The Roadrunner
Bimonthly!Publication!of!the!Kern-Kaweah!Chapter!of!the!Sierra!Club!—!May/June!2003!
KERN KAWEAH CHAPTER UPDATES
DEVELOPMENT IN BAKERSFIELD:
316 single-family residences on 343.13 acres of
bluffs, canyons, and rolling foothills—that is the
description of a proposed housing development tract
in the northeast section of Bakersfield. The area
itself is mostly surrounded by open space approx-
imately four miles from contiguous existing devel-
opment in Northeast Bakersfield.
The Bakersfield Planning Commission approved
this project on February 6, 2003. The Chapter
appealed the approval to the City Council, and the
appeal was heard on March 26, 2003. The appeal
was rejected, and the City Council approved the
project.
The Kern Kaweah Chapter decided to take
further action against the development as described
as well as the inadequate evaluation of the
environmental impacts of the project. One of the
outcomes hoped for is the recognition that the City
should be required to do a full Environmental
Impact Report on this project.
Other hoped-for outcomes include the pulling
back of house sites from the edge of the bluffs,
recognition and mitigation of traffic impact, as well
as air quality mitigation measures such as solar
source energy.
WATER: The battle continues for protecting our
water supplies from pollution. The Regional Water
WILDERNESS PROTECTIONS BEING ADJUSTED BY COURT AND ADMINISTRATIVE
DECISIONS AS WILDERNESS BILL NEARS ITS 40TH BIRTHDAY
The Department of Interior, headed by Gayle
Norton, suggests that Wilderness designations of
lands under the direction of the Bureau of Land
Management should be arbitrarily limited to 23
million acres over the whole country. All surveys of
BLM lands would be stopped and, in addition,
wilderness designation would be withdrawn from
approximately 3 million acres in Utah.
Wilderness areas are those “untrammeled by
man.” The Reagan administration made an in-
ventory of land eligible for wilderness in Utah and
found that 2.9 million acres were in that category. In
1996 the Department of Interior’s director, Bruce
Babbitt, found 5.9 million acres in the same state
were eligible. The Department of Interior under the
Bush administration wants to reduce the Utah po-
tential wilderness back to the 2.9 million acres of the
Quality Control Board for the Central Valley re-
scinded a recent policy that would have allowed 800
factory farms to operate without water pollution
control permits. The Board’s decision came just
months after a coalition of environmental groups
including the Kern-Kaweah Chapter took action
against the original decision, stating that the Board
violated the California Environmental Quality Act
when it approved the waiver program without first
analyzing the environmental impacts of its decision.
The revocation ends an exemption for facilities that
are smaller than 700 dairy cows, 1,000 beef cattle,
2,500 pigs, and 125,000 chickens, as well as feedlots.
TEJON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX STATUS:
The Center For Biological Diversity has instigated
a suit against the County of Kern basically on the
grounds of inadequate analysis of environmental
impacts of this project. The Sierra Club, represented
by the Kern Kaweah Chapter, is a co-petitioner.
The Tejon Industrial Complex is scheduled to be
located on the east side of I-5, generally opposite the
Tejon Petro Plaza. The acreage involved is 3 times
the size of the Petro Plaza, and industrial companies
such as breweries and automobile manufacturing
can be included in this area.
Concerns with the project include the protection
of endangered species as well as air quality, traffic,
and water impacts.
Reagan administration.
The Bureau of Land Management has been
managing much land under its jurisdiction to protect
its wilderness characteristics. However, this land may
now be opened to mining and wheeled recreational
activities.
Congress does have the power to order additional
areas to be protected. At this point in time, the
opening of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling has been denied by the Senate and is
predicted to have no chance of being allowed in this
year’s congressional session. It is said that the
public’s expression of its awareness of the unique
and precious qualities of this area to members of the
Congress has kept the area free from oil exploration
and could protect other potential wilderness areas.
2 THE ROADRUNNER
Out in the Wilds
Your May June Calendar, 2003
Every Week
Bakersfield Conditioning Hikes (thurs) 7 PM. 4-5
miles. Corner of highways 178 & 184. Gordon,
661.872.2432 or Larry, 873.8107 (KK Chapter.)
