Kern River Tournament

Senator Dianne Feinstein has reintroduced S. 138, the California desert Protection Act 2011. Proposes to protect as Wild and Scenic Rivers 20 miles of Deep Creek and 14.5 miles of Holcomb Creek a major tributary to Deep Creek. They are both on public lands in the San Bernardino national Forest.

When passed as Wild and Scenic River, Deep Creek and Holcomb Creek will be managed by the US Forest Service to protect and enhance its flow, fishery, and scenic beauty, recreation, cultural, and wildlife values. Existing roads will remain open to the public. Deep Creek can go on being a great wild trout fishery for many more to enjoy after us.

I suggest if you want more information and a map go to (Feinstein.Senate.gov) under press releases, under recent headline view more headlines in red, then scroll down to 01/25/11 and look for map on the right column.

Senator Feinstein’s desert bill is the third bill introduced this congress that has some affect on Southern California fisheries. Rep. David Dreier has introduced The Angeles and San Bernardino National Forest Protection Act, to protect about 18,000 acres of wilderness additions in the San Gabriel Mountains and complete Forest Service studies of four potential Wild and Scenic Rivers (including the forks of the San Gabriel River San Antonio Creek, Middle Fork of Lytle Creek,) Rep Darrell Issa has introduced the Beauty Mountain and Agua Tibia Wilderness Act, to add 21,000 acres to these wild places in North San Diego County.

Bill Reeves

An outline of the history of the conservation efforts in California

When Yellowstone became the first National Park in 1864 it was owned and operated by the Federal Government. The National Park Service was created in August, 1916 and signed by President Woodrow Wilson. President Teddy Roosevelt created Forest Reserves, later to become The National Forest in 1905. Congress created The Wilderness Act of 1964 that defined wilderness as: “An area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain”.  The Wilderness Act describes wilderness as “an area of undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and influence”.

In 1968 Congress passed the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. California has 16 major rivers protected by The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act mostly up north or in the Sierras. Wild and scenic status means much more than just prohibiting dams. The agency that manages the public land is required to manage in a way to protect and enhance the outstanding values for which the river was designated. Public land along the designated river segments are classified depending on the level of existing access and shoreline development and use. The classifications are:

WILD-- These river segments represent vestiges of primitive America. Their watersheds or shorelines are essentially primitive, and the segment is generally inaccessible except by trail.

SCENIC— these river segments have shorelines that are still largely primitive and undeveloped, but may be accessible by roads.

RECREATIONAL— these river segments are readily accessible by road or railroad and may have some development along their shorelines.

After all this we have only protected about 1% of the land for wilderness and wild streams. In California about twenty years ago people began to study the remaining road less areas and wild streams to take an inventory of possible future wilderness and wild and scenic river candidates. Over 300 conservation and recreation groups worked with agencies, off-highway, mountain biking groups, utilities and timber companies. After reaching a consensus of what were the best remaining wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers it came down to this list.

• 22 new Wild & Scenic rivers totaling almost 440 miles
• Two new Wild & Scenic Study Rivers totaling
• 78 new Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Additions totaling 2,505,001 acres
• Two new Potential Wilderness Areas totaling 16,566 acres
• Two new Wilderness Study Areas totaling 83,000 acres
• Three new Salmon Habitat Restoration Areas totaling 74,667 acres
• One new 17,000-acre Sacramento River National Conservation Area
• One new 28,991-acre Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest

In 2003 Senator Barbara Boxer introduced the California Wild Heritage Act of 2003. The bill did not get through congress. Since then several members of Congress have taken the parts of the bill that was in their district and have introduced their own bills, some have passed and some have been introduced and didn’t get out of committee. I will keep you informed of the progress of these acts in the future.

Bill Reeves

The Fisheries Resource Volunteer Corps (FRVC) was established in 1994 as a program of the Southwest Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers, operating under the U.S. Forest Service Volunteer Program to protect our rivers, streams and lakes. Working with the Forest Service, FRVC members in Forest Service uniform, patrol streams of the Angeles, and San Bernardino National Forests.Each forest has specific areas and streams that are patrolled by members. Although the FRVC was started by fishermen, we have seen an interest from others that enjoy the outdoors. Now we have volunteers that like to backpack, hike, hunt or just enjoy the forests. All you need is a willingness to see the forest stay as pristine as you found it. We work with the Forest Service, helping with various projects during the year, such as the Jenks Lake Fish Festival for kids, selling Adventure Passes, restoration of historic buildings, repair and replace damaged Forest Service signs, tree planting and the removal of graffiti, illegal fire rings, trash, recreational dams and invasive plants.We also work with the California Department of Fish & Game, assisting with electro fishing, aquatic insect studies and collecting fish DNA samples, providing information for stream management, while learning more about the streams we patrol. We also collect water samples for monitoring water quality, conduct stream surveys to monitor the streams environment, collect angler surveys from the DFG angler survey boxes and repair and replace angler survey boxes and signs.The FRVC is always looking for new volunteers. If it sounds like these are things you’d like to do, read more and then contact us by visiting our website @ http://frvc.net

The San Gorgonio Wilderness Association is a non-profit group dedicated to protecting the San Bernardino National Forest, including the San Gorgonio Wilderness and to serving the public visiting the forest. These services are provided through the generous donation of time by nearly 120 volunteers and contribution of funds by individuals who enjoy our National Forest and Wilderness areas and wish to help protect these precious resources for use by themselves and future generations. Contributions are used for patrol, program, and maintenance supplies, training of volunteers, and administration costs.

With ever decreasing Forest Service funds and personnel, it has become more essential for SGWA Volunteer Rangers to continue providing the following services:

• Lead nature walks and programs.
• Completely staff and manage the Barton Flats Visitor Center.
• Patrol trails throughout the forest and wilderness to assist visitors
• Clean up litter and illegal fire rings, and call in emergency medical care.
• Construct and maintain trails throughout the forest.

Golden Trout Project

The Golden Trout project is a collaborative effort to protect and restore the California Golden Trout. It is organized by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) with assistance from Trout Unlimited (TU), California Trout (CalTrout) and the Federation of Flyfishers (FFF). Every summer and fall there are a variety of opportunities for volunteers to participate in the restoration and monitoring activities that will take place in Inyo and Sequoia National Forests and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks in the southern Sierra.

Golden Trout Project
Volunteer Opportunities

You can see a list of volunteer opportunities, and register to participate on-line for all of the trips at: www.californiagoldentrout.org, Thanks for your interest in helping California’s state fish and we hope to hear from you soon!

Howard E. Kern
Volunteer Project Coordinator
California Golden Trout Restoration Project
www.californiagoldentrout.org
(805) 405-9635 Cell