August 31, 2007

 

 

Dear CalUWild members and supporters:

 

I kept waiting all month for more items to cross my computer screen, but everyone must have been on vacation, so hereÕs a very brief for August.

 

Enjoy the Labor Weekend, and weÕll see whatÕs in the news in September!

 

 

Thanks for your interest and support,

Mike

 

 


IN CALIFORNIA
1.   BLM Ridgecrest Office
          Volunteer Service Opportunities


IN ARIZONA
2.   Tumacacori Highlands
          Wilderness Bill Introduced
          (ACTION ITEM)


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IN CALIFORNIA
1.   BLM Ridgecrest Office
          Volunteer Service Opportunities

Marty Dickes, BLM Wilderness Resource Specialist in the Ridgecrest Field Office, sent the following request for help on various projects her office would like to accomplish over the next months. ItÕs a great way to spend time outdoors, learn about issues facing wild areas, and do something good for Nature, all at the same time. Contact Marty at 760-384-5444 for more information.

 

 

Hi Folks!

 

Many of you have helped with and/or organized group service projects in Ridgecrest BLM Wilderness the past.  Several of you have asked me for ideas for service projects for groups to do in the future.  Here is a list of projects that I would like to see completed over  the next fiscal year (September 2007-May 2008).  Some projects will only require 2-3 volunteers and can be organized very informally with people volunteering on an individual basis.  Other projects will require a larger group of people, preferably one or two organized groups, and may need to be scheduled months in advance to garner participants.  Some of the larger group projects have already been scheduled with specific volunteers and/or groups.  I've included them here for scheduling purposes or in case you would like to join forces.  If any of these projects sound interesting, please get in touch with me so we can set something up.  If you know of other individuals and/or groups that may be interested in helping, please pass this memo on.  Ridgecrest Wilderness could really use some additional helping hands!

 

Sept. 15-21, 2007.   Friends of the Inyo.  Upper Pat Keyes Tamarisk Inventory & Removal, Inyo Mountains Wilderness.  Leader Todd Vogel.

 

Sept. 28-30, 2007.   Need Groups and Individual Volunteers!  Marijuana Farm Cleanup, Sacatar Trail Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

Oct. 6-7, 2007.   Antelope Valley Sierra Club Chapter.   Tortoise Ramp Installation on 2  Bird Guzzlers, El Paso Mountains Wilderness.  Leader Kate Allen.

 

NOTE:  We will be preparing a programmatic EA to decide the final disposition of all 21existing bird guzzlers in Ridgecrest BLM Wilderness.  The tortoise ramps are an interim measure that must be completed asap in the El Paso Mountains and Golden Valley Wildernesses to comply with WEMO.  The Wilderness program has volunteered to accomplish this task with the minimum tool, i.e., walking in and using hand tools.  We have access to pack stock (two burros from our Wild Horse & Burro facility) to help carry heavy loads.  I think we can get ramps installed on 2 guzzlers over a given weekend; one involving a longer hike, the other a shorter.  I am looking for more individuals and/or groups of 2-6 volunteers (Tom Budlong and I could split larger groups into 2 teams...) to help with this project from October 2007  -  February, 2008.

 

Oct. 15-21, 2007.    Student Conservation Association Wild Corp. & Individual Volunteers.  Pat Keyes Ridge to McEvoy Canyon, Cache Removal & Light Trail Maintenance, Inyo Mtns. Wilderness.  Leaders:  Marty Dickes & Calder Reid (Inyo National Forest).

 

Oct. 27-28, 2007.  Need Groups and/ Individual Volunteers!        Chris Wicht Camp After-the-Fire Cleanup & Restoration, Surprise Canyon Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes

 

Nov.  14-18, 2007.  Friends of the Inyo/Desert Survivors.  "Cougar" Canyon Tamarisk Removal, Inyo Mountains Wilderness.  Leaders:  Todd Vogel & Bob Lyons.

 

Nov. 21-24, 2007.  Friends of the Inyo/UC Riverside.  Pat Keyes & Beveridge Cyns. Tamarisk Removal, Inyo Mountains Wilderness.  Leader:  Todd Vogel.

