Volume 2015, Issue 4 Sept 2015

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VOL 2015, Issue 4 BRANCHING OUT Page 1 Volume 2015, Issue 4 Friends of the Forest Sedona September 2015 From the President Jennifer Young Hello Friends of the Forest Members, As we ease into fall, I want to share a big "thank you" from the Forest Service for the collective stretch that we accomplish each summer season to cover Visitor Center operations, Cultural Heritage Site docent duty, water sampling, essential trail work and other activities that continue during the steamy months. While many FOF Members are on the move elsewhere in the country - or world - a lot of valuable work, and enjoyment, has happened here on the District. Looking to September - please come to the Board and Membership meeting on the 16th at 9:00am at the District Administration Building. Come a few minutes early to enjoy refreshments courtesy of the Hospitality Committee. And please plan to join the October 17 FOF Annual General Meeting, followed by the Forest Service Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. We will be at the Beaver Creek Work Center once again. The elec- tion of one third of our Board of Directors takes place at this meeting as well as honoring some of our mem- bers' contributions over the past year. The meeting commences at 10:00am and the Forest Service hosted picnic starts at noon. As you will see on the Board of Directors Ballot enclosed in this newsletter (to be submitted only if you will not be attending the Annual Meeting), the Board Nominating Committee is presenting nine new Board Nominees: Ernie DiMillo, Elaine Hackett, Ed Hodges, Bob Kenney, Peg Kern, Bob Little, Gary Neil, Jerry Piepiora and Manny Romero. This level of new interest in joining the FOF leadership group is an exciting develop- ment and bodes well for the ongoing evolution and renewal of our organization. Board Directors offering to continue for another three year term include Mark Munsell, Jean and Mike Ober, Paul Ward and Debbie Wych. I wish to extend deep thanks to those Directors retiring from the Board. Many years of lasting contri- bution, inspired engagement and deep friendship are represented here: Helen and Dean Campbell, Dottie Correll, Suzie and Jeff Dunn, Bill Kusner, Roberta Stockman and Mike Vitek. And my additional thanks to those here who will continue to support essential functions for the organization as new Directors come for- ward. Nine months into my term as FOF President I would like to share a few comments about the view from my chair. Firstly, all of you make this job easy! No kidding. Your commitment and professionalism toward your chosen activities seems boundless. It is very rare that matters get "kicked up the ladder" for help or resolu- tion. Secondly, my interaction and work with Forest Service personnel is truly gratifying. Yes, there is agen- cy complexity, procedural requirements and sometimes a wait for answers or decisions. Yet, the shared

Transcript of Volume 2015, Issue 4 Sept 2015

Page 1: Volume 2015, Issue 4 Sept 2015

VOL 2015, Issue 4 BRANCHING OUT Page 1

Volume 2015, Issue 4

Friends of the Forest Sedona September 2015

From the President Jennifer Young

Hello Friends of the Forest Members,

As we ease into fall, I want to share a big "thank you" from the Forest Service for the collective stretch that

we accomplish each summer season to cover Visitor Center operations, Cultural Heritage Site docent duty,

water sampling, essential trail work and other activities that continue during the steamy months. While many

FOF Members are on the move elsewhere in the country - or world - a lot of valuable work, and enjoyment,

has happened here on the District.

Looking to September - please come to the Board and Membership meeting on the 16th at 9:00am at the

District Administration Building. Come a few minutes early to enjoy refreshments courtesy of the Hospitality

Committee. And please plan to join the October 17 FOF Annual General Meeting, followed by the Forest

Service Volunteer Appreciation Picnic. We will be at the Beaver Creek Work Center once again. The elec-

tion of one third of our Board of Directors takes place at this meeting as well as honoring some of our mem-

bers' contributions over the past year. The meeting commences at 10:00am and the Forest Service hosted

picnic starts at noon.

