april 2004 mineral king group newsletter, sierrra club
TRANSCRIPT
The Sierra Club and other majorenvironmental organizations are dismayedby the Final Plan for the Giant SequoiaNational Monument.. The Forest Service has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye tothe intent and purpose of the Proclamation and ignored our three years of constantreminders that they must follow the Proclamation.
Nearly four years after PresidentClinton signed the Proclamation creating the Giant Sequoia National Monument,the Forest Service has released the FinalDecision about how they want to managethe Monument: the news for Giant Sequoias, indeed for all species of theMonument, is not good.
Final Sequoia Monument Plan is Bad News
Was this the Intent of the Proclamation?
NOTE: These photo are straight out of the Monument Final Plan depicting the typesof "management" allowed for the Monument including inside groves: heavymachinery, tremendous soil disturbance and logging!
Mineral King Group News Sierra ClubApril, 2004
Individual Highlights:
Your Vote Needed – 2 Upcoming Outings & Events – 3 Volunteer at LeConte Lodge – 7
Science Lesson Plans – 2 Register to Vote! – 3 Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer! – 8
“When wetry to pickout anythingby itself, wefind ithitched toeverythingelse in theuniverse.” John Muir
In his Proclamation, President Clintonprotected not only the Giant Sequoiagroves but the entire range of ecosystemswithin Monument boundaries, “Oakwoodlands and chaparral to high-elevationsubalpine forest, numerous meadows andstreams .. an interconnected web of habitatsfor moisture-loving species.” Hespecifically included wildlife such as thePacific fisher and the California spottedowl, along geological and archaeologicalresources. He pointed out that the forestneeded to be restored from the effects of acentury of fire suppression and logging.Further, he directed in the Proclamationthat the removal of trees, except for
Continued on page 4….
Sierra Club Mineral King Group/ 559-739-8527Web: http://kernkaweah.sierraclub.org/mineralking/
Your Vote Needed in Sierra Club Board ElectionYou may have heard about the
controversy revolving around this year’sSierra Club Board of Directors (BOD)election, which has received nationalmedia coverage. Club entities, unlikeindividual Club leaders, cannot takepositions on the election, but oftenmembers wonder how they can find outmore about the candidates than the ballotstatement.
This year, there is impartial andrelevant information on the Board ofDirectors candidates online at:http://www.sierraclub.org/bod/2004election/candidate_forum/.
It contains responses from all 17candidates to 14 key questionsdeveloped from a survey of grassrootsClub leaders during January.
Science Lesson Plans Inspired by John Muir Now Available
The Sierra Club announces newstandards-aligned Science Lesson Plansinspired by and using John Muir'sadventures and explorations. John Muirwas the famed naturalist, explorer,writer, conservationist, renowned for hisexciting adventures in California's SierraNevada, among Alaska's glaciers, andworld wide travels in search of nature'sbeauty. As a writer, he taught the peopleof his time and ours the importance ofexperiencing and protecting our naturalheritage.
Learning about John Muir's lifecan serve as a launching pad to science-based environmental studies throughplant and animal habitats, ecosystems,earthquakes, avalanches, glaciers,geology, weather, biodiversity, andforests, as we discover that, as JohnMuir said, “When we try to pick outanything by itself, we find it hitched toeverything else in the universe.”
The Science Lesson Plans arethe latest installment in the John MuirStudy Guide, a K-12 Curriculum Guide
The website features enhancednavigation so you can easily see allcandidates' answers to a particularquestion, all the 14 answers of aparticular candidate, or any combination.All answers are limited to 150 words.
The Candidates' Forum Q&Awebsite is a list of candidates' answers tokey questions, presented in sucha way that you can easily contrast andcompare their positions.
This is an important election,and your informed participation willhelp determine our future direction. TheNational Club is offering this feature tofurther the Club's tradition of an openand democratic election and to help youcast a knowledgeable and informed vote.
You may also wish to consultwith trusted Club leaders – contact anyof our Chapter or Group Ex Commleaders to obtain their personal views.
for implementing California EducationCode Section 37222 and celebrating JohnMuir’s Birthday each April 21. While theoriginal Study Guide is focused onHistory and Social Science, the newlesson plans are aligned to the CaliforniaAcademic Content Standards for Scienceor each grade level, K-12.
Both curricula can be used at anytime of the year, and contain subjectmatter relevant outside California as well.
