Ventana Wilderness Watch Newsletter, Winter 2004 ~ Ventana Wilderness Alliance

8/9/2019 Ventana Wilderness Watch Newsletter, Winter 2004 ~ Ventana Wilderness Alliance

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Ventana Wilderness Watchwww.ventanawild.org Volume 5 Number 1 Winter 2004X

With a little help from the For-est Service, the Willow CreekClean Up Project should get started

this spring. The goal of the project

is to remove about three tons of trash

from the new 8,400 acre Willow Creek

addition to the Silver Peak Wilderness

Area. The trash was rediscovered

ve years ago by VWA volunteers who

were surveying the area for possible

wilderness designation. That wilder-ness designation became a reality with

passage of the 2002 Big Sur Wilder-

ness and Conservation Act. Now its

time to pack that trash out of the new

Wilderness.

In 2002, the VWA received a

grant from the Monterey Bay Aquari-

um and Research Institute Employees

Conservation Fund to conduct the

required biological and archeologi-

cal studies to secure Forest Service

approval for the project. Those studies

are now complete and Forest Service

approval is expected soon.

This spring a team of VWA vol-

unteers working with a certied welder,and backed up by a Forest Service Fire

Crew, will be using a cutting torch to

reduce the large household appliances

and other items of machinery down

to sizes suitable to be attached to a

backpack frame and packed out of the

wilderness. In the summer, after the

steelhead run is over, teams of volun-

teers will be needed to load household

and other trash into durable bags that

will be strapped onto backpack frames

and then pack them out of the wilder-

ness. The hike out to the trail head is

less than a mile, so each volunteer will

be able to make several trips each day.

If you would like to volunteer towork on the Willow Creek Clean Up

Project or wish to learn more about it,

please visit: www.ventanawild.org/

projects/willow/ or email Tom Hop-

kins at [email protected]

Willow Creek Clean Up To Start This Spring

Congress is nally seeing past all the theories and pay-

ing attention to the reality on the ground. Its a win-win-win for permittees, taxpayers and the environment.

Reps. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Ral Gri-

jalva (D-Ariz.) have introduced legislation (H.R. 3324) to

enact a voluntary federal grazing permit buyout program

that would compensate public lands ranchers and could

eventually protect 257 million acres of federal public

lands in the United States.

This legislation will go a long way toward resolv-

ing the ongoing and contentious debate on public lands

grazing in the West, said Grijalva. Congressman

Shays and I have introduced a bill that will give much-

needed relief to ranching families suffering the results ofdrought and other economic factors. At the same time,

the bill will allow for the restoration of public lands that

are no longer suitable for grazing. It is a win-win solution

to what for many years was viewed as unsolvable.

Its a relief that Congress is nally seeing past

all the theories and paying attention to the reality on

the ground, said John Whitney III, a fourth-generation

rancher who holds the largest U.S. Forest Service grazing

permit in Arizona. Whitneys 158,000-acre Sunower

allotment in Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix

has been closed for three years because of drought.In a recent poll conducted by the Arizona Grazing

Permit Buyout Campaign, 154 permittees (68 percent of

all respondents) of the states 870 federal public lands

ranchers supported the bill. Eleven others have since

added their support.

We know this is just the tip of the iceberg, said John

Whitney IV, steering committee chairman of the Arizona

buyout campaign. A lot of permittees have told us they

support a buyout, but they just couldnt believe it would ever

happen. Well, now it is happening. If all federal grazing per-

mittees availed themselves of the buyout offer, the plan would

effectively retire a federal welfare program that costs Ameri-can taxpayers more than $500 million annually in subsidies

for public lands ranching operations. A complete buyout of all

federal public lands grazed by livestock would cost taxpay-

ers $3.1 billion but provide a net savings of $12.6 billion.

Federal public lands produce only 2 percent of the

nations total livestock feed and beef. Contributions from

public lands grazing to state and local economies are

miniscule. As the cost of ranching continues to increase, the

capital value of federal grazing permits continues to decline.

Voluntary Grazing Buyout Bills Introduced

Continued[


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Ventana Wilderness Alliance

Post Ofce Box 506

Santa Cruz, CA 95061

Phone/fax 831.423.3191

Email: [email protected]

Ofcers:

President, Jon Libby

[email protected] President, Gordon Johnson

[email protected]

Secretary, Nikki Nedeff,

[email protected]

Treasurer, Tom Hopkins,

[email protected]

Board members at large:

Boon Hughey

[email protected]

Kelsey Jordahl,[email protected]

The Ventana Wilderness Alli-

ance is an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-

exempt organization. Dues and

donations are tax deductible.