As you will see on the Board of Directors Ballot enclosed in this newsletter (to be submitted only if you will not

be attending the Annual Meeting), the Board Nominating Committee is presenting nine new Board Nominees:

Ernie DiMillo, Elaine Hackett, Ed Hodges, Bob Kenney, Peg Kern, Bob Little, Gary Neil, Jerry Piepiora

and Manny Romero. This level of new interest in joining the FOF leadership group is an exciting develop-

ment and bodes well for the ongoing evolution and renewal of our organization. Board Directors offering to

continue for another three year term include Mark Munsell, Jean and Mike Ober, Paul Ward and Debbie

Wych. I wish to extend deep thanks to those Directors retiring from the Board. Many years of lasting contri-

bution, inspired engagement and deep friendship are represented here: Helen and Dean Campbell, Dottie

Correll, Suzie and Jeff Dunn, Bill Kusner, Roberta Stockman and Mike Vitek. And my additional thanks

to those here who will continue to support essential functions for the organization as new Directors come for-

ward.

Nine months into my term as FOF President I would like to share a few comments about the view from my

chair. Firstly, all of you make this job easy! No kidding. Your commitment and professionalism toward your

chosen activities seems boundless. It is very rare that matters get "kicked up the ladder" for help or resolu-

tion. Secondly, my interaction and work with Forest Service personnel is truly gratifying. Yes, there is agen-

cy complexity, procedural requirements and sometimes a wait for answers or decisions. Yet, the shared

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purpose and love for National Forest lands among our FS colleagues is evident to me in our collective work

and that counts for a lot in my book. Lastly, perhaps the most daunting - yet awesome - aspect of the FOF

President role today is to see and support the growth of our organization. Not just in number of members and

volunteer hours, but in the diversity and depth of what we are doing. When I spoke to a group of Forest Su-

pervisors visiting the Red Rock District a few months ago, I myself was awed in describing the scope of

knowledge, interests and talents that we engage in the Friends: indoors, outdoors, public contact, physical

labor, computer geeks, photography pros, writers, gardeners, bakers, carpenters, engineers, biologists, geol-

ogists, drone operators, sawyers, educators, historians, communicators, PowerPoint designers, grant writ-

ers ... It is an honor to serve the Friends of the Forest at this time. The view from my chair remains available

to share with a Vice President and future President. Give me a call if you are curious about that role (928-

284-0016).

Lastly, I wish to announce the completion of a project that has been in the works for quite some

months. Mike Ward has been working with Forest Service leadership to obtain approval to administer Job

Hazard Analysis documents (JHAs) via the FOF website. As most volunteers know, these are documents

that contain safety instructions for the specific tasks that we do on behalf of the Forest Service and require

FOF volunteer review and signature periodically. This documentation plays an important role in our safety

awareness as volunteers and in actualizing the Forest Service's commitment toward FOF volunteers in the

event of accident or injury. Effective in October 2015, volunteers will be able to access, review and "sign"

these documents online via the FOF website. This will ease a significant administrative task that currently

falls on FOF Committee Chairs and will provide easy and reliable record keeping and reference for both FOF

and the Forest Service. Detailed instructions on the use of this new tool will be provided by Committee

Chairs to their volunteer teams in the coming weeks. And thank you Mike Ward for bringing this enhance-

ment to the organization. Streamlining the paperwork world is something that we will all value and enjoy

Jennifer Young

Peregrine Falcon Count

Brian and I are participating in the Peregrine Falcon Monitoring Pro-

ject for Janie Agyagos. I took this photo with my phone held up to the

eyepiece of a spotting scope. The white area just off center to the

right is indicative of a falcon roost - it is bird poop, more politely called

whitewash. Our assigned area is commonly called Gibraltar Rock.

The photo was taken from the Llama trail, about 1/3 mile from the

base of the rock, looking up about 700 feet.