The new Science Lesson Planswere written by Janet Wood, M.S.Geoscience Education, with the JohnMuir Education Committee of the SierraClub. Janet is the Treasurer of the MineralKing Group.
Teachers may obtain the newScience Lesson Plans free of charge at thefollowing website:
http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/lessons/science/
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April 17, 2004 – Lady Bug Trail – 3miles to Cedar Creek, 6 miles RT,Moderate, 3500 ft to 5000 ft elevation.Meet at 8:30 at Martha Vineyard ParkingLot near McDonalds. Trip Leader:Sharon Meckenstock 559-732-8458.
May 22, 2004 – Tokopah Falls, (oralternate location in case of excessivesnow). 3.5 miles RT, Easy, 6720 ft to7250 ft. Spectacular falls in Spring! TripLeader: Sharon Meckenstock 559-732-8458.
June 12, 2004 - Muir Grove – 4 milesRT, Moderate, 6750 ft to 6830 ft. Thiswonderful outing is an educational onegeared towards increasing the Club'sknowledge of flora. Participants will belectured on wildflowers in the upperSierras and have the opportunity tolearn photo techniques from anexperienced and talented photographer,Pam Coz-Hill, as she points out thenatural beauty of the wilderness. Calltrip leader to sign up: Pam Coz-Hill 733-3882, [email protected].
Local Sierra Club leaders were recentlyshocked to learn that an amazing percentage ofSierra Club members are not registered to vote,or did not vote in the last Presidential election.In fact, if a majority of Sierra Club members hadvoted in the last Presidential Election, we wouldnot be now dealing with the most extremist anti-environment President in U.S. History We knowthat Sierra Club members are among the mosteducated and intelligent members of our society!We need you to register to vote, and to VOTEIN THE NEXT ELECTION! In one recent localelection, only 19 votes separated winning andlosing, so every vote counts!
In California, and especially in TulareCounty, it is easy to register to vote!
To register, you must simply complete avoter registration card. You can findregistration cards at your local Department ofMotor Vehicles office, city hall, most US PostOffices.
Upcoming Outings
Sierra Club Members Need to Register to Vote!
Explore, enjoy andprotect the planet.
Dinner Socials in Visalia:
April 14 at 6 p.m - Canton RestaurantMay 12 at 6 p.m. - TBAJune 9 at 6 p.m. - picnic at Blain Park
You can also always obtain aregistration card from the Tulare CountyElections office in the County Courthouse.
To have a registration card mailed toyou, call (559) 733-6275 or 1-800-345-VOTE or go to the following website to havea registration card mailed to you:
http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/votereg1.html
Once filled out, you can simply mailin your form! You can even register as apermanent absentee voter, if you prefer tovote by mail.
For more information, visit the TulareCounty Elections Department VoterRegistration web page:
http://www.tularecoauditor.org/elections/register.htm
Page 3 of 8
Upcoming Dinner Socials
Harmful Logging Miles
Away from Structures
How to best protect
structures in a forest!
Forest Service “Management”of Sequoia Groves
The final Management Decision
personal use fuel wood, may take placeonly if clearly needed for ecologicalrestoration and maintenance or publicsafety.
That language seems prettystraight forward. The forest needs to berestored and trees can only be removedfor very good reasons.
Somehow the Forest Serviceinterprets this stricture on tree removalto mean they can continue logging andsell 7.5 million board feet of timberevery year, enough to fill 1500 loggingtrucks, for each of ten years. They saythey can justified removing ANYspecies of trees up to 30 inches indiameter from the Monument's forestsand Sequoia Groves. The Sierra Clubfought to stop such managementpractices with a lawsuit in the mid1980s.
How do they justify all this treeremoval? They say that this heavymanipulation is needed to thin the trees
So where is all the projected commercial timber coming from if not
for protection of structures and public safety?
The Forest Service will“develop” huge so-called “threat anddefense zones” that will extend morethan 1 1/2 miles from structures, and, inaddition, they will thin many south andwest facing slopes.
There is no justification forheavy forest manipulation in areas up to3 miles in diameter centering ondeveloped areas. There is no evidencethat intense thinning of the forest doesanything except make the forest hotter,dryer and more flammable; further, itdestroys the old-forest habitat that isalready deficient on Monument landsbecause of past logging. As one Sequoiaexpert pointed out, this Monument has aserious deficit of large trees i.e. thosePage 4 of 8
that have grown too thick and closetogether creating a fire hazard and for“ecological restoration.” This is the sameexcuse for logging they used a quarter ofa century ago!
