Hands Across the Sand is coming to a beach or park near you, Saturday June 26th.

A full listing of all coastal San Diego County Hands Across the Sand events, Saturday June 26th, compiled by Richard Miller and our friends at the San Diego and Imperial County Sierra Club chapter.

For additional information on Hands Across the Sand and other coastal conservation and clean-up events, check out the San Diego Surfrider chapter, along with our friends at San Diego Coastkeeper, Pro Peninsula, and Wildcoast / Costasalvaje.

What to do at a Hands Across the Sand event:

STEP 1 – Go to one of the gatherings listed below at 11:00 am for one hour, rain or shine.

STEP 2 – Join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 noon forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters.

STEP 3 – Leave only your footprints.

Whether a primary or general election, remember to vote green.

“If you don’t vote, don’t bitch.”  -  Steve Earle

By Tommy Hough

These are partisan picks based upon a Democratic ballot for the June 8th primary election in California.

My picks are specific to San Diego County and the 53rd Congressional district, though statewide candidates, propositions, and U.S. Representatives for all San Diego County federal Congressional seats are included.  The judicial choices, city positions, and propositions are non-partisan and appear on both Democratic and Republican ballots, so feel free to apply my picks on GOP ballots in those cases.

Not all offices and primary races are included.

Polls open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm, Tuesday June 8th.

STATE OFFICES

Governor:  Richard Aguirre or Jerry Brown

Lieutenant Governor:  Gavin Newsom

Sec. of State:  Debra Bowen

Controller:  John Chiang

Treasurer:  Bill Lockyer

Attorney General:  Pedro Nava

Pedro Nava has consistently been recognized for his environmental work in the legislature, especially in writing the legislation which outlawed lead ammunition in California in order to save the California condor, and his early opposition to the Tranquillon Ridge offshore oil drilling project in the Santa Barbara Channel, which is looking like a pretty brilliant call today.  In the June 8th primary, “vote for Pedro.”

Insurance Commissioner: Hector de la Torre

FEDERAL OFFICES

U.S. Senator: Barbara Boxer

U.S. Representative(s):

49th District: Howard Katz

50th District:  Tracy Emblem

Enough.  Francine Busby has run enough times to lose each time out to Brian Bilbray, a GOP survivor who knows how to hang on in tight races, even as the 50th dwindles down to 40% GOP registration.  New blood, let’s give Ms. Emblem a whirl.

51st District: Bob Filner

Despite his occasional airport freakout, Filner is a reliable incumbent and has been a strong advocate for the 51st, even though I think his idea of moving the San Diego Airport to Imperial County and installing a high-speed rail system to move people out there is ridiculous, but might make a cool use of the Carizzo Gorge train trestle.  To his credit, Congressman Filner hasn’t said much about it since 2006 and has let the idea quietly go away.

52nd District: Ray Lutz

Ray Lutz is the guy who worked with the town of Potrero to kick out Blackwater; give him your vote if you’re in the 52nd.  Mr. Lutz is also a proponent of green energy and solar panels, which San Diego County should be the world leader in, and he likes to call incumbent Duncan D. Hunter, the first term son of long-running Congressman Duncan Hunter, “junior” (with all due respect to Duncan D. Hunter’s military service, if not his political positions).

53rd District: Susan A. Davis

State Assembly Member, 76th District:  Toni Atkins

COUNTY COMMITTEE

County Central Committee, 76th Assembly District: Fred Rogers

Full disclosure, Fred Rogers is a friend of mine.  Nothing against Lori Saldaña, but I’m voting for Fred.  If I was actually running, it’s hard to see how my positions would differ from Fred’s.

JUDICIAL

Superior Court office 20: Richard R. Monroy

This next item is very important.

Judicial candidates are non-partisan seats.  As a result, candidates appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have agendas contrary to the ballot which they may be on.

Case in point in San Diego County: beware of judicial candidates put forward by the conservative group Better Courts Now, which is backed by a coalition of evangelical pastors, an El Cajon gun store, and opponents of reproductive choice and marriage equality.  The Rev. Don Hamer, the founder of Better Courts Now, recently died, but during the 2008 election cycle took an active role in the campaign for Proposition 8 and was one of the nutjobs who produced a series of videos “proving” Barack Obama was a secret Muslim.  Wrong morally and factually.

The Better Courts Now slate of four judges are challenging incumbent judges, and according to the June 2nd edition of the Los Angeles Times, “three of the four incumbent judges have been given the highest possible rating, ‘well qualified,’ by the local bar association.  The fourth, a veteran judge, was given a lesser ranking, apparently because she’s suing her colleagues in a dispute over probation policy.”

Fair enough, but most importantly the piece goes on to say (italics are mine), “the bar found three of the four challengers unqualified; the fourth had too spotty a legal record to permit a rating.”  Understand what’s going on? Here are the judicial candidates you need to AVOID.  Tell your friends to AVOID these judicial candidates too and VOTE AGAINST them:

Superior Court office 14:  Vote AGAINST Craig Candelore (vote for Lantz Lewis)

Superior Court office 21:  Vote AGAINST Bill Trask (vote for Robert C. Longstreth)

Superior Court office 27:  Vote AGAINST Harold Coleman Jr. (vote for DeAnn Salcido)

Superior Court office 34:  Vote AGAINST Larry “Jake” Kincaid (vote for Joel R. Wohlfeil)

In fairness, Mr. Candelore has an impressive 32-year military career to draw upon, including a Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star.  However laudable, Mr. Candelore is regrettably the kind of judicial candidate who brings out the straw man argument, “we need judges to uphold the law.”  What, because they don’t already?

Mr. Candelore also indicates he’s running “to restore people’s trust and confidence in our courts.”

Did we miss something?  Since when have people lost faith in the courts to adequately and impartially serve justice?  When I hear rhetoric like this from a local judicial candidate, I cut and run to the other guy.  Mr. Candelore writes on his Facebook page “judges simply need to be held accountable for their rulings, rule within their established boundaries, and display common sense,” which sounds like Mr. Candelore has been on the receiving end of too many losing decisions and is feeling discriminated against, despite the fact he is the founder of the Men’s Legal Center and therefore should not be a stranger to the inside of a courtroom.

All of this is simply O’Reilly Factor grandstanding, and the fact Mr. Candelore is already part of a far-right slate of judges makes it much easier for me to say avoid him and his Better Courts Now colleagues.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Member, Board of Supervisors 4th District: Stephen Whitburn

Assessor-Recorder County Clerk:  Howard Johnson

District Attorney:  Bonnie Dumanis

Sheriff:  Bill Gore

This is not necessarily an endorsement, but incumbent Sheriff Gore is a better and more equable choice than his two challengers (sorry Treehuggers International fans, Sheriff Gore has no familial connections to the former Vice President).