Sunday Strolls (begin in June) 8 AM Meet at Pine
Mtn. Club by tennis courts. 1 1/2 hrs in length. Visit
local areas of ecological interest. Call 661.242.0432
(Condor Group).
Specific Dates
May 3rd (sat) 10:00 AM to 4 PM “The Great
Outdoor Adventure” at River Ridge in Springville.
Hiking and wildflower viewing. For the whole fam-
ily. Call Theresa at 559.781.0594. (Kaweah).
May 7 (wed ) 5:30 PM Final weekly walk for the
season at St. John’s Parkway. Visalia (Mineral King
Group ).
May 7 (wed ) 6:30 PM (After weekly walk) Dinner
Social at Brewbaker’s , downtown Visalia.
May 10 (sat) 7:30 AM Lamont Point (South of
Chimney Meadows along the PCT, 7621 ft, 2100 ft
gain, 9.6 mi RT) Nice views of the Kern Plateau to
the west and Sand Canyon to the east from this local
high point along the PCT. Moderate hike due to
distance. Meet at the Ridgecrest Cinema parking lot.
More info? Call Dennis 760.375.7967 or Jim 760.
375.8161 (Owens Peak).
May 9-11 (fri-sun): Sierra Club 100 Peak List
Finishers’ Special Peaks: [Sewart Mountain (6841'),
Cobblestone Mountain (6733'), White Mountain #2 (6250'),
Snowy Peak (6532'), Black Mountain #2 (6202'), McDonald
Peak, (6870'), Alamo Mountain (7367')]: Car camp and bag
peaks in Sespe Wilderness of Los Padres National
Forest, near Gorman. Join us for one, two or three
days. Day 1 is Alamo and McDonald, 4 miles round
trip, 1050' gain. Day 2 is Sewart, Cobblestone and
White, 18 miles round trip, 6500' gain. Day 3 is
Sewart (again, if anyone missed it the first time),
Snowy and Black, 10 miles round trip, 3900' gain.
Expect some steep, brushy, occasionally slippery
terrain, significant part of the gain to be on the
return. Long dirt road driving requires high clear-
ance vehicles. Send email/sase, H&W phones,
conditioning to Leaders: Wolf, Karen Leverich
(karen@mtpinos.com ) P. O. Box 6831, Frazier
Park, 93222. (Hundred Peaks)
May 13 (tues) 7 PM Beale Lib. High Speed Rail.
Why? Where? When? Cost? Your Questions? Pre-
senter: Herman Ruddel, degrees in Urban Planning,
transportation, public administration.
Look for June Program in Buena Vista Flyer to be
published. Call 661.832.3382.
May 19 (mon), 7:30 PM Mehmet McMillan of
“Wildplaces” to present a program on Restoration
Projects in the Southern Sierra. Maturango Mu-
seum. Ridgecrest. Call 760.375.7967. (Owens Peak).
May 24-26 (sat-mon) Hundred Peaks Hike Sirretta
Peak (9977'), Cannel Point (8314'), Taylor Dome
(8802'), Pinyon Peak (6805'), Owens Peak (8453'):
Car camps. Moderate pace. Saturday, 3200' gain;
Sunday 3800' gain; Monday, 3200' gain. Each trip 8
miles. Come for 1 or all 3 days. Send email/ 2 sase
to Leader: Sara Wyrens s_wyrens@yahoo.com, 7562
Seaspring Dr #202, Huntington Beach, CA 92648.
Co-Leader: George Wysup. (Hundred Peaks)
May 27th 7:00 PM Kaweah Group Meeting Call
559.781.8897 for more information.
May 31-Jun 1 (sat-sun) Hundred Peaks Hike
Nicolls Peak (6070'), Lightner Peak (6430'), Bald
Eagle Peak (6181'), Onyx Peak #2 (5244'): Peak
bagging, Lake Isabella area. Some dirt road driving.
Saturday 6 miles, Sunday 13 miles RT, 2700' gain.
Take time to learn about the fauna and flora. Email/
sase, recent conditioning, phone, rideshare to Lead-
er: Kent Schwitkis (schwitkii@ earthlink.net) 4514
Lenore St, Torrance, CA 90503. Co-Lead: Barry
Holchin. Naturalist: Sherry Ross. (Hundred Peaks).
June 7 (sat) 2 PM hike 6 PM potlk/prog Geology
Hike, Potluck, Geology Program. Greg Wilkerson,
BLM, Guide and Speaker. Pine Mountain Club-
house. Call Ches, 242.0423. (Condor Group).
June 2 (mon) 7PM Mineral King Ex Comm
Meeting. Call for further info 559.739.8527.
June 11 (wed ) 6 PM Mineral King Group social at
Colima’s . Downtown Visalia. Call 559.739.8527.
Jun 16 (mon) 7:30 PM Adopt-a-Cabin presentation
by Rich Abele. Excellent slides. Maturango
Museum, 100 E. Las Flores, R/C. Contact Dennis
760.375.7967. (Owens Peak Gp.).
June 21 (sat) WAUCOBA MT. (High point [by 16
ft] of the Inyo Range, east of Independence) 11,123
ft, 2000 ft gain in, 686 ft gain out, 13 mi RT) We
will use the old 4WD route (now closed Wilderness
Area) from the SW. We will drive up Mazourka
Canyon and have a nice 4WD approach to the
closure gate. We will walk the old Sidehill Springs
road, branching off on the mining road access up
the SW. This peak dominates the area and will be a
good warm-up for our summer adventures. Mod-
erate/strenuous hike due to hiking distance and
altitude. Meet 7 AM at the Ridgecrest Cinema
parking lot. More info? Call Dennis 760.375.7967
or Jim 760.375.8161. (Owens Peak Group).
Jun 21 (sat) Buena Vista Litter Pick-up. Taft
Hwy, between Gosford and Buena Vista Rds.
Wear long sleeves, garden gloves, bring
sunglasses, water. More info? Call 833.3795
Jun 21-22 (sat-sun) CNRCC Desert Com/Santa
Lucia Chap Environment of the South Fork Kern
River Carcamp: We’ll camp at the Audubon Kern
River Preserve which is a part of California’s largest
THE ROADRUNNER
lowland riparian forest. It was one of the first ten
sites in the U.S. to receive Globally Important Bird
Area recognition, 332 bird species have been
recorded here. Bob Barnes will be our guide to the
various special places of this area and share the
vision for the future being created by and for the
valley inhabitants. Trip size limited, regular cars OK.
No pets. For more information and reservations,
send large SASE to Ldrs: Cal and Letty French,
14140 Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles. CA 93446
or e-mail ccfrench@tcsn.net.
June 28 (sat) 8 AM Cherry Creek to Salt Creek
(round trip) San Emigdio Mountains. Compare
north slopes to south slopes, see proposed wilderness
area. Moderate. Elevation range: 1500 ft. High
clearance vehicles needed. Bring usuals. Meet at
tennis courts, PMC. Call Dale, 661.242.1076 or
Ches, 242.0423. (Condor Group).
Aug.4 - Aug. 10, (mon-sun), Sixty Lakes Basin
Backpack Backpack over Kearsarge Pass and Glen
Pass to get to this 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.
What are HUNDRED PEAKS HIKES?
Included in the listing above are hikes sponsored
by the Hundred Peaks section of the Angeles Chap-
ter of the Sierra Club. The purposes of the Section
are to encourage its members to explore and enjoy
the mountain ranges of Southern California and to
become familiar with their scenic resources, and also
to stimulate interest in climbing these ranges; to
preserve their forests, waters, wildlife, and wilder-
nesses; to enlist public interest and cooperation in
protecting them; and to foster among its members
the purposes of the Club as stated in the Club
Bylaws: “To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild
places of the earth; to practice and promote the
responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and
resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect
and restore the quality of the natural and human
environment; and to use all lawful means to carry
out these objectives.”
ANNUAL BANQUET OF
KERN KAWEAH CHAPTER
FINE OCCASION
As always, the wonderful rituals of greeting old
friends, many of whom have not seen each other
since last year, and making new friends were the first
major highlights of the evening.
After a delicious dinner, Paul Gipe, Chair of the
Kern Kaweah Chapter, as the master of ceremonies
led us into the formal program which included
recognizing special efforts of Sierra Club members.
3
Honorees included Richard and Beverly Garcia of
the Mineral King Group, who received the Cup
Award, Les Reid of the Condor Group, who received
the Long Trail Award, Dennis Burge of the Owens
Peak Group, who received the Susan Miller/Ruth
Allen Award, and Mitch Bolt of the Buena Vista
group, who received the Chairman’s Award.
The Garcias spearheaded a drive to keep an
irrigation canal from being lined with concrete,
which if allowed would have removed 100 century-
old oaks and cut off the water supply to farmers on
either side of the canal. Les Reid, a former member
of the National Board of the Sierra Club, was the
leading force in convincing the Sierra Club to deal
with worker health, particularly in regard to toxics in
the workplace and in the fields. Dennis Burge was
honored for his 12 years of leadership of the Owens
Peak Group. Mitch Bolt was recognized for
“walking the talk” by developing educational pro-
grams about sea turtles and installing solar on his
home.
The presentation of Frank Helling representing
John Muir was extremely well done and inspiring to
all, another highlight of the evening.
Many thanks go to the following local businesses for
their generous contributions to the traditional raffle.
It was the most profitable ever, bringing in nearly
$500. Here are the donors and prizes they gave.
Please don’t forget them when you are out
shopping.
Bentz Ski Chalet - $230 Down Sleeping Bag
Richard and Beverly Garcia (Garcia Machine) - $75
Backpacker's Cache
Trader Joe’s - $50 Gift Bag
Olcott’s - $50 Gift Certificate
Garden District Flowers - $25 Gift Certificate for
Plant
Great Castle Restaurant - $25 Gift Certificate
Garden Spot Restaurant - $25 Gift Certificate
See’s Candies - $25 value Gift Certificate for 2-lb.
Box
Outback Restaurant - $20 Gift Certificate
World Records - $20 Gift Certificate
White Forest Nursery - California Native Plant
It was a special moment for many when Larry
Wailes and his ten-year-old son, William, holding up
their ticket, the first to be drawn, approached the
raffle table and with hardly any hesitation chose the
Down Sleeping Bag.
Larry is the treasurer for the Kern Kaweah
Chapter, a job full of responsibility and requiring
much hard work. While he attends the Chapter Ex-
com, son William deports himself manfully with
great courtesy, sometimes enjoying cookies, though
one suspects he really would rather be somewhere
else. Happy camping to you both!
4 THE ROADRUNNER
SAVING WILDLIFE HABITATS
By Chelsea Shew.
Excerpts from Chelsea’s application for a Sierra Club Sierra
Nevada Scholarship, which she has been awarded. Chelsea is
presently a student at Porterville High School and wishes to
become a veterinarian.
The foothill community of my youth is disap-
pearing at an alarming rate. In every direction,
pasture land and oak woodlands are being replaced
by multiple housing units. As I lift my eyes to the
foothill peaks I am assaulted with the shining re-
flections of dual-pane windows instead of the
soaring wings of redtail hawks.
As the population explodes, it becomes inevitable
that people want to move from the crowds. Un-
fortunately, it seems the very type of life they are
running to is being destroyed by abuse and dis-
respect for the land and its natural state, for along
with the disappearance of land comes an even more
alarming impact. That impact is the destruction of
the very life cycle that is essential to all of us.
I feel it is vital to not only work to protect the
habitats of our natural animals but more importantly
to educate the citizens of these small foothill com-
munities on the importance of being good and
faithful stewards in protecting the delicate balance of
nature. This type of education began with me at
home, providing a foundation on which I have
formed my views on wildlife protection and
management. I contend that by educating the young
people in our communities we will have the best
opportunity to create a more caring and aware
society interested in saving wild animal habitats.
Communities like mine have been rooted in
hunting for sport, seeking out wild things and
destroying what is not understood. By developing
classroom programs, providing field trips to see
nature up close, and making information available
on different animals, I believe that the sport of
killing will lose its luster and perhaps picture taking
will replace it as a pastime . . .
The foothills are changing rapidly, and while we
can worry and fight people who do not care, it is
more important to build a large base of young
people who grow up with the knowledge that allows
them to understand why they should care. Helping
children to become aware of cause and effect and
the delicate balance of man and nature could start a
chain reaction of responsibility and accountability in
the next generation.
With a foundation in the foothill area and a de-
gree to back me up, I hope to make a difference and
challenge people to think about nature and its
resources. That is my ultimate goal.
IN THE OUT OF DOORS.
You never know
It was a lovely summer morning. The walker was
not in a hurry. There seemed to be movement
ahead. Yes, something else was following the path,
just ahead of the walker. First glance made the
walker think, dog? A second look and there was no
doubt. It was a coyote, just ambling along, or so it
seemed.
Then it happened. The coyote disappeared out of
sight around a corner of the trail marked by a huge
fir tree. When the walker came around the fir, there
was the coyote not scurrying up the trail but lying
flat on the ground, not seeming to move at all. It was
stretched out like a dog might lie in front of the fire
on a cold winter’s night.
The coyote suddenly, with obviously great effort,
raised its head, its eyes looking directly at the
walker. Such a look, a look never to be forgotten. A
look of pleading? A look of sorrow? A look of pure
exhaustion? The coyote held its head up for just a
few moments. Then it sagged down, trembling, once
more lying flat on the ground.
What to do? The walker stepped back ten feet,
watching the animal. There was no further move-
ment. The walker decided that the only thing to do
was to leave this wild animal as it was and go back
down the trail. The animal might just have a chance
to recover if left alone.
After half an hour the walker decided to come
back up the trail. Going very slowly, very quietly,
looking everywhere, trying to make sure the animal
had not moved off to either side of the trail, the
sighting spot was reached. Joy! The coyote was
gone.
The answer to this animal’s fate can never really
be known, but the optimistic view seems to indicate
that that coyote is once more roaming in the
mountains, his home and ours.
The walker had never experienced such an
encounter in the woods before. It will never be
forgotten—a wild animal and a “civilized” human
being sharing such a strong feeling of empathy and
trust in each other and then each going back to
being a part of the world from which each had
come.
by MAL
THE ROADRUNNER
WHAT IS ECOLOGY?
Ecology is the branch of biology dealing with the
relationships between living things and their en-
vironment. The concept of ecosystem is the tool
used by ecologists to study the community of all the
organisms living within it, along with their physical
environment. Since a mountain forest or a desert
may cover a huge area, for manageability and con-
venience, ecologists study smaller units such as a
meadow or hillside within a larger area.
In a healthy ecosystem, organisms interact with
each other and their physical environment, in-
fluencing each other’s lives and evolution. Nutrients
that allow growth and change in organisms are re-
cycled over and over and may flow through adjacent
ecosystems also. A continuous input of energy, pri-
marily from the sun, is required. Elements within the
system may change: a tree dies, shifts in populations
of animals may occur, but the basic structure con-
tinues and is sustainable.
Ecologists tend to categorize the organisms in an
ecosystem as producers, consumers, and decom-
posers. Producers are primarily plants and some
bacteria and single-celled organisms having chlor-
ophyll or other photosynthetic molecules which
capture and store outside energy (mostly sunlight)
as food. All other living things are dependent on
producers. Consumers are organisms, primarily
animals, which take advantage of this stored organic
energy for their own needs by either eating plants,
or eating animals that eat plants. Finally, there is a
large group of creatures that break down the
remains, or detritus, of other organisms. These are
the decomposers, which include bacteria, fungi, and
many microorganisms. The products of decay from
decomposers are, in turn, used by green plants to
carry on more photosynthesis. In this way, matter in
nature is recycled, and balance is established and
maintained in the cycle of life.
Most ecosystems are only partially understood.
They are complex, have developed through vast
amounts of time, and are continually evolving.
Natural ecosystems do not need to be managed by
people. They need to be left alone in order to func-
tion fully. What manages ecosystems is evolution of
organisms through time in response to competitive
and predatory pressure from each other and to
changes in environmental conditions, such as
climatic shifts and changes in landforms.
This is where the human animal comes into the
picture. There is considerable evidence that for
many thousands of years, our species maintained
relatively constant numbers, and occupied fairly
static relationships with nature. However, in the last
few thousand years, that balance has changed as we
5
humans have created ever larger and intrusive
human-centered ecosystems, everything from aquar-
ia to farms, and even space stations! In the process
we have learned to enslave many species of plants
and animals and have changed their identities
through breeding programs. We have developed
elaborate tools, harnessed immense sources of
energy, altered courses of rivers, even changed
weather patterns. We are using up existing resources
without clear notions of replacement, and without
clear notions of what else to use up when we have
consumed them. We have vastly speeded up the
migration rates of different forms of life throughout
the regions of the world. And, at present, we are
producing these changes at an ever-accelerating rate.
The last two hundred years have seen the greatest
impact of humans in all the thousands of years of
our existence. Thus, we are not in balance with
nature and are putting our species in the position of
being self-destructing. We are destroying the pat-
terns of nature which provide the water and air on
which our very lives depend. And we are destroying
the ecosystems within which many other organisms
function.
What is there to be done? A good beginning is to
educate ourselves as to the functioning of the natural
world. Consider actions and projects being proposed
in our own locale, in the state, and in the nation in
terms of their impacts on the natural world as well as
on the human-created world. Take further time and
effort to ask questions and express opinions based
on your studies to those who make the decisions as
to how things are to be done, whether it is the
president of the United States or your spouse!
An excellent source of ecological information for
California, which is so unique in so many ways, is
Allen A. Schoenherr’s A NATURAL HISTORY OF
CALIFORNIA, No. 56 in the California Natural
History Guides, published by the University of
California Press, 1992. With a basic introduction to
the study of California ecology, one can read on to
specific geographic and ecological areas of the state.
Well written, well organized, it is a book for the
layman to adventure into a fuller understanding of
the natural world of California, and of some of the
changes caused by modern humans.
By Lynn Stafford
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
Non-Sierra Club Events of possible interest.
Wind Wolves Workdays (once a month, 2nd Sat-
urday) If you work, you can enjoy BBQ plus a tour
Sunday morning. Call 661.858.1115
May 3, River Ridge Ranch Open House Spring-
ville. Sponsored by Sierra Los Tulares Land Trust,
Phone 559.738.0211 E-mail: info@sltlt.org.
6 THE ROADRUNNER
May 3, (sat) 9AM 2003 Windmill-Wildflower
Hike. Hear about wind energy while viewing 5,000
wind turbines in the Tehachapi Pass. An easy six-
mile walk starting from Cameron and Tehachapi-
Willow Springs Road. Starts promptly at 9:00 AM.
Spring weather at 5,000 ft. Be dressed prepared for
wind and sun, bring at least one quart of water per
person, pack a lunch. More info? Call Paul, 661.
325.9590
May 17. (sat) all day. Lilac Festival. Pine
Mountain Club. Parade, Sky Divers, Booths. Good
time to walk in the woods, enjoy the local ambience.
June 7 (sat) National Trails Day. Non-competitive
bike ride, walk, jog, dog-walk or in-line skating
along the trails downtown.! Visalia event will begin
at Carl’s Jr. on Ben Maddox and go to McDonald’s
at Demaree. More info? call Rich Garcia. 559.592.
9865
TEJON RANCH, LOS PADRES
NATIONAL FOREST ARE TWO OF
TEN AREAS LISTED AS MOST
THREATENED IN CALIFORNIA.
By whom and why? The California Wilderness
Coalition, made up of 200-plus groups concerned
with the protection of natural lands, issues a list of
most threatened California areas every year in order
to draw the attention of California citizens to threats
to their natural heritage.
What is considered in the choice of this desig-
nation “most threatened?” “Severity of the prob-
lem” . . . “the permanence of the damage” . . .
“the urgency of the threat . . .” among other
things.
Why Tejon? Here is the largest contiguous land-
holding in the state of California, heretofore being
used primarily for cattle grazing and agriculture.
Now it is being transformed by real estate ventures.
Quoting from the report: “There is compelling
scientific evidence that Tejon Ranch plays a crucial
role for the conservation of biodiversity on regional,
state, and national levels. This region has been
identified by conservation biologists as an irre-
placeable core habitat area for numerous endan-
gered species including San Joaquin kit fox,
Bakersfield cactus and more. It contains designated
critical habitat for the endangered California Condor
and supports healthy populations of other raptors as
well as American badger, mountain lion, tule elk and
mule deer, which require large and intact wildlands
to survive.”
“Spanning the headwaters of 14 creeks and an
elevation range of more than 8,000 feet, the Tejon
Ranch includes 27 different vegetation communities
ranging from coastal type riparian range to montane
forests, oak savannas and desert scrub. It is a critical
landscape linkage between the Transverse Ranges,
Peninsular Ranges, and the Sierra Nevadas. This
linkage is essential to maintaining a functional
wildlands network, and is key to any regional
conservation strategy. "
What is the threat? Housing development pro-
posals in the mountain area for two areas exceeding
30,000 homes and industrial development in the
grasslands areas on the southern edge of the San
Joaquin Valley.
Why Los Padres National Forest (LPNF)?
Quoting: “The southern district of the Los Padres
National Forest marks a transition zone between
central and southern coastal California, where warm,
dry climates to the south meet cool, wet climates
from the north. Adding to the effect, the (Trans-
verse) mountain range is a rare phenomenon due to
its east-west axis. Transition zones of this type create
a higher density of biodiversity—this region is home
to more than 1,500 native plant and animal species."
What is the threat? Targeting of an estimated
140,000 acres for permitting oil and gas drilling.
This acreage includes several proposed wilderness
areas, archaeological and cultural sites, well known
trails and Areas of High Ecological Significance, a
Forest Service designation indicating special qual-
ities and including habitat for endangered species.
If you would like to have more information on Cali-
fornia’s 10 most threatened areas, contact the California
Wilderness Coalition for this publication. Address: 2655
Portage Bay East, suite 5, Davis, CA 95616, 530.738.0380
or www. calwild.org.
SEQUOIA MONUMENT DEIS
IGNORES NON-LOGGING ALTERNATIVES.
STILL TIME TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINIONS
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) developed by the Forest Service and pub-
lished on 18 December 2002 is vague, unclear, and
specifies logging in name of fuels reduction,
restoration, maintenance, and public safety.
The DEIS process must be restarted and must
produce alternatives in compliance with the Procla-
mation mandate to protect the objects and not
produce a product.
In addition, the DEIS justifies alternatives because
they maintain jobs. But the Proclamation does not
direct the Forest Service to manage the Monument
to maintain jobs in the timber industry.
False claims
The Forest Service tries to justify logging in the
Monument with the false claim that logging prevents
catastrophic wildfires.
But logging and thinning remove the least
flammable of the forest materials, the tree trunks.
Logging and thinning remove the forest canopy,
which is what keeps the forest moist and cool
The brush fields that would replace these logged
THE ROADRUNNER
trees are more flammable than the trees they replace.
Objects listed for protection ignored:
The DEIS does not even mention a number of
the objects discussed in the Proclamation as needing
protection.
The DEIS fails to analyze the negative impacts to
the most charismatic or well known of the objects
including The Giant Sequoia ecosystem, the Pacific
Fisher & the California Spotted Owl.
Even though the official comment period has
ended, if you have not already commented on the
inadequacy of the draft management plan for the
Monument, please send a comment letter expressing
your opinion about:
(1) The inadequate DEIS, (2)the need to restart
the development process based on the Proclamation,
(3) the need to call for the Scientific Advisory Board
to reconvene to give the Forest Service guidance
from the beginning of the process.
You can address all comments to:
Giant Sequoia National Monument Planning Team
Sequoia National Forest Headquarters
900 West Grand Avenue, Porterville, CA 93257
MIDGEBUZZINGS
“Let the storms blow through the streets of cities; the
root is safe. When the last seared hand has flung the
last grenade, an older version of that hand will be
stroking a clinging youngster hidden in its fur, high
up under some autumn moon." Loren Eiseley: "The
Firmament of Time"
When I first read this passage some thirty years
ago, I wept. Since then I have frequently repeated
the phrase “the root is safe.” I suppose that is the
fundamental precept of religion, and perhaps the
only valid one.
The passage came into my mind just four days
ago in Petroglyph Canyon, a dramatic cleft in the
California desert, the walls of which are etched with
scenes from the lives of people who lived thousands
of years ago. So sacred was this place that some of
the most ancient figures have been carved over, and
differently, by more recent people, say one or two
thousand years later.
Our docents were not scientists, so their answers
to our questions were probably no more accurate
than our own. We wondered, for example, why one
rock had been carved by many artists for centuries,
while others of the same composition were
untouched. No one really knew beyond some
educated guessing, and even experts, apparently, can
only speculate. The visitor is left with at least two
profound impressions: mystery, and a strong sense
of kinship with the artists. In the end, one’s own life
experiences are the best bases for interpretation.