The Sierra Club Sequoia TaskForce supports removal of easilyignitable brush and small trees, those 4to 8 inches in diameter from withinabout 200 feet of developed areas andstructures. That should be the firstpriority in reducing fuels and promotingpublic safety. Cooperative projects withprivate property owners and homeconstruction using less flammablematerials is the real key.
Bushes and small trees, the onesthat carry fire, are almost never taken tothe sawmill because they are too small.They are not merchantable and areNOT included in the 75 Million BoardFeet of timber the Forest Service plansto sell from the Monument in the nextten years. Scientists tell us that largetrees are almost NEVER a flammabilityproblem; they are very difficult toignite!
40 inches in diameter and larger. Heastutely notes that it would seemreasonable to protect, not log, 30 inchtrees if one hopes to quickly restore 40inch trees.
While there may be limitedsituations that require tree removalinstead of prescribed fire alone, cuttingand removing trees must be the lastresort, not the first. That is what theProclamation clearly says. That is whatwe demand!
Sequoia Monument (continued from page 1)
How could the Forest Serviceinsist that wide spread removal of largetrees is “clearly necessary” and is theironly option, when Sequoia NationalPark, with the same objectives,successfully avoids tree removal onforests adjacent to Monument lands, inthe same Giant Sequoia groves andSierran forest ecosystem? The Park hasbeen using prescribed fire for decades toprotect communities, reduce fuels,create diversity, stimulate the growth ofyoung sequoias and enhance wildlifehabitat in a healthy forest. They seldomresort to tree removal. The results have
Because the Forest Service refuses tocomply with the spirit of theProclamation, the Sierra Club’s positionis that Monument should be managed bythe National Park Service--specificallySequoia/Kings Canyon National Park--instead of by the Forest Service. We areNOT recommending that the Monumentbecome a Park; it should remain aNational Monument, managed in strictaccordance with the Proclamation thatcreated it. Almost all the nation'sNational Monuments are managed bythe Park System; the Giant SequoiaNational Monument should be too! ThePark Service would comply with the
Sequoia National Park’s Long History of Successful Management
The Monument Should be Managed by the Park System
What’s Next?Nearly every national and local
environmental organization is studyingthe final Monument Management Plan.The Sequoia Task Force/Sierra Club willfile an administrative appeal by theMarch 1st deadline.
The Forest Service received over16,000 comments on their Plan, many ofthem from those of you reading thisarticle. The Forest Service didn't listen.The Administrative Appeal process isthe Forest Service’s last chance tochange its ways without our going tocourt. We do not enjoy filing lawsuits
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been excellent. If you have not drivenor hiked through Sequoia National Parkrecently you should. Prepare for a treat.
You will see a healthy beautifulforest with redwoods and other specieslooking much like the forest John Muirdescribed in his ramblings through theSierra in the 19th century with a fullrange of healthy forest conditionsincluding evidence of recent fire. Youwill find yourself wondering why theForest Service can’t do the same thing inthe Monument.
intent and spirit of the Proclamation.After many field trips to SequoiaNational Park, the Sequoia Task Forcebelieves the results of their managementare excellent. Sequoia National Park hasa proven track record and offers thenation's highest standards in resourcemanagement. The Monument deservesnothing less.
and going through the stress of litigation,but we are not going to turn aside and letthe Forest Service go ahead withbusiness as usual. These lands are nolonger in the timber base; they are nowa National Monument which supersedesall past directives. If they will not listento us they will have to listen to thecourts.
Sequoia Monument (continued from page 4)
“The battle we have fought,
and are still fighting, for the
forests is a part of the
eternal conflict between
right and wrong, and we
cannot expect to see the end
of it. I trust that our Club
will not weary in this forest
well-doing. The fight for the
forest parks and reserves is
by no means over”.
- John Muir, 1895
“I want to ensure that these
majestic cathedral groves, which
John Muir called
`nature's masterpiece,'
are protected for future
generations to study and enjoy.”
- President Bill Clinton,
April, 2000.