Treasurer-Tax Collector: Dan McAllister

I don’t necessarily approve of Mr. McAllister, he’s run unopposed twice and I think it was about time he was challenged for a job which pays over $150,000 a year, but the guy running against him, while a public service and city treasury veteran, pops up as a pick on several far-right websites, so I will go with a presumed lesser-of-two-evils choice here.

STATE PROPOSITIONS

Propositions are a crapshoot, and I’ve never liked the odds.  Yes, I agree partisanship has grown unworkable in Sacramento.  Yes, I agree the only way California will ever really solve its budget problems is by undoing or reforming Prop. 13, but it’s become political kryptonite to do so in Sacramento and both parties are cowardly in the face of it.  The classic Prop. 13 (of 1978, not 2010) highlights the problem with the proposition system in the first place; it handcuffs the legislature to a certain year and a particular era, where the results are usually designed to be short-term.

If you don’t like the way a candidate is voting, vote them out.  You can’t do that with propositions.  If you can’t vote an incumbent you don’t like out, organize a group to elect candidates which will vote your way.  The right wing is exceedingly good at this, and they’re also adept at using business interests to push propositions designed as the taxpayer’s friend.

The problem with propositions is they are faceless, and can easily have their true meanings hidden by cryptic ballot language.  Vote for humans to make the laws, not broad law-making measures.  My two cents.

PROP 13:  YES

Despite my cantankerous attitude toward propositions, okay, I am cautiously voting yes on this, even though the main endorsement for this proposition comes from Kern County State Senator Roy Ashburn, who was one of the most staunchly (and some would argue, cruelly) anti-gay legislators in the statehouse until, you may recall, he was revealed to be a practicing homosexual after a few too many drinks at a Sacramento bar in March.

For what it’s worth, there is no active opposition to this proposition, and it would eliminate a dangerous disincentive for property owners to upgrade un-reinforced masonry structures in order to improve earthquake safety (think of all those brick buildings in San Luis Obispo which warn you to get away from them if there’s an earthquake). The state’s own website says the “proposition promotes fairness by eliminating the unequal treatment of different types of property which undergo seismic safety improvements.”

The loss to local property taxes as a result of this measure is probably going to be minor, and we at Treehuggers International would rather see owners retrofit their un-reinforced masonry structures before the next Medium One arrives.  We all know it’s coming, and frankly, it’s overdue.

PROP 14:  NO

Again, this sounds like a novel idea, but while the proposition’s backers argue this will enable more moderate candidates to advance into the general election by making the top-two vote getters from either party the two to face each other in a general election, I think it’s an invitation for extremists and would rather have a defined choice in the general election. Why? Candidates will no longer be required to list their party affiliation on the ballot.  Being an alleged Independent is sexy these days, but it’s also deceptive if you don’t list the party whose apparatus actually got the candidate there in the first place.  Business as usual disguised as reform with too many risks for my liking.  The more I learn about 14, the more I’m against it.

PROP 15:  YES

I know, I know, the “California Fair Elections Act” sounds like more plastic apple pie, but the proposition would create a pilot project to make voluntary public financing available to Secretary of State candidates in 2014 and 2018, in other words, marking the beginning of public financing of elections and taking companies and corporations out of the loop.  The Sierra Club argues, “cleaning up our political system is crucial to cleaning up our air and water and preserving our coast, parks, forests and deserts.  Public financing is a way to get politicians out of the fundraising game and back to solving California’s problems.”  We at Treehuggers International are on board, but cautiously.  The far right also seems to hate this idea, which makes me as a moderate like it.

PROP 16:  NO

Not just no, (exclamation of choice) NO.  Tell your friends to vote no on this, the whole initiative is bankrolled by Northern California’s Pacific Gas and Electric utility, and they hope by framing this as a “taxpayer’s right to vote” argument Southern California will pass it for them.  Say no. The Green Chamber of Commerce writes, “Prop 16 would impose new voter approval requirements on local governments before they can use ‘public funds,’ defined broadly in the measure to include tax revenues, various forms of debt, and ratepayer funds, to start up electricity service, expand electricity service into a new territory, or implement Community Choice Aggregation.”  In other words, it has nothing to do with “your right to vote.”  This will eliminate your community’s choice to opt out of PG&E’s high rates, and some argue it even violates state law by thwarting local control of energy.  No on 16.  No on 16.  Say it with me.  No on 16.  Seriously, anyone who frames something as the “taxpayer’s right to vote,” if you’ll pardon the choice of words, has got to be full of shit.

PROP 17:  NO

Mercury Insurance is Proposition 17’s primary sponsor, and they’ve been responsible for about 98% of the funding for the Yes on 17 campaign, kicking in about $14.6 million dollars.  Think about how much they could’ve reduced their customers’ rates with that money instead.  When it’s too good to be true, it usually is, and believe me, insurance companies are worse than banks when it comes to giving a customer a break.  Also, Prop 17 is opposed by the editorial boards of almost every major newspaper in the state.  The only major newspaper in favor of Prop 17 is the Orange County Register, which is enough to be a cause for concern, but even the Bakersfield Californian, not exactly an editorial board known for even vaguely leftist sympathies, says Prop 17 “isn’t about lowering the cost of insurance; it’s about raising the cost for those who can least afford it.”

COUNTY PROPOSITIONS

PROP A:  YES

Despite the fact the official argument in favor of a new landfill in Otay Mesa was written by an out-of-town consulting firm which incorrectly identifies State Route 905 as an Interstate highway, I have a problem with building a new recycling collection center and landfill because I think it’s going to be 99% landfill and 1% recycling.  While doing better than it was a few years ago, San Diego is still not holding up its end of recycling as well as other major cities in the state.  I also don’t like building a sizable facility in what is an otherwise wild area of the lower Otay and carving wildlife habitat into smaller and smaller pieces.  However, the landfill at Miramar will soon be full, and it has been exceedingly well run and managed in a way which all San Diegans should be proud of; that’s an official Treehuggers International position.  If the same management is applied at this new facility, I’ll be happy.  Plus it’s supposed to run entirely on solar energy, which would set a nice precedent, albeit about time.  A reluctant yes, with my arms crossed.

PROP B:  YES

Pam Slater-Price is my hero on the Board of Supervisors, so no offense meant here.  Normally I’m against term limits, but in the case of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, I think it may be about time to shuffle the deck.

CITY OF SAN DIEGO PROPOSITIONS

PROP D:  NO

Tommy at the Shadow of the Giants Sequoia Grove, Sierra National Forest.

John D. Mead and 13,149 ft. Mt. Ritter, Ansel Adams Wilderness.

“Our ultimate goal is to help young people learn outdoor skills and foster an appreciation for the natural environment, while understanding such exposure helps develop responsible, healthy, confident, and enlightened adults who, in turn, will pass on their meaningful experiences and good values to the next generation.”