Marilyn Painchaud

Volunteer Hour Report

With two months to go, we may set a record this fiscal year. We are about 1200 hours better than last year to

date. I estimate we will be over 28,000 hours by year end. Cultural Resources has 4420 hours so far, better

than last year’s total of 4400 hours. Trail Construction & Maintenance has 4450 hours and they will easily

beat the 3500 hour record worked in 2014. Bill Kusner

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Cultural Resources

Photo Digitization Project

The project to digitize and catalog the historical/archaeological 35mm slides and prints for the Coconino Na-tional Forest continues in Phase 3 of the project. The slide portion of the project was completed in 2012. Work still continues on the print portion of the project. To date, we have processed 35,420 (52%) of 67,442 print images! Phase 3 entails transcribing the hand written comments, from the margins of the slides and back of the prints, into a “photolog” database (MS Excel). This phase is by far the largest in terms of hours required for completion. We are 51% complete for the total project. The skills required to be a member of this team include a general comfort with using a Windows based PC, entering data into a spreadsheet, using an image (i.e. photo) viewer, and attention to detail. Training and hands-on work sessions will be provided.

Please consider volunteering for this project. You do not need to be a docent to provide great value to this project. If you are interested in helping with this project, or would like more information, please contact Jerry Walters at [email protected].

Cultural Site Photo Documentation Project

The cultural site photo documentation project has completed photography of V-Bar-V, Red Tank Draw, Long Canyon, and is currently working on Fay Canyon. Special thanks to Ed Hodges, Brian Painchaud and Bob Kenny for taking on additional responsibilities and leading of some of the outings during the warmer months (Spence needs to sleep sometimes). The next areas of focus will be smaller sites in the Sedona area that see a great deal of visitation. Now that the team has amassed thousands of images, work has begun to uti-lize software to clarify and enhance the imagery. It will then take people reviewing the images to note anom-alies. This project still has several years of work ahead. If you are interested in helping with this project, or

would like more information, please contact Spence Gustav at [email protected].

Geocache Impact Assessment Project

A new project has begun to help the Forest Service assess the impact of recreational geocaches that have placed in or near archaeological sites. There are at least 920 caches within a 20 mile radius of the Sedona airport. The initial review of some of these sites has revealed 26 that potentially impact cultural sites. If you are interested in helping with this project, or would like more information, please contact Spence Gustav at [email protected].

The docent program is always in need of new docents, especially those who stay in Sedona for the summer. I am pleased to welcome several new docents over the past few months: Jim & Claudia Converse, Wayne Swart, and Ed Hodges. Special thanks to Spence Gustav for providing training at Palatki and Honanki. If you are interested in helping protect our cultural heritage sites and learning more about the Palatki, Honanki and V-Bar-V sites, consider joining the Cultural Resource and Protection Committee. Please call or email

([email protected]) for more information. Jerry Walters 284-1339

Merchandise Mania

I wanted to be the first on my block to have an FOF denim apron. Two big front pock-ets, adjustable buckle neck strap, soft denim and sporting that great FOF insignia. I thought it would be for me, but Jeff thinks it’s pretty cool too! I’m trying to keep it clean so that I can model it at our next FOF Board Meeting. Hurry and order yours --- Only $20 including tax!

New to our trunk show are a couple more Columbia Camp Shirts and a “Sack in a Bag” There are samples of visors, caps, tees, polo shirts and fleece vests in addition to our fabulous DVDs and FOF patches. Debbie will be interested to know if many of you would like to purchase whistles—we sold out and with enough pre-orders, we may be

able to obtain more. Suzie Dunn

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River Rangers Begin in October

Have you ever wanted to be out in nature seeing things like a crested saguaro cactus and bald eagles while helping maintain the beauty of the Verde and Fossil Creek “Wild and Scenic” rivers?

The River Patrol drives forest service employees and their supplies to and from the Verde River at several put in and take out locations. In the past, a forest service employee would have been taken off another es-sential job just to do the driving. If the river trip is long, we resupply and bring back trash from the river loca-tions, thus helping return the Verde River to a pristine state. Trips can be to Beasley Flats, Childs, Horse Shoe Lake or Sheep’s Bridge.

The season for these trips is October to April. All of the members of this committee must obtain a Govern-ment driver’s license and a trailer towing endorsement is helpful. If you are interested in driving for these trips please contact me.

