THE JEFFREY PINE JOURNAL Newsletter of Friends of the Inyo WINTER 2008/09 VOLUME VI, IssUE II Mt. Whitney basks in a snowy winter sunrise. photo: Vern Clevenger Desert Stewardship Blooms Diaries Death Valley Flowers Four Days in the Forest Preservation, exploration and stewardship for the public lands of the Eastern Sierra Jeffrey Pine Journal Volume VI, Issue II THE President’s Message Jeffrey Pine Journal by Frank Stewart bout 20 years ago a friend named Joe Fontaine (former president of the national VOLUME VI, ISSUE II WINTER 2008/09 Sierra Club) told me a story. In Washington D.C., he was spotted on Capitol Hill Newsletter of Aby a familiar congressman. The congressman pulled him aside saying “Joe, I’m Friends of the Inyo glad I ran into you, we need to talk. I’ve been inundated with letters on that issue you’ve been working on” (probably some public lands campaign or other). Joe did some behind- the-scenes inquiries, and discovered that over the past few months the congressman had FRIENDS OF THE INYO received seven letters. PRESERVATION • EXPLORATION • STEWARDSHIP Fast forward to 2008. Thanks to folks like you, over the last eight years our congressman Post Office Box 64 Lee Vining, California 93541 and our senators have received thousands of letters asking for wilderness legislation for the wild places on the Eastside. Imagine how powerful a force that has been on their motiva- 699 West Line Street, Suite A tion! Your voices finally caused a 400,000-plus acre bill to be introduced last spring by Rep. Bishop, California 93514 Howard “Buck” McKeon and Sen. Barbara Boxer, with the bill progressing all the way to (760) 873-6500 congressional subcommittee hearings and markups in the fall. This was truly an astound- www.friendsoftheinyo.org ing accomplishment in such a short time. Now, by the time you read this, the bill either Board of Directors will have passed in this session, or will be on the list for next year. Either way, I want you Frank Stewart, President to recognize the significance of our accomplishments over the course of this past summer. Bill Mitchel, Secretary Thank you for your work; I know it hasn’t been easy. James Wilson, Treasurer Mike Prather, Lone Pine Early in September, four Eastern Sierra business owners headed back east to lobby our Sydney Quinn, Big Pine congressman and senators to get the bill passed in this session of Congress. The group Chris Joseph, Santa Monica included Brian Brown, a date grower from Tecopa; Chris Lizza, the owner of Mono Market Margy Verba, Mono City in Lee Vining; Stacy Corless, the editor of Eastside magazine from Mammoth; and myself, Sara Steck, Bishop a building contractor from Bishop. Some of you may remember that I had the privilege of Staff doing this a couple of years ago, with a different group of business owners. This time some- Paul McFarland, Executive Director thing was very different: we were riding the wave of momentum that you created with your Laura Chamberlin, Watershed Program Coordinator letters, testimony and actions. Instead of meeting out in the halls with congressional staff, Stacy Corless, Communications Director we got to meet with our representatives personally, in their offices. Darren Malloy, Operations Director While meeting with Rep. McKeon, I noticed something interesting on his desk. Now, Maria Dzul, Americorps Member you can imagine that only the most important documents are going to find their way onto Todd Vogel, Stewardship Coordinator the desk of a U.S. Congressman—otherwise his “in” pile would be three feet tall! Guess Deb Bendinelli, Administrative Assistant what was on the top of McKeon’s “in” pile: copies of The Inyo Register, the Mammoth Friends of the Inyo is a local non-profit con- Times, and what appeared to be other local papers from the southern part of his district. servation organization dedicated to preserv- ing the ecological, cultural and recreational If your congressman wants to know what the people in his district think, he’s going straight values of the Eastern Sierra’s public lands. to the papers. I want you to remember that. The next time we ask you to get a letter into the paper, remember that the letter that you send to your local papers will find Printed on Recycled Paper its way right onto the top of the pile on your congressman’s desk. If our bill The Cover Photo doesn’t pass in this session, you can bet we’ll be asking you to warm up those pens! “Mt. Whitney Pink Glow” Frank Stewart, shown here with the Eastside team from Vern Clevenger’s in D.C. (seated far left), is a founding board recently published member of Friends