-  from the Donate-A-Pack Mission statement

Everyone knows if you’re heading into the backcountry on a wilderness trip or backpacking adventure, there are a few choice pieces of gear you absolutely need, even beyond the 10 Essentials. Unless you’re embarking on all but the most modest of day hikes, you’ll need some kind of a pack, and even day hikers find a small pack a handy place to store extra water, food, and perhaps a change of shirt or extra socks.

Backpackers clearly need a few additional items for their outings, and boots, a tent, and a sleeping bag, along with a good backpack are essential.  New, ultra-light backpacking technology has become a more comfortable way for many to experience the great outdoors, but the gear doesn’t exactly come cheap, and while good buys on basic gear can be found at military surplus outlets or stores which specialize in hunting, it can be difficult for the novice outdoorsman to get around basic gear necessities for safe and fun outdoor recreation without some investment.

While dozens of organizations like the Boy Scouts, Sierra Club, and similar outdoor exploration and stewardship clubs offer an excellent framework for children to learn safe and responsible wilderness travel, parents aren’t always in a position to spend on a child’s outdoor gear when more basic needs like food, shelter, and education are pressing, especially in the current economic climate.

A former Boy Scout himself, Adventure 16 President John D. Mead recognized this need during one of the outdoor outfitter’s annual gear swap meets, and with the help of outdoor colleague and American Hiking Society volunteer David MacDonald, founded the Donate-A-Pack program in 1997. Within a matter of months Donate-A-Pack had donated some $6,000 worth of gear to youth-focused outdoor organizations.

The Donate-A-Pack program particularly makes it a point to assist outlets which work with at-risk or underprivileged youth, like the Adventure Nature Camp, Destiny Education, Outward Bound, and Big City Mountaineers, all of which give troubled and inner-city kids, many of whom have never had an outdoor experience, a chance to learn outdoor skills as a means of developing confidence and becoming aware of experiences beyond a broken home or unsafe communities.

By providing access to overstock items and used gear from Adventure 16 customers, much of it in pristine condition, the Donate-A-Pack program has also been integral to the success of organizations like the Foundation for the Junior Blind, which offers hiking and camping experiences for visually impaired young people, and Camp Laurel, a Pasadena-area camp which gives children living with HIV and AIDS opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

Both John D. Mead and David MacDonald join Tommy for this special edition of Treehuggers International.

(program originally broadcast June 22, 2008)

At the 2007 Earth Fair celebration at San Diego's Balboa Park.

More about this post at:

• Donate-A-Pack Foundation
• Donate-A-Pack Foundation, Adventure 16 website
• Adventure 16
• At A-16, Outdoor University Becomes de Rigueur (Outdoor Industry Association; 5/5/10)
• Retail Profile: Adventure 16 (Outdoor Business; 8/8/06)
• Backpacking Tent Buying Guide (Boys’ Life Magazine; 6/1/05)
• Southern California Camping
• American Hiking Association

Despite significant urbanization, the San Diego River still flows through Mission Valley.

San Diego Is Named for Its River

Even with all the rain Southern California received this past winter and spring, most residents of San Diego County tend not to think of their corner of the Golden State as teeming with rivers. Part of this can be attributed to the region’s arid Mediterranean climate, but this perception can also be attributed to the effective job man has done tucking the river out of sight, attempting to reign in the course and power of San Diego River.

Yet the San Diego River, and other rivers and creeks in the county like the San Dieguito, San Mateo, San Luis Rey, Sweetwater, and Santa Margarita, on some occasions flow with  a speed and volume as great as some of the biggest rivers in North America, with surprises along the length of each of them. While pollution continues to affect the San Diego River at several of its tributaries and old industrial sites, the San Diego River Park Foundation has literally pulled a million tons of trash from the river over the last decade, bringing a new respect and appreciation for the river which gave the city and county of San Diego its name.

The San Diego River Park Foundation is a community-based, grassroots, non-profit organization seeking to tie the San Diego River together as a greenbelt from the river’s headwaters in the Cuyamaca Mountains to the sea at Ocean Beach, along the river’s 52-mile course. This greenbelt will double as a trail system, connecting a variety of parks and open spaces spread out along the length of the river.

Wild and Scenic River Designation

The foundation has also been active in the pursuit of Wild and Scenic River designation for the upper portion of the San Diego River, including the dramatic San Diego River Gorge.  The upper reaches of the Santa Margarita River west of the Santa Rosa Plateau has also been identified by the Forest Service as having Wild and Scenic potential, and since portions of the rivers flow through Congressman Darrell Issa’s district, we at Treehuggers International are encouraging the congressman to add Wild and Scenic River designations to the wise legislation he has already put forth to expand the Agua Tibia and Beauty Mountain wilderness areas into northern San Diego County (previously discussed on the March 31, 2010 edition of Treehuggers International).

River Days and Riverfest

This year’s San Diego River Days festival culminates in the first ever Riverfest, happening Sunday, May 16th at the Qualcomm Stadium practice field, featuring a roster of area bands and musicians, including headliner Gregory Page.

Congratulations to San Diego River Park Foundation Executive Director Rob Hutsel and friends for landing a great piece in the May 9th edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and thanks to Rob for dropping by host Tommy Hough’s “other” radio show, the weekly Living Better In San Diego program on the San Diego Lincoln Financial Media stations.

For more information on San Diego River Days or Riverfest, click on one of the links below, or call the san Diego River Park Foundation at (619) 297-7380.

The 300 ft. drop of Mildred Falls, near the headwaters of the San Diego River.

More about this post at:

• San Diego River Park Foundation
• San Diego River Days
• Riverfest Schedule of Events
• Living Better In San Diego, Executive Director Rob Hutsel with host Tommy Hough
• River Network
• California Wild Heritage Campaign, information on Wild and Scenic River designation
• Friends of the River, PDF of Wild and Scenic River qualities of the San Diego River Gorge
• Friends of the River, San Diego River page
• Clean Green / Get Involved, San Diego River clean-up opportunities
• A River Runs Through Them (San Diego Union-Tribune; 5/9/10)
• River Trash Tally to Hit One Million Pound Mark (San Diego Union-Tribune; 10/24/09)
• Land Donation Paves Way for Riverfront Park (San Diego Union-Tribune; 5/18/09)
• Volunteers Love River Enough to Clean It Up (San Diego Union-Tribune; 2/15/09)
• Developers Eye Mission Gorge (San Diego Union-Tribune; 3/23/08)
• Project Clean Water, San Diego River Watershed
• San Diego River, Wiki entry
  

Mt. San Gorgonio presides over the high country of the San Bernardino Mountains.