If you want to put in your twocents worth, now the most effectivething you can do is to write our UnitedStates Senators Barbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein. Tell them that theManagement Plan the Forest Service hasadopted is a Logging Plan, not a planto protect the Monument’s resources.Point out that the Plan they haveadopted would cost 3.4 million dollarsper year while the rejected Alternative4, which relies on prescribed fire as theprimary management tool with little treecutting, would only cost 2.1 milliondollars per year. This would savetaxpayers 1.2 million dollars every yearAND provide sound management. Askthem to demand that the Forest Servicewithdraw the Management Plan andwrite a new one that complies withPresident Clinton’s Proclamation. If theForest service refuses to listen ask themto support efforts to transfer themanagement of the Giant SequoiaNational Monument to the National ParkService. You can also let the newCalifornia Governor know that you areproud of the state’s role in successfullychampioning the Monument againstTulare County’s lawsuit to dismantle it.
What You Can Do
Contact Your Representatives!
Urge the Governor to continueCalifornia's strong defense of thiswonderful Monument!
Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerState Capitol BuildingSacramento, CA 95814Phone: 916-445-2841Fax: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Senator Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate331 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington D.C. 20510(202) 224-3841feinstein.senate.gov/email.htmlhttp://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
Page 6 of 8
Urge the State’s continued support forone of California’s most treasuredresources.
Let our leaders know how important it isfor the Giant Sequoia NationalMonument to have the highest and bestmanagement possible; urge theirsupport!
Senator Barbara BoxerUnited States Senate112 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington D.C. 20510 (202)224-3553boxer.senate.gov/contact
Your Representative:U.S. House of Representatives,Washington, DC 20515(202) 224-3121To Find and Write YourRepresentative:http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Get on the Sequoia Task ForceNewsletter Mailing List and e-mail AlertList. Send your name, address, and emailaddress to:[email protected]
http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/sequoia/
Sequoia Monument (continued from page 5)
The LeConte Volunteer Campsite is nestled in the
forest, next to the river, just beyond this meadow!
Volunteers Needed at Sierra Club’s Home in Yosemite Valley
LeConte Memorial Lodge,the Sierra Club’s home in YosemiteNational Park, is celebrating itsCentennial during the 2004 Seasonwhich begins on April 30, 2004.
We are looking for SierraClub Members interested involunteering one week to assist inkeeping the doors of the Memorialopen to our many visitors. This is awonderful opportunity to meetfamilies and friends from around theworld and to share your own interestsin wilderness. Please considerspending one week this season withus at LeConte Memorial Lodge.
As a volunteer, entrance tothe Park is free, and you may campwith us, free-of-charge, under thePonderosa Pine near the MercedRiver with a wonderful view of Half-Dome. Many weeks are stillavailable. Bring a friend or familymember and volunteer together.
Page 7 of 8
Please call or email the Curator to discussvolunteering at LeConte Memorial Lodge thisseason.
For more information, see:
http://www.sierraclub.org/education/leconte/volunteering.asp
CONTACT:Dr. Bonnie J. Gisel, Curator,209 372-4542; 209 [email protected]
.
SIERRA CLUBP.O. Box 3543Visalia, CA 93278USA
P.O. Box 3543Visalia, CA 93278USA
Phone:(559) 739-8527
E-Mail:[email protected]
Your local Sierra Club Group is composedentirely of volunteers. Don't just sit back and let othersdo all the varied tasks. Mineral King group has 400members and just a few keep things going. Volunteer alittle time it doesn't have to be a big commitment.
Here’s a few ideas of how to get involved:
1. Attend a “mailing party” to send the next newsletter.2. Send us our e-mail address for periodic updates andactivities.3. Attend a hearing or meeting of our local board ofsupervisors or planning commission and report back togroup.4. Come to a group meeting or social.5. Write a letter or e-mail supporting a club priority toyour legislators.6. Visit our website!7. Register to vote and help get out the vote for pro-environment candidates.8. Please contact us if you’d like to help at any level!We need you!The Group ExComm meets the fourth Monday of themonth. Any member is always welcome to attend.For more information, contact our Membership Chair:Beverly Garcia 592-9865 or [email protected].
Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer!
Your Mineral King Groupis your local Sierra ClubGroup for Tulare Countywest of Porterville, and forKings County.
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
http://kernkaweah.sierraclub.org/mineralking
Sierra ClubMineral King Group
Please send us your e-mailaddress for periodic newsupdates from the MineralKing Group. E-mail yourrequest to: