may 2003-4 san diego sierra
DESCRIPTION
May 2003-4 San Diego SierraTRANSCRIPT
FRIDAY, JUNE 20TH, 2003, 7:30 PM
WONDERS OF THE GLOBAL RAINFORESTSBring your “Magic Carpet” and in 50 minutes circum-navigate the tropical world. Tropical rain forests coverabout six percent of the earth’s surface, but supportmore than half of the world’s animal and plantspecies. It is speculated that over 55% of the world’spopulation lives in or near rain and monsoonalforests.
View, through Ron Hurov’s slides, the mag-nificence of the global rainforests – ranging from spec-tacular archaeological sites in Burma, to red palms inSabah or elephants in Sri Lanka. See and sampleplants that produce gasoline, reduce weight, eliminatewrinkles, and treat cancer. Gaze at botanical gardensstretching from Brazil to Ghana and Thailand. Peer atfascinating buildings extending from Taiwan toMadagascar. Study intriguing plant collection meth-ods as practiced by the natives of Malaysia, Costa Ricaand the Comoro Islands, among others.
Ron Hurov has been an agricultural officer inBorneo, a seedsman in both Hawaii and California,and a worldwide plant explorer. He has trained at theUniversity of British Colombia, Cambridge, theImperial College of Tropical Agriculture, and Cornell.
Join Patty Fares and Mannie Kugler as they relivetheir November 2002 safari to Kenya and Tanzania.Their slides will take you to Kenya’s Maasai Mara,home to the Maasai people and one of the richest col-lections of wildlife in East Africa. Cheetah, lions,giraffe, and zebra are but some of the animals they
THE CHAPTER’S MONTHLY PROGRAMS FOR MAY & JUNE ARE FRIDAY, MAY 16, & FRIDAY, JUNE 20 AT THE
SAN DIEGO ZOO’S OTTO CENTER, LOCATED OUTSIDE THE ZOO, 100 METERS TO THE LEFT OF THE ENTRANCE.PROGRAMS ARE 7:30PM AND ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. MANNY KUGLER IS PROGRAM CHAIR
Monthly Programs
Over the past 47 years Mr.Hurov has visited, lived in,and photographed many ofthese forests. He has collectedseeds and botanicals of manyuseful plants, and hasresearched and grown manytropical crops.
Enjoy the finale ofyour “magic carpet” ride on asun drenched beach in theWest Indies, and take homesome lucky “Monkey Nuts”from Brazil!
spotted on their daily jeep journeys. Elephant footprints and
droppings were tracked on a walkingtour just outside the park. In Tanzaniathey traveled into the NgorongoroCrater, an active volcano 5 millionyears ago, it is now a 12-mile widecaldera and UNESCO World HeritageSite. From here a side-trip was madeto the Olduvai Gorge, site of theLeakey’s discovery of toolmaker Homohabilis and nearby hominid footprintsmade over 3.6 million years ago.Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park,endless plains of migratory andpredatory animals, was their finalstop. The wildebeest were in migra-tion north as lions slept the day awayfrom their perch on rock kopjes. Theelusive leopard, endangered blackrhino, comical wart hog, and tiny dikdik were some of the other animalsspotted on their safari. A hot air bal-loon ride over the Serengeti plains,tour of a giraffe center dedicated toprotecting the endangered Rothschildgiraffe and a visit to a Maasai villagewere also included in their trip.
Mannie Kugler is our Sierra
PHOTO BY PATTY FARES
PHOTOS: PATTY FARES FEEDS A ROTHSCHILD
GIRAFFE AT THE GIRAFFE CENTER OUTSIDE
NAIROBI, KENYA (LEFT); A MAASAI WARRIOR
SHOWS MANNIE KUGLER A SANDPAPER BUSH ON
THEIR WALKING TOUR OF THE MAASAI MARA
NATIONAL RESERVE (ABOVE)
FRIDAY, MAY 16TH, 2003, 7:30 PM
INTO ‘OUT OF AFRICA’!Club Program Chair.
Patty Fares, the trip leader,also leads San Diego UrbanSafaris, or walking tours, andteaches at Mesa College. This istheir second joint Sierra Club pro-gram and, based on their last pro-gram, is sure to be informative aswell as entertaining. Come sharetheir journey.
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PHOTO BY PATTY FARES
PHOTO BY RON HURDOV
PHOTO BY RON HURDOV
page 11 • San Diego Chapter • May/June 2003 • Hi Sierran
PHOTOS: SMOKING TOBACCO IN
BORNEO (LEFT); A MONKEY INSPECTS
AND REMOVES TICKS FROM MAN’SHAIR IN INDIA (ABOVE LEFT)
page 12 • San Diego Chapter • May/June 2003 • Hi Sierran
FOSTER LODGE HOST TRAINING
May 10, Sat., 10 am-1 pmHost Refresher and New Host Training Class, to maintain yourcurrent host status or if you are interested in becoming a newLodge host. Bring lunch. Call Susan Parrish at 619-478-5188 formore info.
JIM BELL BOOK SIGNING
May 10, Saturday, 7pmBookstore, during Ray at NightNew book Long Range Planning: Creating a Sustainable Economy andFuture in the San Diego/Tijuana Region: A Case Study. The bookshows how we can gracefully transform our current non-sustain-able economy into a regional economy that is strong, vibrant andcompletely life sustaining. Part one: our economy and way of lifeare vulnerable to the winds of change now sweeping our planetand regional impact. Part two: a plan to make us much less vul-nerable to global and national dynamics, and how to finance andcreate a sustainable economy in our region. Part three: explorationof the future.
VISITOR/NEW MEMBER
SIERRA CLUB ORIENTATION
May 14 and June 11, 7 pm (2nd Wednesdays)Meet at the Tierrasanta Recreation Center, 11220 Clairemont MesaBlvd. (building on the left.) Presentations start at 7 pm featuringSingles, Bike, Photo, Ski, Focus on Youth, 20/30s Single Sierranssections, North County, conservation and chapter activities,including over 1,000 outings during the year. Refreshmentsserved. Call Jerry Ratajesak at 619-316-2220 for more info.
MONTHLY CHAPTER PROGRAM
May 16 and June 20, 7 pm (3rd Fridays)A free lecture/slide show at the San Diego Zoo’s Otto Centerauditorium. See page 11.
SIERRA SINGLES EVENT OF THE MONTH
MEMORIAL DAY BONFIRE
SHELTER ISLAND
May 30, Friday, 6pmHost: Carol Branch 858-452-1539Let’s have another bonfire. Bring warm clothing, beach blankets,chairs, tables, cook stoves, POTLUCK DINNER TO SHARE, fire-wood if you can, and funny stories to tell. Bring your own bever-ages, music tapes and something to play them on, flashlights,anything else you can think of that’s fun and not dangerous. Meetat first available fire pit after the boat ramp on Shelter Islandacross from Humphrey’s (Thos Bros 1288 C-3). No reservationsnecessary. Bring a friend if you like. Non-members welcome.Adults only.
ACTIVITIESMAY AND JUNE ACTIVITIES CALENDAR
MIKE FRY'S 60TH BIRTHDAY AND FRY/KOEGEL
TRAIL HIKE
June 7, Saturday, 8am-noonMike Fry 858-566-3851 [email protected] and see what 12 years of trail construction and 60 years ofexperience can do. The Fry/Koegel Trail connects the Ramonaand Poway trail systems on the north side of Mt Woodson. Parkon Archie Moore Rd, just off Hwy 67 (Thos Bros 1171F3). The trailclimbs 2 miles and 600' to the ridgetop. Enjoy the view, bringsome refreshments to share, and meet the old trail boss. A print-ed guide and signs will show some of the notable achievementsof the all volunteer trail crew. Not a chapter outing.
SIERRA SINGLES EVENT OF THE MONTH
POTLUCK & BONFIRE
SHELTER ISLAND
June 20, Friday, 6:30pmHost: Carol Branch 858-452-1539Let’s have another bonfire. If we need an excuse, what could bebetter than TGIF? Bring chairs, tables, firewood, food to share,beverages, music and something to play it on. Bring warm cloth-ing too. Enjoy another beautiful evening in paradise. We’ll proba-bly even see some fireworks if you stay till after dark. Meet at firstavailable fire pit after the boat ramp on Shelter Island across fromHumphrey’s (Thos Bros 1288 C-3). No reservation needed. Justcome as you are, bring your friends or your family if you like,adults only.