Creation of the Forest Reserve

By 1891, President Benjamin Harrison had been receiving word from conservationists and timber merchants alike, warning of the rapid denuding of forests on federal land. Once thought to be an inexhaustible supply of timber, by the 1890s the American west was in a full-on timber frenzy which still had not reached its peak, but was already in danger of wiping out the last stands of virgin timber by way of unregulated logging and related resource extraction.

Along the trail to Grout Bay, near Big Bear.

To combat what President Harrison saw as a rash of wild west logging by private enterprises illegally poaching big timber off federal land, then under the auspices of the federal Division of Forestry (a precursor to the U.S. Forest Service), the Forest Reserve Act of 1891 was passed, creating the first federally-designated areas ever set aside specifically for conservation management.

Federal timberlands in Southern California were the first to receive protection, with the San Gabriel Forest Reserve established in 1892, followed by the San Bernardino Forest Reserve in 1893.

Under the direction of forester Gifford Pinchot, the U.S. Forest Service was created in 1907, and with the new management came a desire to streamline. The “old” San Bernardino Forest Reserve, along with the Santa Barbara Forest Reserve to the north, were both rolled into the adjoining Angeles National Forest. This state of management, however, rapidly became cumbersome, and by 1925 Southern California forest areas were again incorporated into separate federal entities, as portions of the Angeles were spun off into the newly-designated Cleveland National Forest to the south, and into the re-birth of what is now the modern-day San Bernardino National Forest.

Today the forest encompasses the bulk of three colossal Southern California mountain ranges: the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Santa Rosa mountains, with the urbanized areas of the Coachella Valley and Banning Pass bisecting the forest’s three ranger districts.

The San Bernardino Mountains lie to the north of Banning Pass, part of the larger east-west trending Transverse Ranges, while the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains lie to the south of Banning Pass, marking the northernmost bulwark of the north-south trending Peninsular Ranges, a mountainous backbone which runs from Southern California down the length of the Baja peninsula. Covering some 670,000 acres, the San Bernardino National Forest contains not just typical California chaparral and forest environments, but harsh desert climates climbing to the highest alpine summits in Southern California, including 11,503 ft. Mt. San Gorgonio, and 10,834 ft. Mt. San Jacinto.

The fire lookout atop 8,435 ft. Butler Peak, Big Bear Ranger District.

The Need for Associations and Partnerships

Today, we find ourselves living in an era where cut to the bone budgets are the norm for the Forest Service and related agencies, coming at a moment in our nation’s history when recreation and overall use of National Forests is exploding.

With the increase in recreational use of National Forests, the Forest Service is tasked with more duties than ever, and with dwindling staffs and key Forest Service positions left unfilled once those personnel move on or retire, it has grown more and more difficult for National Forests to handle not only traditional, expected duties like fire-suppression, trail maintenance, upkeep of facilities and historical resources, but enforcing Forest Service guidelines and policing areas experiencing damaging misuse or neglect.

Like a growing number of National Forests around the country, the San Bernardino National Forest is assisted in their mission by the San Bernardino National Forest Association, which complements their efforts of hazardous fuels reduction and watershed recovery by bringing in volunteer forces and associated funding to help with restoration, capital projects, and other initiatives.

In addition to help staffing and maintaining facilities like the Big Bear Discovery Center and the National Children’s Forest, the association also works with Forest Service botanists and biologists, and brings in the all-important armies of volunteers from around the community to help with projects, freeing up Forest Service personnel to focus on more pressing duties.

Sarah Miggins is the Executive Director of San Bernardino National Forest Association, and first appeared on Treehuggers International in July 2008 in an episode which has been one of the most frequently revised of the series. One of the inaugural group of Treehuggers International friends, we’re excited to have the San Bernardino National Forest Association back on the show, and are delighted to welcome Alison Bates, the Deputy Director of the San Bernardino National Forest Association, and Jen McGeehan, the retail manager and buyer for the association.

Along the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Bernardino Mountains

More about this post at:

• San Bernardino National Forest Association
• Big Bear Discovery Center
• National Children’s Forest
• Forest Care, page at SBNFA website
• San Bernardino National Forest Fire Lookout Program
• Adventure Outpost
• Fire Safety Information, MAST / San Bernardino County
• San Bernardino National Forest
• Second Annual Forest Care Gets Underway In March, press release
• Big Cat Sightings Near Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead (Big Bear News; 5/5/10)
• San Bernardino National Forest Nursery Needs Green Thumbs (Riverside Press-Enterprise; 1/18/10)
• Americorps Crew Members Sworn In (Riverside Press-Enterprise; 12/5/09)
• Morton Peak Lookout Reopens in San Bernardino Forest (Riverside Press-Enterprise; 6/24/07)

From Cape Flattery, the mountains of Vancouver Island rise above the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

While many in Western Washington are mourning the passing of KIRO weatherman Harry Wappler or the closing of Seattle’s naughty marquee landmark the Lusty Lady, there are plenty of reasons to be excited and optimistic about wilderness conservation in the Evergreen State on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Developing stories include a proposed addition to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, which just passed the U.S. House of Representatives, and a renewed Forest Service effort to determine possible year-round grizzly bear populations in the North Cascades. Here’s hoping a few silvertips are once again calling the North Cascades home.

In the meantime, Treehuggers International has been following these three key stories.

Further Preservation of the Hoh River

The Hoh River near the park boundary.

The culmination of a decade-long struggle, some 7,000 acres of the Hoh River outside of Olympic National Park have come under the protection and oversight of the Hoh River Trust, a coalition formed by the Western Rivers Conservancy and Wild Salmon Center to preserve as much of the Hoh River watershed as possible between the beach and inland components of Olympic National Park. As Lynda Mapes writes in the April 7th edition of the Seattle Times,

The groups still are seeking to acquire lands along another prime salmon tributary of the Hoh. But the core mission of protecting large swaths of private land along the river was attained this winter, with final purchase of about 2,000 acres from the Fruit Growers Supply Co.

Preservation of the landscape, mostly former industrial timberlands, provides a critical connection between lands in the upper river and the beach already within Olympic National Park.

“The park has the high country and the beach,” said Phil Davis, executive director of the Hoh River Trust. “We are connecting the dots in between.”

We at Treehuggers International offer our congratulations to the Hoh River Trust, not only for their success in “one of the largest single conservation efforts in Washington,” but also for their determination to protect, conserve, and perhaps most importantly, restore significant stretches of the Hoh River watershed outside of public land along the river’s final march to the sea. A number of these areas were the site of major timber operations, some of which ended only a few months ago.

Mt. Si and Other DNR Lands to Remain Open

Some great reward: the view of the Snoqualmie River Valley from atop Mt. Si.

Additional, albeit temporary, good news comes in the form of trails on state Department of Natural Resources land, which will remain open after a budget compromise was reached in Olympia. A proposed cut of $278,000 to the DNR budget could have meant the closure of iconic Western Washington trails like Mt. Si and Rattlesnake Mountain, both located near North Bend on either side of the Snoqualmie River Valley. Anyone who has ever done the grueling hike up Mt. Si to enjoy the stellar view from above, perhaps even the view of Downtown Seattle from the Haystack, knows the trail is one of the busiest and most popular in the region.

