcement of a tentative agreement between Tejon and the Trust for Public Land,
complete with free helicopter rides for the press over Tejon lands and other hoopla in June. 100,000 acres of
pristine land are to be saved from development. Could there be any doubts about this bonanza? Yes indeed,
there could be and should be—and, as the old cliche goes, the devil is in the details.
Here are some questions to start with. What more do you want to ask?
1. What is the motive for offering this land for sale by Tejon Corporation? Conservation ideals or the need
for cash to carry out the development plans of the corporation? Plans include a 23,000-home development
along Hwy 138 (Los Angeles County) and 6,000 homes in the mountains around Tejon (Castac) lake (Kern
County).
2. What is the Trust for Public Land? How does it operate? Where does it get its funds?
3. Should financial encouragement be given to the above developments, which undoubtedly will impact
air quality, traffic and much more in the area?
4. Precisely which lands would be included in the sale? Those lands that would be truly helpful in
protecting wildlife movement from the Sierras through the Transverse Ranges to the Coastal Ranges or just
lands that are considered very difficult if impossible to develop by Tejon Ranch?
5. Who would be assessing the value of the land offered for sale? Would the sale price be so high that it
would make purchase of other lands in other California areas for conservation purposes even more difficult
than it is now?
6. What agency or agencies would be in charge of the land to be purchased?
7. What restrictions might be asked by Tejon Ranch to be put on the land as part of the sale?
8. Should taxpayer money be used to support indirectly the sprawl development of this area?
9. Will the public be continuously informed as the negotiations between the parties are carried out, allow-
ing for REAL opportunities for public input?
Much discussion will be carried out during the months ahead. What happens can be affected by the
active attention we pay to this concern with the questions we ask and the stands we are willing to take.

to the Bakersfield Californian for the excellent coverage they have given to the developments above. Their
work is a fine example of the American press at its best.
THE ROADRUNNER
SEQUOIA MONUMENT
CONTINUOUS PRESSURE VIA LEGISLATORS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR NEEDED TO
EFFECT CHANGE IN MONUMENT PLANS. $$$ NEEDED FOR POTENTIAL LEGAL ACTION.
The following words were included in the Procla-
mation that created the Giant Sequoia National
Monument in April 2000:
These forests need restoration to counteract the
effects of a century of fire suppression and logging.
No portion of the Monument shall be considered to
be suited for timber production.
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.
USFS Proposal. The Forest Service was directed to
develop a plan to manage the Monument. They
released their draft plan in December. Their pre-
ferred alternative, number 6, recommends logging
10 million board feet of timber per year. Trees up to
30 inches in diameter could be cut. That would
mean over 3,000 truckloads of logs would be hauled
to the sawmill in Terra Bella each year. Logging
would be more intensive inside the Monument than
under current management direction in Sequoia
National Forest outside of the Monument. The door
is even left open for cutting giant sequoias.
Question. Does that sound like it complies with the
Proclamation that created the Monument? The
Sierra Club’s Sequoia Task Force believes it does
not. The proposal is not in legal compliance with the
Proclamation, the basic legal mandate that governs
management of the Monument. The Forest Service
maintains that logging is necessary to reduce fuels
and prevent catastrophic wildfire.
Sequoia Park Management Plan. Right next to the
Monument, Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park
has been managing exactly the same kind of forest
and ecosystem with an entirely different approach.
For over thirty years they have been using pre-
scribed fire to reduce fuels and the chance of catas-
trophic wildfire. The results have been excellent.
Their Giant Sequoia groves are in good condition
with low fuel loading and robust reproduction of the
young sequoias needed to replace the older trees as
they die. The conifer forest in the Park that has been
BE THE CHANGE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE WORLD.
3
managed with prescribed fire is in a healthy and
resilient condition. Trees are are cut only when they
are a potential hazard to buildings, campgrounds
and other developed areas.
What we think. The Sequoia Task Force advocates
exactly the same kind of forest management for the
Monument. If trees need to be removed from the
Monument, the Forest Service should make a site-
specific formal finding that there is no alternative.
Making a broad statement that 10,000 million board
feet per year of trees need to be logged to reduce
the threat of fire cannot be considered a science-
based finding that justifies hauling trees to the
sawmill.
What pressures? Why is Sequoia National Forest so
committed to logging as their primary management
tool? Are they being forced into this by the present
administration or are they just simply unwilling to
face up to the damage they have done to the forest
with their intensive logging practices? Only they
themselves can honestly answer that question which
we continue to ask.
What we are doing. The Sequoia Task Force is
using its energy and resources to investigate which
agency can do a better job of managing the Mon-
ument, the Forest Service or the Park Service. When
the Forest Service announces its final management
decision, we will have our answer. At this point we
are not optimistic that they will turn away from their
logging initiative.
Help us! Keep alert to reports on the development
of the Monument Plan. Contact any member of the
Kern-Kaweah Chapter Executive Committee or Joe
Fontaine at 661.821.2055 or by email at fontaine
@lightspeed.net with any questions you may have.
You will be hearing much more about these ques-
tions in the Roadrunner, so stay tuned.
Joe Fontaine, Sequoia Task Force
SEQUOIA DOLLARS? Send to Sequoia Task Force,
Janet Wood, POB 3499, Visalia, CA 93278.
Ghandi
4 THE ROADRUNNER

HEALTHY FORESTS, MY EYE!

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act is a bill that has been passed in the House of Representatives over
devastating criticism and an alternative bill put forth by congressional opponents. If you speak out now,,
perhaps it will have a different fate in the Senate. Write or call our Senators now.
Healthy Forests—what a charming, beguiling name, but what a bad joke! There is nothing in this bill that
provides for forest health. Restoration refers only to “restoring” carte blanche the privilege of the timber
companies to cut, cut, cut.
Protection, Prevention. This bill is being sold in the want to deal with it. That fact is part of the rationali-
name of protection of communities and fire pre- zation for cutting forests on public lands: to pay for
vention. So let it be noted, after the Los Alamos fire fire prevention clearing around communities. Tim-
and other community burnings were analyzed, the ber companies would be given access to cut on
findings arrived at as the most important things to forest lands out of sight of the public, in the back
do to save homes and communities were: country, on roads built by and paid for by the Forest
1. to clear flammable materials within 100 to 200 Service. These logged areas, as described above in
feet of buildings. Fire Prevention 101, will give rise to more wildfires
in the near future. Now does this plan make sense?
2, to require the installation of flame resistant siding
and roofing materials on homes. Timber Welfare In just dollar terms this timber
company welfare does little good in paying for
3. to clear around the borders of communities.
protection costs. This administration, that is so
Fire Basics. A pause for Fire Prevention 101. Fire involved in cost-effectiveness, hasn’t looked over the
has always been a force in the life history of forests. past records. For example: A 1998 General
Fire was the handbroom of nature, sweeping through Accounting Office study found that the Forest
the forests to clear out the underbrush. Fire was used Service timber program costs the Federal Treasury
by humans who quickly recognized that clearing more than 1 billion dollars annually. The Forest
certain areas helped to increase the production of Service, when all the costs are figured in, has never
foods and other products they needed. made a profit from the timber sale. They have been
Repressing all fires, though well-intentioned, has lucky if they come out even. Should the money that
turned out to be a big mistake which we must cor- is supposed to be protecting communities be spent
rect. It took many years to get to this point of on timber subsidies?
heavily overgrown forests; it will take many years to Public Input. On top of all of this, calling on the
get things back in order. fear of wildfires to justify these actions, the Forest
This bill would allow the big trees to be cut, the big Service will be ordered to limit public input by
trees that are the most fire resistant, the big trees that cutting down on time for comment and analysis by
provide shade to keep the underbrush from growing persons like ourselves and by outside experts not
to the point of being out of control in the forest. under the restrictions of the government. The
When the big trees are gone, more sunshine reaches rationale is that this comment time limits the ability
the forest floor. More sun leads to the growth of to prevent fires because of multitudinous court cases,
more underbrush and grasses. If fire is started in etc. Let it be known that in the past less than 1% of
those areas of nature’s new kindling pile, that logging plans have been challenged in courts.
vegetation will burn easily and build up to the point We hear a lot of trumpeting for democracy around
that the big trees will be ignited. the world. What is happening here needs to be
Present Bill. The way this bill is presently written watched carefully too. Besides cutting back on the
will take us backwards in achieving our goals. You rights of us, the citizens who own the lands, to have
can easily guess that the underbrush that needs to be our say, the result in this case will be the further
taken out is not saleable, Timber companies don’t needless destruction of our natural resources.
THE ROADRUNNER
SUMMER GETAWAYS
Sunday Strolls. Every week June through August. 8
AM to 9:30 AM. Short walks in area of Pine
Mountain Club. Children accompanied by adults
welcomed. Meet at the tennis courts by Clubhouse.
More info? Call 661.242.0432. (Condor Group)
July 12 (sat) CNRCC (California-Nevada Region-
al Conservation Committee, South) meets at