of the Inyo. Sierra Sojourns This issue of the Jeffrey Pine Inyo is a Paiute word meaning “dwelling place Journal is dedicated to the life of the Great Spirit.” For us, this dwelling place extends from the bottom of Death Valley to and legacy of Mary Vocelka, the top of Mount Whitney, from Owens Lake to Topaz Lake, from the crest of the Sierra Nevada one of the world’s gentlest souls to the roof of the Great Basin atop the White who touched many, many lives Mountains. The Jeffrey Pine Journal, named after the East- in the Eastern Sierra and across ern’s Sierra’s most aromatic conifer, is distributed free to all members of Friends of the Inyo and the Sierra Nevada. wherever great spirits tend to dwell. FRIENDS O2F THE INYO Jeffrey Pine Journal Volume VI, Issue II Get Out! Glass Creek Meadow Ski Tour by Darren Malloy ost people will want to start their winter excursion to Glass Creek Meadow from the Obsidian Dome parking Mlot, on the west side of 395 just north of Deadman Summit. The parking lot is plowed throughout the winter, and the area is off-limits to snowmobiles, making it an ideal place to get yourself on skis or snowshoes for your adventure. From the parking area, groomed trails will lead you west toward the small nearby peak known as “Chicken Wing.” From the parking area, groomed trails lead west toward the small nearby peak known as “Chicken Wing.” A left at the first fork goes past Obsidian Dome; before the groomed trail bends north up the hill, head cross country through gorgeous Jeffrey Pine trees toward Glass Creek. Adventurous souls might want to try an alternate start, just to the south at Deadman Road. This area is used by snowmobiles, but after skiing less than a half-mile toward Obsidian Dome you will pass into an area that is reserved for human-powered recreation. Follow the small valley along the southern edge of the Obsidian Dome toward Glass Creek – this area offers some open areas at gentle angles, so if the snow is good you can try to fit in a few turns along the way. In either case, you will have to make your way up one relatively steep slope in order to reach Glass Creek Meadow. This is a good place to practice kick-turns and using your edges on skis, or if the slope seems to steep, you can always take off your skis and boot-pack up until the terrain gets easier. Keep in mind that you will need to negotiate this same slope on your way back out. By moving west, parallel to Glass Creek, you will eventually reach the meadow, with great views to White Wing peak on the south edge of the meadow, the backside of June Mountain Ski Area on the north, and the San Joaquin Ridge to the west. From here you can choose how to spend your day of quiet, snowy solitude. If you are confident in your turns and your judgment of avalanche conditions, you can head up White Wing and have a great run on the way down. By exploring the forest at the southern edge of the meadow, you can find enormous old-growth red fir trees. If you have plenty of time and know you can move fast, you can even head all the way west to the ridge that separates Deadman and Glass Creeks, and enjoy the views of Mammoth Mountain and the headwaters of the San Joaquin. Anyplace you head, you are sure to enjoy your winter day in one of the most spectacular and accessible places the Eastern Sierra has to offer. Join Friends of the Inyo and ski/mountaineering guide Todd Vogel for a trip to Glass Creek Meadow on January 17, 2009. See page 13 for details. Approaching Glass Creek Meadow below the San Joaquin Ridge, Owens River. photo: Todd Vogel FRIENDS O3F THE INYO Jeffrey Pine Journal Volume VI, Issue II The Eastern Sierra Stewardship Corps Getting Out and Giving Back A Stewardship Update Aspen Restoration Fence, Bodie Hills Who: Friends of the Inyo’s first ever professional Stewardship Crew: Ian, Jake, Ryan and Nick. What: Working with Anne Halford, botanist with the Bishop Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, through a grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the “Stew” Crew constructed the Bishop Office’s first ever natural materi- als, split rail fence from downed aspen. Where: An isolated aspen and spring complex at 8700’ in the Bodie Hills. Why: With new sprouts trampled or eaten by cattle, and water and temperature stress worsened by climate change, aspen groves are a unique and threatened component of the Eastern Sierra’s ecological tapestry. Born on a site visit a few years ago to asses the condition of this aspen grove and spring complex, the con- struction of this split rail cattle fence has been years in the mak- ing.