The downside?  The compromise only ensures the trails will remain open for another year, as official and unofficial trail maintenance falls to volunteer groups and organizations, in particular the Washington Trails Association, or WTA. Jonathan Guzzo, Advocacy Director for Washington Trails Association, wrote about the struggle to keep DNR lands open for the public in an April 13th posting on the Washington Trails Association website.

This was an uphill fight the whole way, and much of the credit is due to you. Hikers like you littered the mailboxes, inboxes and legislative hotline with compelling pleas to preserve the funding. Those who came to WTA’s Hiker Lobby Day were instrumental in raising awareness of this issue and of demonstrating that DNR lands are places that people like to hike. Thank you to all who helped make this victory possible!

But I almost hate to tell you this next thing. The restoration of recreation funding this year is only a reprieve. Once we’re done celebrating, we need to get geared up again. If we don’t find a way to provide new and sustainable funding for DNR, we’re going to find ourselves back in the same spot next year.

Further proof writing letters and stomping your feet so those in Olympia, and in the words of Harvey Manning, those in “the other Washington” can hear you, works. While not all solutions are permanent or as long-lasting as a Wilderness or National Park designation, when politicians can’t hear you, they don’t care. Build upon the little, day-to-day victories.

Removal of Elwha River Dams to Begin In 2012

The Elwha Dam in March 2007, with Lake Aldwell behind it.

A long-term solution we at Treehuggers International are particularly excited about is the impending removal of the Elwha River dams in Olympic National Park. In what will be the largest engineering undertaking in the history of the National Park Service and the largest dam removal effort ever in the U.S., the project is already serving as a precursor to the eventual removal of dams along the mighty Snake and Klamath rivers. Preliminary work on removing the Elwha River dams is due to begin next year.

The Elwha flows north out of the Olympic Mountains into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating the Olympic Peninsula from Vancouver Island.  For centuries, through the history of the Klallam people to the arrival of the Europeans, the Elwha was one of the greatest salmon-producing rivers in North America, laying claim to Pacific salmon like coho, pink, chum, and sockeye, along with steelhead trout, cutthroat trout, and bull trout. Before the first phase of the Elwha Dam was completed in 1910, approximately 400,000 salmon returned to the river each year to spawn in over 70 miles of the Elwha and its tributaries.  Pink salmon and coho were particularly robust in the river, spawning to nearly the Elwha’s headwaters in the glacial high country of the Olympic Mountains.

The Elwha Dam was originally constructed to provide cheap hydroelectricity to sawmills in Port Angeles, then busily eviscerating the pride of Olympic forests into 2 x 4s and shingles for San Francisco, which was undergoing a massive re-building effort following the 1906 earthquake and fire. Sadly, in the haste to build it, the original Elwha Dam was a comedy of colossal, ecologically-tragic errors. Littered with construction shortcuts, including an absence of fish ladders (despite a request to include them from the Washington state fish comissioner), the dam wasn’t even adequately secured to the bedrock walls of the valley with sufficient anchoring and grouting, resulting in a partial collapse of the original structure in 1912 when portions of the side and bottom of the dam were washed downstream.

The Lake Mills reservoir behind Glines Canyon Dam.

The dam as it stands today was completed in 1913, and from that moment effectively sealed off nearly 40 miles of the Elwha River and about another 30 miles of Elwha tributaries to salmon, decimating the run.  Today, fewer than 4,000 salmon return to spawn in the lower seven miles of the river below the Elwha Dam.

The area around the Elwha Dam also served as the Klallam nation’s only inland village, as well as their tribal creation site, all of which wound up 90 feet underwater with the formaton of Lake Aldwell, the reservoir behind Elwha Dam.

The higher Glines Canyon Dam, also known as the Upper Elwha Dam, was completed in 1926, further sealing the fate of the native salmon and fish population. Though left outside of the original National Park boundary in 1938, a major addition to the park two years later brought the Upper Elwha and its reservoir, Lake Mills, into park service oversight, a terrible irony as Olympic National Park was intended to preserve only natural ecosystems and the natural conditions of the Olympic Peninsula.

By the time of the 1940 park expansion, the Elwha was already three decades into a murderous strangulation of the river’s native salmon, and coupled with sediment build-up behind the dams and a lack of organic material from the decomposing bodies of salmon to nourish other organisms in the river, by the early 1990s the Elwha had long been relegated to a tragic shell of its former self.

With the reality of the Elwha’s dire ecological situation, erosion of clam beds at the mouth of the Elwha, increased erosion at Port Angeles Harbor due to a lack of river-transported sediment, decreased ability of the antiquated dams to produce hydroelectricity, and ongoing concerns about construction shortcuts in the original Elwha Dam structure, Congress passed the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act in 1992, beginning the process leading to the removal of the dams starting in 2012. As Les Blumenthal wrote in the April 12th edition of The Olympian,

The dams won’t be blown up, but deliberately dismantled over roughly three years so the 19 million cubic yards of silt, gravel and rock behind them can be flushed downstream gradually.

Once the dams are down, it may take 10 years to re-establish the runs. Some salmon will be flown by helicopter to the upper reaches of the Elwha watershed. The initial runs will include what native fish remain and those raised in a nearby hatchery. Eventually, the runs are expected to become wild.

Scientists say that if the salmon runs can’t be restored on the Elwha, they can’t be restored anywhere.

More than 85 percent of the river’s salmon habitat is in Olympic National Park, remote backcountry even now barely touched by humans.

While the majority of the Elwha River is preserved within Olympic National Park upriver from Glines Canyon, removing the two dams, now approaching 100 years in age, is not without some risk. The dam removal will surely, though temporarily, increase the amount of silt in the river. The volume of sediment which has collected behind the Elwha dams over the last 100 years is estimated to be about 18 million cubic yards. To head off the expected flooding and increased silt in Port Angeles and for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, a new water treatment plant has been constructed in anticipation of the soon-to-be-released Elwha.

The thought of renewing the once great salmon runs and bringing the Elwha River back to life from its ignominious slow strangulation is enticing, and cause of celebration.  It won’t be long before the Elwha again flows freely into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and it’s valleys and tributaries begin the process of rehabilitation. Should the Elwha rehabilitation be a success, its easy to see how the engineering and conservation lessons learned could, in addition to the Snake and Klamath rivers, also be applied to the long-standing environmental wrong done to Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley.