Sierra Club LA office, 10 AM. Call 909.624.5522
for more info.
July 12 (sat) Blanco Mtn And County Line Hill
Loop. (Just south of the Crooked Creek Laboratory
in the White Mtns, 11290 ft, 2100 ft gain for the
loop, 6 mi total) Superb views of the southern White
Mtns. Learn about the habitat of the bristlecone
pines. We should be right in the middle of the
wildflower season in this area. Moderate hike due to
distance and altitude. Meet at 7:30 AM at the
Ridgecrest Cinema parking lot. Call Dennis Burge at
760.375.7967 or Jim Nichols at 760.375.8161 for
more info. (Owens Peak Gp)
July 17-19 (thur-sat) Visit the Rincon Roadless
Area on the Kern Plateau in Sequoia National
Forest. This area was included in Senator Barbara
Boxer’s California Wild Heritage Act last year as an
addition to the Golden Trout Wilderness. Last sum-
mer the 150,000 acre McNally Fire burned most of
the Rincon Roadless Area. We will car camp at a
base camp on the Kern Plateau and take day hikes
into the Roadless Area to inspect fire impacts and
progress of recovery a year later.
We will investigate Forest Service plans for
rehabilitation of fire impacts, how they will affect the
recovery of the various ecosystems, and the status of
the Roadless Area. There has been a lot of infor-
mation and misinformation about the effects of
wildfire on conifer forests. Advocates of commercial
logging have been proclaiming that logging reduces
the possibility of holocaust-type fires. Join us and
make your own evaluation based on direct on-the-
ground observations of options to deal with the
problem of fire in our western conifer forests.
For more information contact Joe Fontaine at
661.821.2055, or by e mail at fontaine@lightspeed.
net. For a trip sheet explaining the details of the
outing send a self addressed stamped envelope to
Joe Fontaine PO Box 307 Tehachapi, CA 93581.
July 26th (sat) Sally Reid Memorial Peak to Peak
Hike. A beautiful hike from Mt. Pinos to Cerro
Noroeste in Los Padres, near Pine Mountain Club.
The trail threads through high pine forests, a cool
delight and a wonderful respite from summer heat.
5
View various ecotones. Strenuous. Altitude: About
7000 to nearly 9000 ft.. 8 to 9-plus mile hike. Bring
a sack lunch, water, wear sturdy shoes. As a car
shuttle is involved, PLEASE call two days before
hike date or we may not be able to say Yes to your
request to join the hike. 661.242.0423 or 661.242.
1076. (Condor Gp)
August 2nd (sat) Trout, Streams, Restorations and
More. Lloyd Wiens, local Frazier Park business man,
will present plans, views for life in these mountain
areas. 6 PM potluck, 7 PM program. Pool Pavilion
Room. Pine Mountain Clubhouse. (Condor Gp)
Aug.4-Aug. 10 (mon-sun) Sixty Lakes Basin
Backpack. Hike over Kearsarge and Glenn Passes to
beautiful lake basin. Trip size limited. Not for
beginners. Contact leaders Gordon and Eva Nipp for
information and reservations. 661.872.2432. gnipp
@att.net.
August 23rd (sat) Hike Piedra Blanca National
Recreation Trail. Destination is the Beartrap Camp-
ground. 10 miles round trip, elevation change 1500
feet. Moderately difficult hike. The trail is through a
beautiful section of Pine Mountain following along
a usually flowing stream shaded on both sides. Will
discuss characteristics of riparian areas. Bring lots of
water, snacks and have good hiking shoes. Hats,
sunscreen, sunglasses recommended. Call Ches,
661.242.0423 or Dale, 661.242.1076. (Condor Gp)
August 23rd (sat) Sardine Canyon And Rex
Montis Mine. (just north of Kearsarge Pk, 10700 ft,
3600 ft gain, 13.2 mi RT) Sardine Canyon is the
historically interesting route to the location of the
Rex Montis mining area, on the north flanks of
Kearsarge Pk. We will learn the history of mining in
this area and see first hand what the winters and the
snow avalanches can do to man’s efforts to strike it
rich.
Strenuous hike due to hiking distance and elevation
gain. Meet 7:00 AM at the Ridgecrest Cinema
parking lot. Call Dennis 760.375-.967 or Jim 760.
375.8161 for more info. (Owens Peak Gp)
HIKERS: Good shoes, water, snack, hat, suntan
lotion, light jacket, call before c o m i n g. Leader
must ask you not to participate if you are n o t
fit enough for trip, or come unprepared. Under
18? Must be accompanied by adult. Please b e
sure to call before joining a hike.
6 THE ROADRUNNER
Midgebuzzings
“Nothing endures but change.”
From Heraclitus (540-480 BC) we have this idea,
void of judgment, but verifying the observation that
all of us make who are paying attention.
Visits to any of the great canyons of Utah or Ari-
zona, and some quiet hours looking into their
depths, will give us a sense of geologic time and our