JIM BELL LECTURE/BOOK SIGNING
June 27, Friday, 7pmSC bookstoreFor lecture details see May 10 Book Signing. Two of the author'smost striking findings are that: 1) San Diego County can be com-pletely energy (electricity, natural gas, gasoline, diesel andpropane) self-sufficient by covering only 34 percent (100 squaremiles) of the county's 300 square miles of roofs and parking lotswith PV panels; and 2) that county water self-sufficiency could beeasily achieved.
GLS: THE GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER
SIERRANS
GLS continues! The contact person is Robert Bettinger, 760-944-1439 or [email protected]. Membership activities will bereported in the Hi Sierran and e-mailed via GLS ListServe.Membership fees are your annual membership in the Sierra Club.An attempt will be made to have two hikes a month and fourgroup activities each year, including our annual bonfire and aweekend at Foster Lodge. For further information and/or to helpout, contact Robert Bettinger. HS
Deadline to submit Activities information to the Hi Sierran for the July/August 2003 issue is June 1.Send to: [email protected] or call Shelley Warnick at
(858)695-3552 between 8am and 8pm.
MeetingsMAY AND JUNE MEETINGS CALENDAR
ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE
May 1 and June 5 (1st Thursdays) 7 pmKen Smokoska, 760-738-6041 [email protected].
POLITICAL COMMITTEE
May 6 and June 3 (1st Tuesdays) 6:30 pmNOTICE: The Political Committee maymake endorsement recommendations atmeetings. All Sierra Club members areencouraged to attend.
WILDLANDS FORUM -
FOREST COMMITTEE
May 7 and June 4 (1st Wednesdays) 7 pmLocal and regional forest managementissues and Wild Heritage Campaigncoordination. Contact Jack Paxton at760-744-3282 or [email protected] to confirm meeting time.
PACIFIC CREST TRAIL SECTION
May 8, Thursday, 6pmCome share your plans for summer PCThiking, recent hiking experiences, andwhat new ideas you gained from theADZPCTKO weekend at Lake Morena.Bring food to share for potluck supper.Meet at Presidio Components, 7169Construction Court, near MiramarRd./Camino Santa Fe. (Thomas Guide1228-J1) Contact Tina 858-675-2077 [email protected] for more info.
POPULATION COMMITTEE
May 12 and June 9 (2nd Mondays) 5:15 pmThis Conservation sub-committee meetsat Coco’s at 2644 El Cajon Blvd. in NorthPark. Contact Vice Chair J. Jones at [email protected] or 619-640-0780 formore info.
HI SIERRAN COMMITTEE
May 12 and June 9 (2nd Mondays) 6 pmPlease attend to find out how you canhelp!
CONSERVATION COMMITTEE
May 13 and June 10 (2nd Tues) 6:30 pmContact 619-299-1741 [email protected] forinfo. All conservation activists welcome.
INNER CITY OUTINGS (ICO)
May 15 and June 19 (3rd Thu) 7:30 pm
SIERRA SINGLES SECTION BOARD
May 19 and June 16, 6:30 pm (3rd Mondays)Coco’s at 5955 Balboa Ave. Come at 5:45pm and bring $$ if you wish to dine. Allmembers welcome. Call first to confirmdate and time. For more info. contactWanda Jackson at 858-689-4039 [email protected].
BORDER ISSUES SUBCOMMITTEE
May 19 and June 16 (3rd Mon) 6:30-8 pm
CAN MEETING
May 19 and June 16 (3rd Mondays) 7 pmTwiggs Coffee House, 4590 ParkBoulevard (Corner of Park and Madison),North Park. This is the ConservationAction Network steering committee forour chapter’s conservation alerts. Visitorswelcome.
FOSTER LODGE COMMITTEE
May 20 and June 17 (3rd Tuesdays) 6 pmContact Mary Eggen at 858-453-1615 [email protected] for info. Meetinglocation: North Clairemont RecreationCenter, 4421 Bannock Ave.
PHOTO SECTION
May 20 and June 17 (3rd Tuesdays) 7 pmTierrasanta Recreation Center, 11220Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Call 619-299-1744ext. 2070 or see http://sandiego.sierra-club.org/photoclub/ for current info.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
May 21 and June 18 (3rd Weds) 6:30 pmCall 619-299-1743 for info.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
May 22 and June 26 (4th Thursdays) 6:30 pmWe need new and more members. Getinvolved!