How fitting then, on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we look to the release of the Tuolomne River and the removal of the O’Shaughnessy Dam as a goal to build upon with the removal of the Elwha dams. For John Muir, who spent his last years fighting a brutally uphill battle for a man haf his age to keep the O’Shaughnessy Dam from being built at Hetch Hetchy, there would be no better ending or sense of justice. After all, April 22nd was selected as Earth Day in part to honor the memory of John Muir, whose birthday falls the day before, on April 21st.

We at Treehuggers International want to wish you a happy Earth Day, and thank you for your support and words of enthusiasm as we move into our fourth year. Happy Earth Day.

Summertime in the high country of the Olympic Mountains, near Hurricane Ridge.

More about this post at:

• Washington Trails Association
• Hoh River Trust
• Sierra Club Cascade Chapter
• Washington’s National Park Fund
• The Wilderness Society, statement on proposed expansion of Alpine Lakes Wilderness
• Olympic National Park, Removal of the Elwha Dam
• Olympic National Park, Elwha Ecosystem Restoration
• Forest Service Scans Backwoods for Grizzlies (Wenatchee World; 4/14/10)
• Mt. Si Trail Saved from Budget Cuts (Snoqualmie Valley Star; 4/13/10)
• Mt. Si Will Stay Open for Another Season (Washington Trails Association; 4/13/10)
• Will Dam Removal Return Life to Elwha? (The Olympian; 4/12/10)
• 7,000 Acres Along Hoh River Permanently Protected (Seattle Times; 4/8/10)
• Last Summer for Elwha Dams (Seattle Times; 4/6/10)
• Contractor Sought to Remove Elwha River Dams (Seattle Times; 2/5/10)
• Legislators Seek Alternatives to Closing Mt. Si Trail (Snoqualmie Valley Star; 1/20/10)
• Budget Cuts to Close Mt. Si? (Snoqualmie Valley Record; 1/6/10)
• Dam Removals Will Bring Fish Back to the Elwha River (Seattle Times; 5/3/09)
• Stimulus Money Will Speed Elwha Dam Removal (Seattle Times; 4/22/09)
• Bringing the Elwha River Back to Life (Seattle Times; 3/2/08)
• Tearing Down the Elwha River Dam (Popular Mechanics; 2/06)
• Elwha Dam Removal Gets Final Go-Ahead (Seattle Times; 8/6/04)
• Surveying the Elwha: A Picture Before the River (Seattle Times; 8/19/02)

Rocky outcrop near the Mt. Waterman summit, San Gabriel Mountains.

It’s an exciting time for wilderness and outdoor advocates in Southern California, as three different conservation initiatives are underway in the southern half of the Golden State, including wild areas in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, a pair of remote locales in northern San Diego County, and a vast expanse of currently unprotected land in the Mojave Desert, including multiple wilderness expansion proposals, numerous Wild and Scenic River designations, and two new National Monuments.

On this edition of Treehuggers International, Daniel Rossman from the Wilderness Society’s Los Angeles office, and Steve Evans, the Conservation Director from Sacramento-based Friends of the River, talk about the remarkable amount of conservation opportunities already underway in Southern California, and those under consideration.

San Gabriel Mountains

Pitch leaks from a freshly cut limb.

Led by the Wilderness Society, Friends of the River, the Sierra Club and other organizations in the San Gabriel Mountains Forever coalition, the current San Gabriels plan calls for additions to the range’s three established wilderness areas: the Sheep Mountain, Cucamonga, and San Gabriel Wilderness in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests.

Significant Wild and Scenic River designation is also being proposed on the San Gabriel River’s East, North, and West forks, as well as Lytle Creek, Little Rock Creek (on the range’s north side), and San Antonio Creek, including San Antonio Falls, located along one of the proposed additions to the Sheep Mountain Wilderness near Baldy Notch.

Also, with the extraordinary and still-growing recreation use of the area, a plan is being proposed for a new San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area in conjunction with the National Park Service.

The park service has already done a feasibility study on the possibility of a National Recreation Area, which would be especially valuable to lower income and ethnically diverse areas at the base of the range. Currently, the Wilderness and Wild and Scenic package needs the support of Congressman David Dreier from California’s 26th district in order to get aboard “the legislative train.”

2010 California Desert Protection Act

Backed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Desert Protection Act is of significant size, and would include the proposed Sand-to-Snow National Monument, rising from the western end of Joshua Tree National Park into the forested high country of the San Bernardino Mountains, and includes one of several proposed Wild and Scenic River designations in the area for the Whitewater River, which flows through the proposed monument’s length into the Coachella Valley basin.

To the north, the proposed Mojave Trails National Monument would protect wild and historic locales along both sides of historic U.S. Rt. 66, along with a sizable chunk of the Mojave Desert west of the Mojave National Preserve, and another sizable area west of the Arizona state line near the Colorado River and Needles. Several proposed wilderness areas are also part of the package, and would provide an opportunity to enhance wildlife corridors between Death Valley National Park, the U.S. Army’s Fort Irwin, and Mojave National Preserve.

An upcoming show featuring David Lamfrom from the National Parks Conservation Association will go into more detail about this proposal, one of the largest land management initiatives ever undertaken in the lower 48 states.

Northern San Diego County

Springtime flowers in oak woodland country.

We at Treehuggers International were pleased to learn Congressman Darrell Issa, who represents California’s 49th District in San Diego’s inland North County, had introduced legislation in December to expand the current Agua Tibia and Beauty Mountain Wilderness areas in Riverside County into adjoining wild areas in his district in San Diego County.

Passage of the bill will add 7,796 acres to the Agua Tibia Wilderness and 13,635 acres to the Beauty Mountain Wilderness, originally established by Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack and Sen. Barbara Boxer in the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act.

Crisscrossed by canyons with oak woodland and chaparral-covered slopes, the areas are intensely rugged and heavily bouldered, with the Cutca Trail marking the main human passageway through the region. As has become the case with recent wilderness proposals in areas with private property patchworked into public land, the legislation allows for the continued use of a popular campground at the end of a pre-exisiting road “cherry stemmed” into the wilderness, and will also permit a corral along the edge of the Beauty Mountain Wilderness boundary.

Another modern wilderness concession is an allowance for mechanized firefighting efforts in the areas, though the Agua Tibia Wilderness in particular has already burned four times since the late 80s, most recently in the Poomacha Fire in October 2007. Several proposed Wild and Scenic River designations are also being considered as part of the overall legislative package, including the upper Santa Margarita River (before it flows into Camp Pendleton) and the San Diego River Gorge.

For more information on these ongoing initiatives, contact the Wilderness Society’s Los Angeles office at (213) 514-4030, or Friends of the River in Sacramento at (916) 442-3155.

Rugged vistas of the San Gabriel high country abound along the trail to Chilao and Twin Peaks.