place in it. Closer to home, but no less profound, are
bristlecone pines in the White Mountains. Core
samples of those ancients, whose beginnings stretch
back nearly 5,000 years, inform us, among other
things, of great climate changes and of the factors
that influenced them. The Little Ice Age, from 1300
to 1850, was a mere breath of that time, yet a study
of its dire consequences to human history makes
one humble in the knowledge of what we cannot
control.
These were my thoughts during much of the annual
Memorial Day Weekend gathering of my family at
our home in the San Bernardino Mountains above
the city of Redlands. We have gone there for what to
some of us is a lifetime, and our histories are
wrapped in memories of wind in tall conifers, the
play of light through oak leaves, morning voices of
jays and chickadees, comic antics of raccoons, and
wild cries in the depths of the night from hungry
and ravaging coyotes. Some of us who are graying
now remember summer days in childhood building
little rock dams in the creek that tumbles down from
Forest Falls. Less benignly, we have permanent
recollections of recurring shocks from a succession
of floods that have in some winters transformed the
child-friendly creek into a monster, devastating lives,
property and timberlines. But in all that time, the
most constant presence has been that of the conifers,
giving voice to the wind, shading and nurturing wild
creatures, and defining the life there.
Now they are dying. Half are gone already, and the
other half have been weakened, with no end in sight
of the drought that has claimed them. The lakes at
Arrowhead and Big Bear are dangerously low, and
neighbors are at odds with neighbors over what to
do. There is concern in our own community as
opportunists have sensed potential profit in the
possibility of buying up little century-old cabins,
and of tearing them down to build huge, artless and
anomalous houses as a suburb to the cities below.
Such structures are common in resorts everywhere
now, but so far they have been rejected on our
mountain. Most of our neighbors have not yielded
their historic and aesthetic values to the concept of
“real estate.” But without conifers the old values
will be gone, or will change to something we will not
recognize.
Nevertheless, there is good news. The oak trees,
which have been lovely, but small and uncompetitive
all these years in the shadows of towering giants, are
doing very well, thank you. Their tap roots are sip-
ping comfortably at deep water sources well below
the reach of pine and cedar. Perhaps, without heavy
shade from conifers, the oaks will thrive and
eventually dominate the mountain. Furthermore, I
have never seen such a year for yucca. Their white
plumes are flourishing in great numbers, as have
wildflowers all through this remarkable spring in
California. Every week, here at home, we get another
report from Alison Sheehey, our wildflower guru,
complete with exciting pictures of what is blooming
in the mountains right on into summer.
Maybe, as far as nature’s choices are concerned, it
would be healing for us sometimes to think of
change, not as tragic but as newly good. That, at
least, could take some of the sting out of loss.
Ann Williams
Help Prune the Bushie Politicians
JOIN AN ACTIVIST LIST!
The e-mail world is wonderful! Relieve your stress
with “hot” letters to our legislators the easy way.
We are grateful indeed for those of you who have already
joined in on the Sierra Club Action Networks: the national,
the state and our own chapter-local version, (now 64 strong,
up from 5 just a few years ago) plus the mini Condor Group
version (12 plus).
With 1600 members in our Chapter, there are obviously
many more of us who could do the same, especially now
that it is easier to participate than ever before. Here’s how!
1. Go to the Sierra Club Home Page. Click on
the Take Action (right side of page). Directions pop
up for you to follow. Once signed up, action alerts
on federal legislation will come your way.
2. Go to the My Backyard on SC home page.
Click on California. Click on Take Action list. Sign
in there. Once signed up, action alerts on state
environmental legislation will come your way. .
(Need more background info? find it in Action
Network. Includes an editable letter that will be
emailed or faxed automatically to your official.
3. For very local issues, send an email to alunger
@juno.com and join the 64 other local sierra club
members who are receiving the alerts sent out by our
own Art Unger,
This is a great way to get your citizen’s duties done
with plenty of time to enjoy the temptations of
summer.
THE ROADRUNNER 7