WILDLIFE COMMITTEE
May 22 and June 26 (4th Thursdays) 7 pmHelp us save wildlife and habitat.
BOOKSTORE COMMITTEE
Currently no scheduled meetings.
URBAN ENVIRONMENT FORUM
May 26 and June 23 (4th Mondays) 7 pmJoint meetings of Air, Energy, Land Use,Park, Recycling, Transportation andWater Committees. Contact FredLorenzen at 619-435-6046 or [email protected] for info.
COASTAL COMMITTEE
May 28 and June 25 (4th Weds) 7 pmWe’ll meet at North Park SC office inMay (and all odd-numbered months)and in North County in June (and alleven-numbered months). NorthCounty location: Scott and SheelaghWilliams’ beautiful home at 638 W.Circle Dr. in Solana Beach. Directions:From I-5, exit at Lomas Santa Fe Dr. Gowest to Old Highway 101. Turnright/north. Turn left at Solana Vista Dr.(first and only light, next to Roberto's).Go up the hill and turn right on PacificAve. After one block, Pacific Ave. turnsinto Circle Dr. Number 638 is on theright side on corner. Contact EricBowlby at 619-284-9399 or [email protected] to join thecommittee or for agenda/other info.
GLS (GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER SECTION)
See “Activities” page for info. HS
Unless noted in following meeting descriptions, all meetings are held at the Sierra Club office, 3820 Ray St., in North Park. Forfurther information on any meetings, contact the Committee Chair listed on back page of the Hi Sierran. Or, for more meeting
schedules and info, visit the web calendar: www.activistsandiego.org/environment.
page 13 • San Diego Chapter • May/June 2003 • Hi Sierran
Single Adults
Activities
619-299-TREEwww.sandiego.sierraclub.org/singles/
WildernessOutdoor Social
Sierra Singles
page 14 • San Diego Chapter • May/June 2003 • Hi Sierran
North county GroupMEETINGSMEETINGS FOR THE NORTH COUNTY GROUP OF THE SIERRA CLUB ARE HELD THE SECOND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH (EXCEPT JULY AND
AUGUST), AT 7:30PM, AT THE JOSLYN CENTER, LOCATED AT 18402 WEST BERNARDO DRIVE, RANCHO BERNARDO.
DIRECTIONSTAKE I-15 TO WEST BERNARDO DRIVE. AT THE STOP SIGN, HEAD WEST (LEFT) TO THE FIRST STOPLIGHT. TURN RIGHT AND GO TO THE TENNIS
COURTS; THE SMALL BUILDING IS JOSLYN CENTER. CALL DAVID BUTLER 760-489-8842 IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION.
Letter from the Chair
This is my second feeble attempt toprove to myself that I'm not wastingtime writing things for the Hi Sierran.I've been asking for interested mem-bers to contact me about NorthCounty Group board positions – todate I have not heard from even one!Is this too much to ask out of our sixthousand NCG members? Mind you Iwill not stoop to begging. But I willask one more time, PLEASE call.
- OLE LONESOME DAVID
Programs
Monday, May 12thNORTH COUNTY ECOSYS-
TEM PLANNING EFFORTS
Several large scale environmentalplanning process are underwaythroughout southern California andSan Diego county. Two of these willhave a significant effect on northcounty open spaces, our ecosystemand recreation opportunities for thenext generation.
The Forest Management Planfor the Cleveland National Forest isbeing developed and will includeForest plans for the Angeles, LosPadres and San Bernardino NationalForests. This plan will provide guid-ance for all aspects of forest manage-ment and land use – from recreationalactivities to species and habitatpreservation.
The San Diego County NorthCounty MSCP Subarea Plan will pro-vide Endangered Species Act protec-tions for North County landownersand sensitive resources. Species thatwill be given special attention in
North County are Stephen's KangarooRat, Arroyo Toad, Quino checkerspotbutterfly and the Grasshopper spar-row. The North County planning areaincludes lands above the Lake Hodgesarea, west to Rancho Santa Fe, easttoward Ramona, and continuing northto the Riverside County border.
Join us at our May 12th meet-ing for presentations by ClevelandNational Forest and San DiegoCounty on their planning efforts, planissues, what has been done so far intheir planning process, what will bedone, and how you can be involved inthe next steps.
