Winter 2006-2007 ForestWatch The Quarterly Membership Publication of Los Padres ForestWatch FORESTWATCH is the only organization working to protect the entire Los Padres National Oil Slick Spreads for Three Miles Near Condor Sanctuary Forest — from the Big Sur coast to the Sespe wildlands — Last month, more than 200 from damage caused by oil gallons of crude oil and drilling, off-road vehicle abuse, 2,100 gallons of wastewa- unmanaged livestock grazing, ter spilled into a creek in and other resource extraction. the Los Padres National Forest. The oil slick spread for three miles before work- Inside this issue: ers could contain it. Director’s Message 2 The spill came within two miles of Sespe Creek, a fed- ForestWatch: 500 Members erally protected Wild & Sce- 3 Strong, and Counting... nic River that provides criti- cal habitat for endangered Salmon Run a Success! 4 steelhead. The spill oc- curred in a remote section Workers use floatation devices, absorbent pads, and vacuum trucks to DAM-o-lition Benefits remove oil from a creek near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in Ventura County. 5 of the Sespe Oil Field, in Tar Creek. The Endangered Steelhead creek forms the southern boundary of the The incident occurred after cold tempera- Sespe Condor Sanctuary. Carrizo Plain Bus Trip 5 tures and possible internal corrosion caused a pipeline to burst. The pipeline According to officials, no endangered spe- was operated by Vintage Production, a Wildfire Transforms Sespe 6-7 cies were directly harmed by the spill. subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. Occi- However, officials remained concerned dental is an international oil exploration Logging Figueroa Mountain 8 because of its proximity to the condor company based in Los Angeles. sanctuary and steelhead habitat. (Continued on page 9) Protecting Wilderness Along 10 the Big Sur Coast Hundreds of Gravel Trucks Slated for Scenic Highway 33 Field Notes: Scenic Hwy 33 12 Three new or expanded sand and gravel Padres National Forest. mines in the Cuyama River could add hun- dreds of haul trucks to Scenic Highway 33 The first mine slated for approval - and through the heart of the Los Padres Na- the largest of the three - is the Diamond tional Forest. Rock Sand and Gravel Mine, proposed for 133 acres in the Cuyama Valley near the Combined, the mines could add more Santa Barbara-Ventura county line. than 300 daily truck trips on California Scenic Highway 33, which connects the Two other existing mines in the area have Cuyama Valley with Ojai. The winding two- also applied to expand their operations. Three new or expanded mines could send hundreds lane road takes travelers through some of of gravel trucks through the heart of the Los Padres. the most spectacular scenery of the Los (Continued on page 11) printed on 100% recycled paper produced with renewable wind power Page 2 ForestWatch A New Year’s Message It’s going to be a good year for those of us lands, and how these changes will affect who care about the future of the Los Pa- us locally, we remain hopeful that new op- dres National Forest. portunities will arise to fix some of the bad decisions that have been made during the It will be a good year because we now have past few years. the support of you and more than 500 oth- ers who share our concern about the fate But all of this good news doesn’t mean that of our local forest. Together, we’ll become our work is finished. The sheer size of this an even more effective voice on behalf of newsletter — now twelve pages instead of Jeff Kuyper is the Executive our region’s wild places. eight — says it all. Oil spills. Haul trucks. Director of ForestWatch. Dams exploding. Wildfires burning. Lawless It will also be a good year because we’re logging. Wilderness violations. And the list organizing several events and volunteer goes on. opportunities throughout the year. These events will be an opportunity for you — our Events like the recent oil spill demonstrate members and supporters— to celebrate that we’ll have to work harder than ever yesterday’s victories while planning for the this year to return balance and account- challenges of tomorrow. Look for special ability to our forest. announcements and invitations soon. There may be even more surprises in store And it’s going to be a good year because for the Los Padres in 2007, but one thing’s we have a new Congress that better under- for certain: thanks to your support, Forest- stands the need to protect our local for- Watch will continue to lead the charge to ests. While it’s far too early to tell what our protect our local backcountry. new leaders have in store for our public BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jennifer Jackson Santa Barbara Brad Monsma Camarillo Michael Summers Santa Barbara Michelle ForestWatch: 