AMERICA AT ITS BEST or POPCORN PLAYGROUNDS?

Our National Parks. Which will it be? Are there answers to be found in these quotes from speeches made by
National Park Historian, Michael Frome?
“ The point is that national parks cannot be all things and still be national parks. Prudent and intelligent
people must realize that unrestrained pressure on the parks for profit is not progress. It serves to make one
generation rich and to impoverish the future.
A place of beauty is like a theatre; it may be built to seat 500 persons—if it is, you don't try to cram 1,000
persons into those 500 seats or to give them free reign to do whatever they want.”
Michael Frome, “Protecting the Golden Goose” - 1987

"National parks, monuments and historic shrines constitute a gallery of America and Americana at their
best. Unfortunately, over the past half century I have witnessed many, many changes in the parks, some few
for the better, but others highly damaging and cause for serious concern. Simply stated, these precious
places are overused, misused, polluted, inadequately protected, and unmercifully exploited commercially
and politically—more so in the recent reactionary corporate-controlled Congress than at any time in
memory. Clearly, we the people need to redefine and reassert the rightful role of national parks in the fabric
of contemporary high-tech, materialist-driven society. We need to rescue the national parks from being
reduced to popcorn playgrounds." Michael Frome, “National Parks or Theme Parks” - 1998

AROUND THE CHAPTER

Highway Handypersons. The Buena Vista
Group continues to keep their section of the
highway in trim. Not an easy job especially in the
summer heat, but guaranteed to provide a real
feeling of satisfaction that comes from doing a
physical job with a positive result. Call Glenn
Shellcross for further details, 661.832.3382—and
keep up the good work.
Looking to the Future. The Kaweah Group met
recently to plan programs and activities for the fall.
New members are joining the group and things are
really looking up with interesting and attractive
plans for the days ahead. Next ex-com meeting will
be held October 28th. It will include discussion of
recent developments of local issues. Call
559.784.4643 for details.
Raffle Rage. The Condor Group’s meetings
always have a raffle, a raffle which brings out a lot
of laughs and good sports. The drawing of
numbers is a big occasion. The choice of items is
outrageous—not to be forgotten is the
Transylvanian ”great vampire wine.” The con-
tributors who donated it were not surprised to see it
returned to the raffle supply at the next meeting.
Taken again as a choice by unwitting raffle winners,
those “lucky” folks brought it along to a star-
gazing rendezvous. One taste and it was decided
that the contents should be returned by libation to
the vampires if there were any around.
Chapter ExCom visits Ridgecrest. Paul Gipe, as
chair of the Chapter ExCom, has tried to hold
Chapter business meetings in as many locales within
the Chapter as possible, everywhere from Pine
Mountain Club to Visalia. In the month of May the
Chapter Excom made it to Ridgecrest. Thanks go to
Stan Haye & Jeanie Stillwell-Haye, Dolph Amster,
Dennis Burge, and Jean Bennett, who hosted that
meeting. After a friendly discussion of the current
political climate over lunch, we moved to the Kerr-
McGee Center for our afternoon business meeting.
There we heard about topics of concern to our
desert activists, including management of the
expanded Red Rock Canyon State Park.
Angeleans, Kern Kaweans Meet. Reps of the
Angeles Chapter and Kern Kaweah’s Condor