More about this post at:

• The Wilderness Society
• Friends of the River
• San Gabriel Mountains Forever
• Easter In the San Gabriels Combines Service, Conservation (Santa Clarita Valley Signal; 3/30/10)
• Feinstein Bill to Preserve Desert Land Gains Traction (Riverside Press-Enterprise; 3/11/10)
• A National Park Service Urban Model (San Gabriel Valley Tribune; 2/25/10)
• Imperial Valley Officials Question Feinstein Desert Bill (Imperial Valley Press; 2/16/10)
• Feinstein Legislation to Establish Two National Monuments In Mojave (Los Angeles Times; 12/21/09)
• California Desert Protection Act of 2010, map of proposed area (Phoenix Sun; 12/21/09)
• California Desert Protection Act: the Maps, maps of proposed area (Desert Blog; 12/21/09)
• Wilderness Close to Home (San Diego Union-Tribune; 12/21/09)
• Issa Introduces Wilderness Bill (North County Times; 12/17/09)
• La Cañada City Council Throws Support Behind Wilderness (Times Community News; 11/3/09)
• Religious Group Pushes to Protect San Gabriel Mountains (Los Angeles Times; 10/30/09)
• Growing Wilderness In Southern California, Campaign for America’s Wilderness newsletter
• California Wild Heritage Campaign, statement on Big Sur Wild Rivers, Lands bill
• Sierra Club Angeles Chapter

Marine layer clouds infiltrate the interior valleys of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Falling Water: Approaching San Antonio Falls on a late December afternoon.

As Interior Secretary, Stewart Udall was instrumental in the creation of North Cascades National Park.

Treehuggers International is saddened to learn of the death of former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. Mr. Udall died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico of complications from a fall. He was 90 years old.

A native of Arizona and a three-term Congressman from the Grand Canyon State, Stewart Udall was tapped by President Kennedy to take over the Interior Department in 1961. A tireless campaigner for America’s outdoor and natural heritage, and a great believer in the power of the federal government to preserve America’s remaining wildlands, Secretary Udall made it his mission to set aside America’s special and vulnerable places as parks, monuments, or wilderness areas to be preserved for future generations.

Stewart Udall and Lady Bird in the Tetons.

Serving into the Johnson administration after the assassination of President Kennedy, by 1969 a brief tally of Udall’s record included the creation of a dozen National Park Service units, including Point Reyes National Seashore and Redwood National Park in California in 1962 and 1969, respectively; Canyonlands National Park in Utah in 1964; North Cascades National Park in Washington state in 1968; and Udall planted the seeds for what became Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas in 1972. As Matt Schudel wrote in the Washington Post:

Mr. Udall, who sometimes led hikes as long as 50 miles when he was interior secretary, helped create the first federal bicycle paths and jogging trails. He made Ellis Island in New York Harbor a national monument, protected the Outer Banks of North Carolina and designated Assateague Island in Maryland and Virginia, with its hundreds of wild horses, a national seashore. Four national parks, six national monuments and dozens of wildlife refuges, historic sites and recreation areas were created under his authority.

Mr. Schudel’s piece goes on to say:

He brought conservation and environmental concerns into the national consciousness and was the guiding force behind landmark legislation that preserved millions of acres of land, expanded the national park system and protected water and land from pollution. From the Cape Cod seashore in Massachusetts to the untamed wilds of Alaska, Mr. Udall left a monumental legacy as a guardian of America’s natural beauty.

Despite having a testy relationship with President Lyndon B. Johnson, Mr. Udall remained in the Cabinet after Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and made concern for the environment a key part of Johnson’s Great Society. He helped secure passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964 (which now protects about 400 million acres of land in 44 states), as well as the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (1965), the Water Quality Act (1965), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (1965), the Endangered Species Preservation Act (1966), the National Historic Preservation Act (1966), and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968).

One of Udall’s key conservation successes during his time as Interior chief was the preservation of the Grand Canyon. While it may be hard to believe now, stretches of the Colorado River within and alongside Grand Canyon National Park were under threat of a number of damming projects well into the 1960s:

“My own people from Arizona were desperate to build these dams,” he told National Public Radio in 1996. “Some of them still dislike me because I helped stop the construction of these dams.”

Mr. Udall, who continued to hike the Grand Canyon into his mid-80s, summed up his environmental ethic on a trip in the 1990s.

“I guess President Teddy Roosevelt, who slept out in the snow up on the South Rim nearly a hundred years ago,” he mused, “said it right for all time. ‘There it is, magnificent. Man cannot improve upon it; leave it alone.’ “

The author of dozens of books, including The Quiet Crisis, his 1963 blueprint for the American conservation movement, Udall also penned a landmark October 1972 article for The Atlantic Monthly questioning the nation’s conspicuous consumption and gas-guzzling ways, accurately predicting America’s first major energy crisis a year in advance.

Udall later became an activist on behalf of the Navajo nation in his native Arizona after leaving government service, fighting to secure benefits and compensation for Navajo workers poisoned by radiation while excavating uranium for nuclear weapons in the 1950s. A World War II veteran, Stewart Udall served as a gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator in the Italian-based Fifteenth Air Force. He is the father of current New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, and the uncle of Colorado Senator Mark Udall, both of whom were elected to the Senate from the House of Representatives in 2008.

As a citizen, Congressman, and Interior Secretary, Stewart Udall couldn’t have made the strides he did in the protection of America’s natural heritage without significant public support enabling bold legislative and executive action. Like another great conservationist who also died this month, former Sierra Club president Edgar Wayburn, Udall was a master at galvanizing public opinion around an issue or a locale and acting upon it. As President Clinton’s former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in 2006, “Stewart Udall, more than any other single person, was responsible for reviving the national commitment to conservation and environmental preservation.”

With a recent Gallup poll showing Americans’ concern for the environment at a 20-year low, it is incumbent upon 21st Century conservationists to step forward and build upon the far-reaching progress and environmental successes of the 1960s and 70s by reaching out and engaging with the public on what matters today.

Just as important, the American public needs to be reminded of their treasures, and the presence of new ones. Unless friends, family, and acquaintances are invited along with those of us who are passionate about the outdoors into these special places we cherish today, how can we expect them to see for themselves why they are more valuable to the United States preserved in their natural, pristine state, than exploited for destructive, short-term gain? How can expect them to care if they may not encounter these places on their own?

Stewart Udall and Lady Bird Johnson lead a hike at Big Bend National Park, 1966.

More about this post at:

• Stewart L. Udall: Advocate for Planet Earth, University of Arizona biography
• Interior Secretary Was Guardian of America’s Wild Places (Washington Post; 3/21/10)
• Conservationist In Kennedy and Johnson Administration Dies (New York Times; 3/21/10)
• Interior Secretary Championed National Parks (Los Angeles Times; 3/21/10)
• Udall, Interior Chief to Kennedy, Johnson, Dies at 90 (Bloomberg; 3/21/10)
• Stewart Udall Dies at 90 (Politico; 3/20/10)
• Stewart Udall, 90; Was Interior Secretary (Denver Post; 3/20/10)
• The Last Traffic Jam: Too Many Cars, Too Little Oil (The Atlantic Monthly; 10/72)
• Park, Wilderness, and Monument Expansion Proposals 1961-1969, National Park Service
• Stewart Udall, Wikipedia entry

Pro Peninsula volunteer Rachel Tuck makes friends with a gray whale.