Monday, June 9thChina Adventure
Presented by:Tom and Sandra Teters
Join us for a wonderful slide showabout a 19-day adventure tour ofChina in April of 2002. Tom andSandra took advantage of the sightsand sounds along the Yangtze Riverbefore the completion of the ThreeGorges Dam project, and saw sightsthat will be submerged when theThree Gorges Dam project is completein 2007 (the water level will rise to 175meters above sea level). In Beijingthey visited Tiananmen Square, theemperor's Summer Palace, ForbiddenCity, the Ming Tomb Museum and theGreat Wall. Next the Teters flew to thecity of Xian, which is a cradle ofancient Chinese civilization datingback to 4000BC. The highlight of Xianis the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the firstemperor of China, and the thousandsof life size terra cotta soldiers andhorses that are entombed with himand his family.
RANDOM
THOUGHTS
On The Liars ConventionIf you are hankering for some talltales, then you need to attend theannual Liars Convention at the Peg
Leg Smith Monument near BorregoSprings. Appropriately enough, theevent always takes place around April1st and has for the last 28 years. Sincethe event has just taken place, be sureto mark the first weekend in April onyour calendar for next year!
It was originally conceivedsometime before 1930. A gaggle oflocals gather around a campfire thereto spin yarns of questionable veracityabout one Thomas “Peg Leg” Smith(1801-1866.) He was a real miner, trap-per, trader and raconteur with a pen-chant for living on the edge and spin-ning his own tall tales.
The whole event looks like avariety show without rehearsals. Thepublic address system would more
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North county Group (cont)(continued from previous page)
accurately be described as a privateaddress system since only the atten-dees sitting up front can hear any-thing. Two long tables behind the dirtarea (nominally designated as thestage) are covered with about a hun-dred trophies. Nobody actually winsany of them. They are just there. Themultitude of shiny prizes celebratevarious victories in other arenas suchas bowling, slow pitch softball andice-skating.
Peg Leg himself was the stuffof legends, some of which may actual-ly be true. The most notable fib wouldbe Peg’s alleged discovery of goldnuggets somewhere in the Borregoarea. Local historians think that thenuggets may have come from eitherthe Palo Verde Mountains north ofSmoke Tree Valley or possibly in theChocolate Mountain Aerial GunneryRange, which, of course, is off limits tothose of us who would wander theback country looking for gold....shades of the Lost Dutchman Mineand Walter Scott of “Death ValleyScotty” fame.
So, even if Peg Leg’s goldcan’t be found, a special pocket ofCalifornia gold is waiting to be dis-covered. When you come next year,bring ten rocks to add to the good luckcairn there if you want the spirits to
look favorably on your quest for PegLeg’s gold.
George GreerSCNCG [email protected]
COASTERS NEWSCoaster Events for MayThe regular Coaster meeting willNOT be held in May. Instead, we willhave two special events: a field trip tosee a working model of the proposeddesalinization facility at the EncinaPower Plant in Carlsbad, and anotherinstallment of our popular CoastalAct Seminars.
The date has not been set forthe field trip, but it will be a Saturdayin May. The Coastal Act Seminar willbe held on our regular meeting date,May 21, but at an alternate location.This session will focus on the processthat development projects must gothrough to be approved, and how thepublic can get involved in these deci-sions. This will also be a chance tohear about an exciting new initiativethat will link together all of thecoastal conservation organizations inSouthern California to work moreeffectively on Coastal preservation.
For details on these andother Coaster events, you can get on
page 15 • San Diego Chapter • May/June 2003 • Hi Sierran
our email Coaster News list by sendingan email to [email protected] orcalling Sue Denner at 760 942-2375.
COASTERS HIKES AND WALKSMay 14 - Palomar/Silver Crest MacDowning, 760-439-8774
May 21 - Carlsbad mid-week eveningbeach walk, Terry Flood, 760-729-8221
May 26 - San Elijo nature walk. TerryHunefield.
June 7 - Oceanside morning beachwalk Mac Downing, 760-439-8774
June 18 - Carlsbad mid-week eveningbeach walk, Terry Flood, 760-729-8221
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DIAMOND MESA, PHOTO BY LEE LEDFORD