 

Nov. 29-30, 2007.  Need Groups and/ Individual Volunteers!   Marijuana Farm Cleanup, Owens Peak Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

Feb., 2008.  2-Day Exploratory Backpack, El Paso Mountains Wilderness.  Leaders:  Kate Allen & Marty Dickes.

 

March, 2008.  2-Day Exploratory Backpack, Grass Valley Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

March, 2008.  Need Groups and/Individual Volunteers!  Hunter Canyon Cache Removal & Light Trail Maintenance, Inyo Mountains Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

March 28-30, 2008.   Need Groups and/ Individual Volunteers!  Removal Small Tamarisk Infestations, Argus Range Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

April 4-8, 2008.  Need Groups and/ Individual Volunteers!  Paiute Cyn. Tamarisk Removal (5-Day Backpack), Inyo Mountains Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

April 26-28, 2008.   Need Groups and/ Individual Volunteers!   Marijuana Farm Restoration, Owens Peak Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

May, 2008.   Student Conservation Association Wild Corp. & Individual Volunteers.  Beveridge Ridge Historic Cabin Stabilization, Inyo Mtns. Wilderness.  Contact:  Marty Dickes.

 

__________________

 

If you are interested or have any questions, please call me at 760-384-5444.

 

Hope you can help!

 

Marty Dickes
Wilderness Coordinator
BLM, Ridgecrest Field Office

 

IN ARIZONA
2.   Tumacacori Highlands
          Wilderness Bill Introduced
          (ACTION ITEM)

 

Our friends at the Arizona Wilderness Coalition have been working for years to protect the Tumacacori Highlands in southern Arizona. Rep. Raœl Grijalva introduced legislation in Congress this month to do just that (H.R. 3287). The following is a slightly edited version of the announcement that AWC sent out.

 

 

Rep. Raul Grijalva Introduces Bill to Protect Tumacacori Highlands as Federal Wilderness!!

 

Call or email your senators and representatives in Congress and ask that they support Rep. Grijalva's legislation to protect the Tumacacori Highlands as wilderness!

 

In southern Arizona there exists a place of color, beauty, and wonderful opportunities for exploration and adventure. As you read this missive, deer race across rolling hills, oak trees rustle in the breeze, children's laughter rises from Pena Blanca Lake, and the songs of hundreds of songbirds punctuate the silence of the Tumacacori Highlands.

 

On August 2, Representative Raœl Grijalva introduced legislation to protect the Tumacacori Highlands as federal wilderness.

 

The Tumacacori Highlands are located in the Coronado National Forest. The area, which was recently featured in an 11-page color spread in Arizona Highways magazine, is part of Arizona's Sky Island Region, an area famed for its diversity of plant and animal species, including more than 400 types of birds. Wilderness designation for the 84,000-acre Tumacacori Highlands will ensure future generations will always have the chance to experience this area in all of its natural splendor, just I did recently with my wife and two girls. I hope you get the chance to visit the Highlands sometime soon!

 

Our state's population has increased exponentially, but it's been close to 20 years since the last wilderness designation in Arizona to safeguard our fragile landscape. By protecting places like the Tumacacori Highlands as wilderness, we can preserve a part of our unique southwestern heritage. Please join me in thanking Representative Grijalva for standing up for Arizona's wild beauty.

 

You can read our joint press release with Sky Island Alliance and Friends of Tumacacori Highlands here.

 

Thank you,
Kevin Gaither-Banchoff
Executive Director
Arizona Wilderness Coalition

 

Please write your representative in support of Rep. GrijalvaÕs bill.Use the following as talking points.

 

I am writing/calling to ask you to support the Tumacacori Highlands Wilderness Act of 2007 (H.R. 3287). The Tumacacori Highlands, which is part of a region famed for its diversity of plant and animal species, is an Arizona treasure and worthy of wilderness protection.

 

I was surprised to learn it has been 17 years since wilderness was last designated in Arizona. In the meantime, Arizona has become the fastest growing state in the nation, and its expanding population is putting pressure on the last wild places there. This proposal to protect the Tumacacori Highlands as wilderness ensures that a piece of our southwestern heritage will remain in its natural, beautiful state, for future generations.