Screenings are March 23rd and March 25th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Ultra Star Cinema at Hazard Center, located in San Diego’s Mission Valley.

Treehuggers International is thrilled to be on board for the second year in a row as the media sponsor for the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, presented locally in San Diego by Pro Peninsula.

A fund within the larger Ocean Foundation, Pro Peninsula was created in 2001 by Kama Dean and Chris Pesenti to strengthen efforts protecting the natural environment of Baja California, and in particular, reaching out to fishing communities along the length of the peninsula about the need to protect endangered sea turtle populations and safeguard the seasonal passage of gray whales along the Pacific coast.

While still largely wild, Baja California faces particular threats to its unique environments, and the need remains for strong environmental advocacy to promote social awareness and environmental participation, while promoting sustainable development alternatives. Working with local communities and a pool of local fishermen and citizens, Pro Peninsula continues to advance the cause of ocean conservation along the Baja coast, and whereas 10 years ago there were only two similar environmental organizations active in Baja, today there are near 30.

Stopping by Treehuggers International to talk about this year’s Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival is Giuliana Schroeder, the Communications and Marketing Manager for Pro Peninsula; and a long-time Pro Peninsula volunteer, naturalist, ocean enthusiast, and co-emcee of this year’s Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, Rachel Tuck.

This year the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival moves to the Ultra Star Cinemas at Hazard Center in San Diego’s Mission Valley, located along the San Diego River just steps from the San Diego Trolley’s Hazard Center stop, and instead of one night of films, the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival has grown to two nights: March 23rd and March 25th. Screenings run from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, and are $15 per night, or both nights for $25.  VIP packages are also available in conjunction with Point Loma Outfitting, at $30 for one night or $50 for both nights.

(originally posted March 6th)

Julio Solas releases a marker off the Baja coast as part of sea turtle monitoring efforts.

More about this post at:

• Pro Peninsula Wild and Scenic Page
• About Pro Peninsula
• Point Loma Outfitting
• The Ocean Foundation
• Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival
• Pro Peninsula E-Bulletin, February 2010 edition details current initiatives and festival schedule
• 35 San Diego Leaders Under 35, includes profile of Kama Dean (San Diego News Network; 1/14/10)
• Slow, Steady Wins Conservation Race (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/19/08)

Along with the film’s producers, narrator Zuliekha Robinson will be in attendance.

Spring runoff along Big Rock Creek, San Gabriel Mountains.

With World Water Day coming up on Monday, March 22nd, it’s a good time to think about the myriad of directions water agencies tend to go, with some agencies charged with the task of bringing water to thirsty Southern California, while others are charged with the task of flood control, flushing any rainwater the region may receive into the ocean as quickly as possible.

It’s not counter-intuitive to take a step back and ask why these agencies’ goals aren’t more in tandem. When rainwater falls in Southern California or a similarly dry climate, it would make as much sense to keep more than just what winds up in reservoirs and use it, rather than expel the rainwater into the sea, only to pull it from the ocean again in the form of a desalination plant, thereby burning more fossil fuels to extract the same fresh water which was just flushed away.

Enter The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water, a new, animated film produced by a team of activists from different chapters of the Surfrider Foundation, narrated by actress Zuleikha Robinson, and with Surfrider San Diego member and Know Your H20 co-chair Belinda Smith at the helm as Executive Producer.

As part of Surfrider’s new Ocean Friendly Gardens campaign, The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water discusses how the current management of our water supply runs counter to grade-school lessons about the water cycle, highlights controversial problems and solutions related to water management, and serves as a practical, good sense-driven outline for individuals curious about water issues.

And from one cycle of insanity to another, there remains Governor Schwarzenegger’s ongoing scheme to remove California State Parks from the state’s general fund, and instead fund the operation of all 278 state parks (and several other starving state institutions, including the U.C. and Cal. State systems) from oil revenues collected from a long-delayed, highly-controversial, twice-rejected offshore drilling plan along the Tranquillon Ridge in the Santa Barbara Channel.

In conjunction with the California State Parks Foundation, Treehuggers International was recently in Sacramento for Parks Advocacy Day actively lobbying against such a move, and pressing state legislators for support of the Parks Access Pass initiative, currently in the signature-gathering stage and expected to be on the November ballot.  By adding an annual $18 surcharge to all California-registered vehicles, state parks will similarly be removed from the general fund and fully funded from a regular, annual source of support, with the added benefit of EVERY Californian enjoying free access into all state parks, year-round.

Stefanie Sekich is best-known for her work in helping defeat the proposed Orange County toll road through the backcountry of San Onofre State Beach as part of Surfrider’s coastal campaigns and Save Trestles initiatives, and along with Belinda Smith, she stops by Treehuggers International for an update on not only the possibility of expanded offshore oil drilling in California’s coastal waters, but also in federal waters beyond the three-mile offshore mark of the state. While President Obama has been instrumental in the resuscitation of federal regulatory agencies and the creation of new wilderness areas with last year’s omnibus bill, he’s been reluctant to remove the option of renewed offshore oil drilling off the California coast.

From The Cycle of Insanity film to the ongoing parks-for-oil cycle of insanity, we cover some extra ground on this edition of Treehuggers International.

The San Diego Surfrider chapter is hosting the premiere screening of The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water on March 22nd at 4:00, 6:00, and 7:30 pm at The Loft on the UCSD campus. The screenings are open and free to the public, with a Q & A session following the 4:00 and 6:00 screenings.

More about this post at:

• San Diego Surfrider Chapter
• Not the Answer, Surfrider anti-offshore oil drilling advocacy website
• World Water Day
• Know Your H2O
• Save Trestles, updates on Trestles and San Onofre State Beach
• California State Parks Foundation
• Ocean Waves Beaches
• Oil for Parks Plan Derided As Blackmail (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/22/10)
• On the Money: Oil Drilling Controversy (KOVR-TV Sacramento; 1/15/10)
• Governor Seeks to Use Oil Money to Save State Parks (San Francisco Chronicle; 1/9/10)
• Initiative Seeks Long-Term Funding for Cash-Strapped State (San Diego Newsroom; 1/8/10)
• Enviros Blast Arnold’s Oil for Parks Plan (Contra Costa Times; 1/8/10)
• Schwarzenegger: Fund State Parks Via Offshore Oil Money (LAist; 1/8/10)

Headwaters: Scott Gomer Creek at treeline, Pike-Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.