These people were made of the same stuff as we are.
7
Only their situations were different.
Most figures in the canyon are dramatic en-
actments of hunting. Bighorn sheep were abundant
in a world far different from the present desert. No
doubt the canyon was once a rushing river or stream,
since its floor consists entirely of sand and polished
rock, and high watermarks along the rock walls are
still in evidence. The evolution of hunting tech-
niques is clear, from spears, and inventions to
facilitate stronger and more accurate throwing, to the
bow and arrow. Other rock pictures seemed to have
as their theme the fertility both of animals and of
man. Many images defy interpretation except as
they evoke a sense of some connection with the
supernatural or divine. Perhaps in a world so rich
with the fundamental necessities of life, some idea
evolved of human dependence upon the good will
of a provident being.
Especially compelling to me was the discovery on
my own of a long line of human figures walking
very close to each other, starting near the top of the
canyon and descending to the extent of the long
rock upon which they were carved. I felt sure that
those people were in migration, and for reasons that
were not benign.
And while I stood beneath that depiction of
human flight, I thought of other desert people now
in terror and running, driven not by the vicissitudes
of nature, but by the horrors of an ambitious war. If
I had not fully shared their emotion before that
moment, I could not escape it now, made immediate
to me by the skill and empathy of an artist who
worked thousands of years ago to tell a story that
never ends.
Did he believe the root is safe? Do they? And will
we believe it, when the long aftermath of this war
acquaints us intimately with terror born of seething
hatred and puts us, also, to flight? I cannot say.
By Ann Williams
Want to receive personalized information
re: Kern Kaweah Chapter concerns?
Send email request to alunger@juno.com
8 THE ROADRUNNER

The Roadrunner: What do you think?

articles, information deadline
June 5th for July August edition
Special thanks to all those who contribute regularly
to the Roadrunner
Without their willing help there would be no
Roadrunner.
Dennis Burge, Diane Etter, Glen Shellcross,
Paul Gipe, Harry Love, Jim Nichols, Art and
Lorraine Unger, Ann Williams, Harold Wood
Michelle Hoffman, Lorraine Unger, Ann
Williams, mailing. Harold Wood, web site.
Contact Sources
Roadrunner Address jmal@frazmtn.com or
Editor, Roadrunner, P. O. Box GG, Frazier Park,
CA 93222
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Leaders, Kern-Kaweah
Chapter/Groups Please mail your filled-in form to Roadrunner, PO
GG, Frazier Park, CA 93222.
Excom, Kern Kaweah Chapter 661.324.1923
You do not have to sign your name unless you wish a
Chair, Paul Gipe; Vice Chair, Harry Love; Sec- response or care to do so. Thank you.
retary/Conservation, Ara Marderosian; Treasurer, Name___________________________________________
Larry Wailes; Membership, Lorraine Unger; Address:
Roadrunner, Mary Ann Lockhart; Richard Garcia;
Gordon Nipp; Glenn Shellcross; Art Unger.
Buena Vista Group (Bksf) 661.832.3382
Chair, Glenn Shellcross; Secretary, Elaine White;
Treasurer, Keith Dilday; Conservation, Mitch
Bolt; Community Issues, Art Unger; Membership/
Delg.Excom, Georgette Theotig.
Condor Group (Pine Mtn Club, Frazier Park
area) 661.242.0423
Chair, Ches Arthur; Vice-Chair, Dale Chitwood;
Secretary/Membership, Fay Benbrook; Treasurer,
Marta Bigler; Conservation, Mary Ann Lockhart.
Kaweah Group (Porterville) 559.781.0594
Chair, Pam Clark; Vice-Chair, Lori Kessler; Secre-
tary, Diane Jetter; Membership, Sara Lee Gershon;
Conservation, Carla Cloer; Outings, Theresa
Stump.
Mineral King (Visalia) 559.739.8527
Chair, Harold Wood; Vice-Chair/Publicity, Cynthia
Koval; Secretary, Betty Berk; Asst. Secretary,
Joanne Dudley; Treasurer/Environmental Educ.,
Janet Wood;
Owens Peak Group (Ridgecrest) 760. 375.7967
Chair, Dennis Burge; Vice-Chair, Steve Smith;
Secretary, Jean Bennett; Treasurer, Dolph Amster.