Mike Vitek

282-1076

[email protected]

Hailey the Javelina By Susan Vitek

Perhaps no other member of Friends of the Forest has ever been asked to drive to Fossil Creek on a holiday weekend

to rescue a baby Javelina named Hailey. But when Mike Vitek got that call, he couldn’t get out of his house fast

enough.

Forest Service personnel saw that campers had the tiny critter. Wild animals should not be taken from their home. But

little Javelina Hailey, who weighed about a pound, needed care from a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Cornville.

Francisca Adrian, with the Recreation Department, knew that Mike is familiar with the Fossil Creek Road, which is why

she called to see if he could transport Javelina Hailey to the Center. Grass was placed in the bottom of a box to give

Hailey some cushioning. The Wildlife Center said to not give her food or water but she could be sprayed with water

from a bottle and Adrian followed those directions.

Without a rapid and efficient response from the Forest Service personnel, most

likely the animal would have died.

The little javelina was quiet and contented while on the bumpy roads but on the

regular roads, she wanted out of the box and was making little noises. The

hand you see in this picture belongs to the owner of the Wildlife Center.

Vitek was very surprised at how soft her fur was, so he decided to call her Hai-

ley, after his 4-year-old granddaughter. We hope that this little animal will be

able to go back to the Forest when she is strong enough (or she may be a

he—it was too soon to tell—and then we can call her Harry!)

Visitor Information Our visitor center is averaging between 725 and 750 visitors per day, a respectable

number for this time of year. And because this is summer and one of our hotter ones at that, probably as

many trails are advised against taking as those recommended to the public. Keeping them safe is a priority,

particularly for those hailing from cooler climes where the sun is less intense. The VIS schedule continues to

be fully staffed with help from substitutes lured in to fill vacant shifts by Noreen Lisowski’s repeated promis-

es of free ice cream and brownies.

The visitor center has been such a hubbub of activity lately it’s hard to know where to begin. A notable stand-

out: Smokey Bear’s 71st birthday party celebrated on August 9th (his actual birthday was August 8th but parties

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are always better attended on Saturdays). The Arizona Natu-

ral History Association (ANHA) hosted the function offering

cake to the public and volunteers, along with several games for

the kids. And of course there was the bear himself making an

appearance, never wanting to disappoint his adoring fans.

Other visitor center activities included the usual crowd-pleasing live rattlesnake display, Leave No Trace presentation, Sedona Recycles information booth, the Oak Creek Ambassadors patio program, Spence Gustav relating SAR experiences, and mul-tiple hummingbird hand-feeding programs. An in-house activi-ty of sorts, the visitor center staff hosted five day-long field trips for interested VIS volunteers to Fossil Creek/Childs, the Fossil Springs TH and the Bull Pen area. So many related inquires now come into the center each day that Nina Hubbard, visitor center supervisor, felt more informed volunteers would better serve the public interested in those areas. It was a welcomed opportunity for those not wishing to bounce along FRs 708 and 502 in their own vehicle. As an aside, you may have heard about the new Every Kid in the Park Pass (a.k.a. the 4th Grade Pass), issued free to 4th grade students. It essentially works the same as the Annual Interagency (America the Beautiful) Pass and is valid from Au-gust 1 to September 31 of the student’s 4th grade year. The pass, issued at the visitor center, is intended to help connect students and their families to federal parks and forests. And finally, we recently welcomed a new volunteer into the VIS ranks – Bob Haizmann, who was introduced to us by his neighbor and good friend Jim Molans. Bob became active immediately following his training and is a welcome addition to a wonderful bunch of dedicated people who selflessly enrich our visitors’ time with us. Jim Wilson

Left:: Debbie Wych at hummingbird hand-feeding activity on July 4th; patriotic buntings on railing were loaned to the Forest Service by Michelle Zahner. Photo by: J. Wilson Right: Immature Female Anna’s Hummingbird using the hand feeder. Photo by M. Ober

Smokey Bear attends his 71st Birthday Party seen here with Forest Service Ranger Randy Harmon

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Left: Tori Marshall having fun with kids at the fire prevention trivia activity table during Smokey’s party

Right: Kevin Harding presenting Bird Walk (Photo by J. Wilson, M. Romero)

See friendsoftheforestsedona.org for upcoming Interpretive Programs

Ten Easy-Access Red Rock Views Everyone Can Enjoy

I'm only here for an hour, where are the best views where I don't have to hike? Where can I take a stroller? My elderly mother is with me and can't walk too far. Where can I have a picnic with great views?