Newsletter Production

Design, Chad Jordahl

Printing, Pilot Printing,

Santa Cruz, CA

Membership Coordinator Max Ritchiemoved from Oregon to the centralcoast in 1999 to be closer to the vibrant

cultural arts scene of San Francisco, the

majesty of the Big Sur coast, and the day-

to-day lifestyle that is Santa Cruz.

A writer and performance artist,Max studies music and envisions a career

working in the non-prot sector. The

VWW caught up with Max when neither

of us were tuned into the Superbowl blitz

one recent Sunday afternoon.

VWW: Max, what brought you

to the Santa Cruz area and

when was your rst visit to

the northern Santa Lucia

Range?

Im originally from Oregon and after

nishing my undergraduate degree in An-

thropology from the University of Oregon

in Eugene, I came south looking for a

new beginning. I currently live in Bonny

Doon and it was the exceptional beauty of

the Santa Cruz area - living amongst the

redwoods and so close to the ocean - that

convinced me to stay.

My rst visit to the northern Santa Lucia

Range was from a distance. After college,

in the grand tradition of American youth,I embarked on a cross-country road trip.

Certainly, one of the most memorable

parts of the trip was the drive along the

Big Sur coast. The mountains and rugged

coastline made a huge impression on me.

And, here I am today.

VWW: When was your rst

visit into the heart of the

Ventana Wilderness?

My rst Ventana adventure was an over-

night trip in the Spring of 2000 when Ihiked from China Camp to Pine Valley. It

was a perfect hike at the perfect time and

made for a perfect wilderness experience.

Its a beautiful hike in any season, but I

hit it at the peak of the wildower bloom.

Anyone who has ever witnessed elds of

freshly bloomed lupine can attest to the

intoxicating qualities of their fragrant and

visual splendor. It was a very memorable

experience for me, and I try to make it

back there at that time every year.

VWW: Any favorite places in

the northern Santa Lucia?

Well, I think back to my rst visit to Pine

Valley... but I also really enjoy the Indians

area and the spectacular views from Juni-

pero Serra Peak. One of my most memo-rable Ventana experiences was a day hike

to Ventana Cone from Pine Ridge Camp.

Very rugged terrain indeed! I remember

that I was breaking in a new pair of boots

that I had just purchased, and by the end

of the day they were coming apart at the

seams. The hike to Ventana Cone is a

true test of a shoes durability, and mine

failed. Needless to say, I had a fun time

explaining that I had only worn them once

when I went back to return them.

VWW: How did you rst learn

about the VWA?

I was interested in nding some informa-

tion about a particular trail in the Los

Padres and a friend told me about the

Trail Report section on the VWA web site.I checked the site and then asked a few

questions on the forum. All my questions

were answered and I was excited to learn

that there were such well seasoned Ventana-

philes out there with similar interests.

VWW: What is your volunteer

role with the VWA?

I saw a query on the VWA listserv calling

for a volunteer to deal with the member-

ship database, so I volunteered. Tom

Hopkins was my lead into the volunteer

position, which involves keeping updated

and accurate records of all VWA member-

ship data. I deal with all new membership

entries and membership renewals. When

I began, the database was ripe for repair,

so Ive redesigned it by reorganizing themembership information to reect VWA

member interests, membership categories

and renewal dates.

VWW: What prompted you to

take on this volunteer respon-

sibility for the VWA?

I am really interested in learning about

and gaining experience in the non-prot

sector, and being involved with a local,

grassroots non-prot like the VWA ap-

pealed to me. I am always amazed that the

VWA Volunteer ProfleMax Ritchie


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organization has accomplished so much

without any paid staff. Its quite inspiring

really, and I am proud to be able to share

my time and skills with an organization

comprised of so many great people who

are doing such positive things.

Im also interested in promoting wilder-ness experiences and ethics to young

people, particularly underprivileged

youth. I think the wilderness preservation

movement needs to be broadened, and

reach out to young people in communities

that traditionally do not have the opportu-

nity for true wilderness experiences. Id

like to develop a youth outreach program

for the VWA to actually bring urban kids

into the wilderness. (VWW: And, yes,

the VWA has a small budget available for

seed money to jump start a youth program)

VWW: So, Max, do you have

any exciting trips in mind for

the future?

Denitely more trips into the Ventana

- the Black Cone Trail and The Win-

dow are on my list. Im also planning an

adventure in Latin America that will take

me to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail.Q

The VWA Trail Crew has been merrilybusy this winter on a number of fronts.