Group met in Palmdale and Lancaster to talk about
common concerns and began to plan some
“borderline” activities together for the future. The
trip over from PMC started in a light rainfall and
ended up in a full-blown snowstorm, “icing on the
cake” of a great meeting with new friends.
Flowers everywhere. Everywhere in the Chapter
area there have been wildflowers in great
abundance. The Gorman Hills were beyond belief.
Thousands of people came to take thousands of
pictures. (Or was it hundreds of thousands?) In the
Mt. Pinos District of Los Padres there is (now
was?) a fantastic display of mariposas in meadows
west of PMC. The basic color of the mariposa
petals is white with orange-red decorations, with
occasional deep maroon colors. This year yellow
and lavender versions of this flower appeared, an
amazing surprise for local flower-lovers.
8 THE ROADRUNNER

SIERRA FRAMEWORK THREATENED. HELP!

The Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment is a result of 14 years of planning, research, conservation efforts,
and a major policy tug-of-war. The Sierra Nevada Framework decision, although far from perfect, is a major
positive step toward ecologically based conservation planning for this mountain range.
In 2001, this historic plan to preserve old growth forests and wildlife in the Sierra was signed by the Forest
Service. The plan, the Sierra Nevada Framework, changed the direction of the Forest Service from
overlogging and roadbuilding toward more balance in the forests. It also set in place guidelines to remove
brush and small trees near communities to decrease the risk of catastrophic forest fires, while protecting
ancient forests.
But now the Forest Service, under a new administration, wants to weaken protections and let timber companies
cut large old growth trees deep in the forest. This plan would go back to the old days of overlogging,
threaten the future of many species of wildlife, and double logging in our Sierra Nevada national forests.
Tell the agency to keep the Framework in place as agreed to in 2001. Don’t let the Forest Service do an
about-face! The result would be a forest policy indistinguishable from the overcutting of the 1980s, the very
abuses that led to the Framework plan in the first place.
Send your comments as soon as possible to the following, deadline September 12:
Email: snfpa@fs.fed.us Fax: (801) 517-1014
U.S. Mail: Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment SEIS, P. O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1090.
Copies to the president and other officials of the Forest Service (see below) will help also.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Roadrunner: Next deadline, August 5.
Email: jmal@frazmtn.com
Mail: PO Box GG, Frazier Park, 93222

Federal Government Numbers:

President: White House Comment Line: 202.456.1111 e-mail - president@whitehouse.gov
Mail: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - 202.224.3121.
Sen Barbara Boxer: Sen Diane Feinstein: Common address: 1130 O Street, Ste 2446 Fresno, CA 93721
Boxer phone: 559.497.5109 - Fax 559.497.5111
Feinstein phone: 559.485.7430 - Fax 202.228.3954
California Government Numbers;
Gov. Davis: 916.445.2841
Calif. Legislative Switchboard (receptionist will help you!ID your Senator and Assembly member if you are
unsure): !916-322.9900.
Local Officials: Check your local phonebook. Often under Government.
Other Officials, Agencies Frequently Contacted:
Dept of Interior Dir. Gale Norton, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
US Forest Service: Dale Bosworth. USDA Forest Service, P.O. Box 96090 Washington, D.C., 20090-6090,
phone 202.205.8333