500 Members Strong...and Counting! Tollett Ventura Last Fall, to celebrate ForestWatch’s second anniversary, we launched our annual mem- Philip Tseng bership drive with a goal of doubling our membership. Santa Barbara We did it! In just two years, we’ve grown from a tiny group into an effective organization Pat Veesart San Luis Obispo with a proven track record and more than 500 supporters from all over the region. Our members serve as the backbone of our organization, helping us serve as a powerful voice for your public lands. Thanks to your support, we’ll be able to build upon these successes throughout 2007 and beyond! Page 3 Thank You to Our Recent Supporters! We’d like to thank all of our new and existing members for your generous support during our Fall Membership Drive and throughout the holidays and New Year. Your support allows us to continue our important work in protecting your local forest. Scott Abbott Frederick Clegg Felipe Garcia Jan Koch, Judy Oberlander Kevin & Sheila O'Brien Snow Whitney Brooks Abbott Tim Coates David & Sandra Garth Pacific Travelers Supply Elissa O’Brien Madeleine Sone Geoff & Sondra Aggeler Naomi Cohen Steve & Kristy Giddings Catherine Bos & Roy Joan O'Keefe Stephen Speer Lesley Alexander Lynn Coleman Dr. Mortimer Glasgal Kochendorfer William J. Otto DVM Paul Sperry Dolli Alexander Alan Coles Dieter & Cynthia Goetze Ron Kopp Jack & Sheri Overall Pete & Susan St. John Louis Andaloro Shan & Noreen Collins Catherine Graham Noel Korten Dennis Palm Nancy & Brett Stearns Sheila & Lincoln Anderson Kendall & Kay Conger Linda & Frank Granat Philip Krohn & Monica Bond Jon & Maria Parisen Jack & Judy Stepelmann Anonymous (9) Carolyn & Steve Conner Marian & Carl Greenfield Julie & Marc Kummel Carl Pecevich Martin Stevenson George & Ellen Appel Jody & Carl Cooper Brigitte Gregg Dan & Joan Kuyper Lorna Pinassi David Strahan, Terry Arousse Ken Haggard & Rick & Joan Grue Terri Laine Jamie Kinser & Arcady Distributing Brooke & Everard Polly Cooper A.J. Gustin Ruth Lasell Matthias Pippig Michael Summers Ashworth Mary Copperud Michelle Gysan Don Lauer Shiva Polefka Sylvia Swan Anna Jacobs & Cornelia Corbett, Infinite Janet Hamber Mark Lefko Katharine Pond David Swanson Robert Auric Playground LLC Brian Hamilton Claudia Leidecker Rich Popchak James Sweeney Michael Avenali Kevin Corse Leo & Yvonne Hollis Lenderking David & Valerie Powdrell Helaina & Ron Takeda Sam Babcock Dr. Ian & Patricia Coster Hammerschmitt Andy & Susan Lentz H. Lee Pratt Rosemary & Michael Takeda Lawrence Badash Karen Cotter John Hankins Pamela & John Leonard Mel Price Tassajara Zen Mountain Center John Ballantine John Cotton Rae Hanstad Valerie Levulett Patricia Puterbaugh Karen Telleen-Lawton Steven & Denice Barr Natasha Todorovic & Linda & Irshard Haque Barbara & Albert Lindemann Joel & Nereida Rieman Don Tidwell Bettina Barrett Chris Cowan Curtis Harrington Jim Little Paul & Kathleen Rogers Rosita & Barney Tower James & Judith Barrett Eliot Cowan Dorothea Harrington Dorothy Littlejohn Kenneth & Monyque Rose Helene & John Vachet Beatrice Battier, Dr. Bat- Wayne Cretin James Harrison Bruce Livingstone Michele Rozo Jeff Van Bueren tier's Veterinary Clinic Rev. Paul & Margaret Sue & Richard Harvey Karen Lockwood Gene Rubin Audio Arthur & Judy Vander Jody Bauer Danielson Neil & Ann Havlik Dorothy & James Loebl Jacquelyn Sander Charles & Candia Varni Sue Anne Francis & B.D. & Liz Dautch John Heinsius Patricia & Dan Lomax Joyce Sattler Pat Veesart Cecil Baumgartner Josh Davidson Jann & Brian Hendry Kathy Longacre Jack Sawaske Landscape Ventana Wilderness Alliance Luann Beach Mark Davis Gordon Hensley, EPI-Center/ J. Lynch Arnie Schildhaus Richard Vreeland June & Shed Behar Arden Day SLO Coastkeeper Ken MacDonald John & Thelma Schmidhauser Hilary & Roger Waldinger Robert & Joan Benedetti Jan De Leeuw Esperanza Hernandez Steven & Jan Howell Marx Kris Schmidt Stephen & Judy Walker George Berg Nan Deal Kelly & Mark Hildner Justin Massey Richard Schmidt Janet O'Connor & Bill & Shirley Bianchi David & Glory DeCamp James J. Hill III Terry Maul Fred & Phyllis Schoen Jeff Waxman Jim Blakley Lisa Dicey Brown & Benjamin Hitz, Jr. Deven May Jeannette Scott Ed Wehan Jan & Mary Blakslee Margaret Dicey Jim & Sharyn Main Hodgson Janice & Thomas McCormick Carmen & Andrew Seligman Judy Weisman Merrily Weiss & Tom Bliss Carol & David Dixon Roger Hollanden Edward & Karen McCoy Ilysia Shattuck Richard Welch James Bloch Peter Dolan Clifton Gore & Laurie Hope Bob & LaVerne McDonnell John & Aida Shellabarger Michael & Susan Wellborn Emily Boyes Stephen Dougherty Tom & Julie Anne Hopkins Seyburn Zorthian & Susan & James Shields Lornie White Karen Bradstreet Wena Dows Marjorie & Charles Marc McGinnes Iain Shigeoka Priscilla & Roy Whittaker Kimmis & Jill Brady Peter Dullea Hoskinson James McGrew