Several work trips on the beautiful

Buckeye Trail in the Silver Peak Wilder-ness have been enjoyed as both day-trip

and overnight outings, with great progress

being made rebuilding the tread betweenBuckeye Flat and the Cruikshank envi-rons. In February a 4-day trip was takento the spectacular upper Black Cone Trail

deep in the Ventana Wilderness, wherebythe post-re brush regrowth encroaching

into the trail corridor was dealt a decisiveblow by the lopper brigade. More trips

are planned for this spring in these areasand others, so by all means be in touch ifyoud like to lend a hand in the care and

feeding of our wonderful Wilderness trails.Contact: [email protected]

VWA Trail Crew

The Shays-Grijalva bills would pay federal permit-

tees well above market value to relinquish their grazing

permits. Under the plan, a permittee with 300 cow/calf

pairs that graze public lands for ve months of the year

would receive $262,000.

The buyout program would also diminish decades

of environmental destruction caused by livestock graz-

ing. In its Global 2000 report, the Council on Environ-

mental Quality noted that improvident grazing has

been the most potent desertication force, in terms of

total acreage, within the United States.

A federal grazing permit buyout is ecologically

imperative, economically rational, scally prudent,

socially just and politically pragmatic, said Kerr. Its a

win-win-win for permittees, taxpayers and the environ-

ment.

Reprinted from National Public Lands Grazing

Campaign press release Oct. 20, 2003, www.publiclandsr

anching.org. This website also has a calculator with which

permittees can determine how much they could receive if

this voluntary program is enacted by congress.Q

[ Grazing Buyout

Corrections:

It has been brought to our attention that in thelast issue of the VWW we wrongly attributedthe word bulletproof to the US Forest Ser-vice in describing the updated round of environ-mental analyses expected soon for the Big SurCoastal Grazing Allotments. The Forest Serviceasserts that it never used this descriptive ad-

jective, and we at the VWW hereby retract theword and apologize for any misunderstandingsits use may have caused.

The Ventana Wilderness Alliancecontinues to keep busy but always needs

your support and assistance. We are thank-

ful to all of you who support the VWA in so

many ways; nancially, leading eld trips,

doing a myriad of volunteer tasks, etc etc

The VWA t-shirt program has been a

great success. We have just received our sec-

ond shipment of shirts and faithful volunteer

Mike Splain is sending them out weekly.

If you do not have one (or more) yet it is

not too late. The only way to get one is tosupport the VWA at the $50, or higher, level

or to become an active volunteer. Volunteers

are needed for trail work, leading trips,

administrative assistance (ofce, newsletter,

etc) and others. Do you have a small amount

of time to offer your special talents?? If so,

contact any of the VWA volunteers men-

tioned in this newsletter.

We also need to expand our support

base by increasing our membership. Do

you have a friend who would like to re-ceive a VWA brochure? Send an email to

[email protected] or leave a message

at 831.423.3191 and we will send one out

ASAP. Or, better yet, how about your giv-

ing a gift membership to the VWA? This

would go a long way towards assuring the

long term viability of the VWA and assist

us measurably in the short term. You folks

are the VWA and your help in these small

ways is what keeps us ticking.Q

Rich Popchak and Sean Carroll enjoying a

day of chain-gang labor on the Buckeye Trail.

VWA Needs Your Help - VWA is an all volunteer organization


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New Outings CoordinatorVWA outings coordinator Vince Manning stepped down at the

beginning of the year after serving in this volunteer capacity for

the past couple of years. Vince continues to be active in trail

work and outings in addition to being the VWA archivist. Thanks

Vince, your work has been, and is, appreciated.

VWA board member Kelsey Jordahl is the new outings coordi-

nator. This spring, we will be organizing tours of the potential

wild & scenic rivers as part of the VWAs Wild Rivers campaign.

We are looking for outings leaders to take VWA members and

the community out to see these beautiful rivers. If you are

interested in leading an outing (to a river or elsewhere), or for

more information, email [email protected]. Q

Date Event

Mar. 13 Buckeye trailwork/overnight

April 17 Lower Arroyo Seco River Outing

April 22 Earth Day

April 24 Pine Ridge Trail Worktrip

April 24 Arroyo Seco River Outing

May 1 VWA Board of Directors Meeting

May 2 VWA Annual Membership Gathering

May 8 Little Sur River Outing

May 15 Carmel River Outing

June 5 National Trails Day

See www.ventanawild.org/events for details.

Documents

Ventana Wilderness Watch Newsletter, Winter 2004 ~ Ventana Wilderness Alliance