These are all questions VIS volunteers deal with on a daily basis. Until now, advice had to be verbal but there's a new handout available at the Visitor Center that visitors can take with them. It's called "Guide to Easy Viewing of Red Rock Vistas", with ten easy-access sites for short walks, great views, memorable photo opportunities and pleasant picnics. Be sure to recommend it to friends who visit. Volunteers will be glad to give them a copy. Or those who prefer can go to the website sedonaredrocktrails.org and click on "Easy Sites & Sights" for more information and pictures.

Noreen Lisowski

Trails Trail Maintenance and Construction has had a busy summer. Trail crews continue to be 12 – 18 peo-

ple each week even in the heat of summer. Our crew

remains active and has a great time working to maintain

the trails in the Red Rock District.

The Signs group had a special request from the Forest

Service to replace the plant identifier placards in front of

the Visitor Information building.

Sam Serrill, Rich Spinelli and Mike Ober (shown in

picture) assisted acting Volunteer Coordinator, Ed

Hentcelt, in the placement of the new signs. Check out

their handiwork the next time you are at VIS.

GATEWAY TO RED ROCK RECREATION

sedonaredrocktrails.org

Sedona Area Maps (Trail, Bike, Easy sites maps)

Coconino National Forest (Red Rock Scenic Drives, Forest Travel, GPS-enabled Topo Maps)

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WELCOME TO THE COCONINO

The Friends would like to extend a warm welcome to the new forest supervisor for the Coconino National For-

est, Laura Jo West who is coming to us from the Colville National Forest in Washington where she has

worked since 2010. Laura Jo is very familiar with our area as she was a district ranger on the Prescott Na-

tional Forest from 2006 to 2010. Scott Russell has been a great support of the Friends as the acting forest

supervisor and we are very happy to hear that he will be returning to his position as the deputy forest supervi-

sor. Welcome Laura Jo!

Jean Ober

Top Left Photo: For a change of pace, the Friday crew went to Oak Creek to remove a broken canoe, a casu-

alty of the spring run-off. The crew cut the fiberglass canoe into sections then used ropes to pull them out of

the creek.

Top Right Photo: Trail crew working in Boynton Canyon (left—right) David Murrill, Lisa Pregg, Bob Wych,

Wayne Schwetje, and in front Rich Spinelli Photo by T. Fogarty

A crew went to Parsons Springs trail to remove two large trees from the trail. Mike Ober, Gerry Piepiora,

Dan Aragaki and Ernie DiMillo taking limbs off a downed tree in Parson Springs. Before and after photos

provided by G. Piepiora. Thank you all for your help.

Mike Ober

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Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage Paid

Sedona, AZ

Permit No. 6

See Branching Out in color

www.friendsoftheforestsedona.org

The Friends of the Forest, Inc. is dedicated to assisting the U. S. Forest Service in maintaining, protecting, and restoring the sce-

nic beauty and natural and cultural resources of forest lands for the enjoyment and use of present and future generations. The

objective of this nonprofit, volunteer group is to work in partnership with the U. S. Forest Service in tasks it does not have the man-

power or the funds to accomplish on its own.

Wednesday September 16, 2015 9:00 AM - Ranger Station

FOF Quarterly Board of Directors and Members meeting

All Members are welcome

Future Friends of the Forest Meetings:

October 17, 2015

December 9, 2015

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR

Helping to protect National Forest Land

PO Box 2391

Sedona, AZ 86339-2391

Friends of the Forest