Pacific Southwest Region
1323 Club Drive
Vallejo, CA 94592
707.562.8737
TTY: 707.562.9240
FAX: 707.562.9130
Pacific Southwest Region
1323 Club Drive
Vallejo, CA 94592
707.562.8737
TTY: 707.562.9240
FAX: 707.562.9130
Archived information is provided as a courtesy for use by individuals interested in researching the backgrounds of specific projects, or those wanting to learn more about the Region's history. Please note a document's date to determine its current relevance and contact us for further information.
January 9, 2008
During a presentation in Sacramento, some recipients of the Two Chiefs' Partnership award receive plaques and certificates for the Alder Springs Hazardous Fuel Reduction and Carbon Sequestration Research Project. The two chiefs are Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Arlen Lancaster. The other partners have received their awards at other presentation ceremonies. Read more
February 8, 2008
The purple flowered plant known as Poodle-dog bush, Turricula parryi, has populated many of the burned areas from the 2003 fires and may do so within the areas burned in 2007. Touching the plant can lead to severe dermatitis in many people. Symptoms include blistering of the skin, itchy irritated skin and swelling. Symptoms may not present themselves for 12-36 hours and no pain is experienced at the time of contact. All contact with the plant including touching, smelling flowers, and breathing particulate matter should be avoided as you would avoid poison oak.
Source: CAL FIRE Forest Health Program
February 25, 2008
A major tributary of the Smith River, Goose Creek, will become part of the Smith River National Recreation Area, managed by the Six Rivers National Forest. The Western Rivers Conservancy purchased the 9,483-acre parcel in several phases with support from the Smith River Alliance and California Trout. Efforts by Senators Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein and California Congressman Mike Thompson were instrumental in arranging $3.1 million from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to allow the Forest Service to finalize the transaction. Goose Creek provides critical spawning ground for wild salmon and steelhead. The Smith River is one of the few major rivers in the U.S. which is not dammed. The Smith River NRA includes 300 miles and is one of the largest National Wild and Scenic River systems in the country.
March 1, 2008
Youths from around the community planted nearly 5,000 seedlings in the fire-damaged Bear Fire area in Jones Valley, California, as part of a Youth Conservation Project hosted by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, March 1. The project provided hands-on experience to both Girl and Boy Scouts as well as members of other youth organizations which demonstrated the importance of reforestation following a forest fire. The event also served to generate career awareness of future forestry jobs for the young people.
March 11, 2008
A partnership between Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Arbor Day Foundation and the Forest Service which began in 2006, will replace 1 million trees a year throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe until 2056. In California, more than 500,000 acres burned in the 2007 wildfires. Thanks to this partnership, the Plumas National Forest in the Sierra Nevada will receive 85,000 trees this spring to help replace those lost to fires caused by lightning. Read more
March 16, 2008
The Pacific Southwest Region participated with Urban and Community Forestry partners at the 2008 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show in San Francisco March 12th through 16th winning a bronze award (third place) for their information display. The annual event, which attracts between 40,000-50,000 visitors, highlighted "green" tips and practices. The Forest Service sponsored events included: a 1000 sq. ft. garden exhibit "Healthy Communities Grow on Trees," which demonstrates the environmental, health and economic benefits trees bring to our cities, as well as proper placement of trees to save energy and reduce erosion. There was also a children's seminar entitled "Trail of Trees: Planting the Seeds of Knowledge about Trees," and a forest health protection seminar "Silent Invaders: Protecting Your Trees from Pests and Diseases."
March 17, 2008
Children from the Head Start program in Oakland, California, learned more about the great outdoors from a group of Regional Office employees who volunteered their time to introduce the kids to the Woodsy Owl Program. From November 2007 through March 2008 employees visited 6 different City of Oakland Head Start sites and put on a total of 12 programs. Read more
April 3, 2008
"I'm really excited and honored to have this opportunity to work with the employees on the San Bernardino National Forest," said Gillett. "In my brief assignment on the forest last year, I came to appreciate and respect everyone I met. I look forward to getting to know the employees, the forest issues and the local communities." Read more
April 15, 2008
Susan Skalski, currently Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in Northern Idaho, will be the new Forest Supervisor of the Stanislaus National Forest in Sonora, US Forest Service officials announced today. Read more
April 21, 2008
The Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region is proud to announce that Michelle Reugebrink, Forest Safety Officer for the Tahoe National Forest, has been named one of America's 31 Firefighting Heroes by Baskin-Robbins and the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation. This honor recognizes Reugebrink for having demonstrated outstanding acts of valor and service. Read more
April 22, 2008
All current land management plans were developed under the 1982 Planning Rule. The 2008 Planning Rule was developed by Forest Service professional resource specialists, scientists and land managers after carefully considering 79,000 comments from other resource agencies and the public. The 2008 Planning Rule is much more strategic in nature and allows the Forest Service to work directly with the public in a very open and transparent manner to more quickly address changing conditions and ensure resource protections. Read more
April 22, 2008
The Los Padres National Forest, Mt. Pinos Ranger District, has participated in the Regional Occupational Program (ROP) Fire Science Program for the past nine years. The 180-hour course is designed to introduce students to the Forest Service and equip them with basic firefighting and leadership skills. Read more
April 24, 2008
The San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests are co-hosting a two-week volunteer-based archeological project. The team of nine volunteers selected through the Passport in Time (PIT) program will be excavating prehistoric cooking features and collecting field samples from the ancestral home of the Serrano Indians. Samples collected will be sent for radiocarbon dating and macrobotanical analyses. The second week, the group will move to another site located on the Angeles National Forest. Read more
April 27, 2008
"I'm very honored to have been selected for this position. The Yreka area is a great place to live and work, and the employees, communities and natural resources of the Klamath are just incredible. I look forward to keeping the Klamath on the great course it's been on in recent years." Read more
April 28, 2008
On April 24, the Forest Service awarded $500,000 in matching funds to mobilize the nation's most important conservation resource: kids. The funds will be used to get more kids outside, up close and personal with nature so they can have fun, get dirty, get healthy and learn! Two of the projects awarded were in Region 5. Read more
May 8, 2008
The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail Map Series has won the 2007 CaGIS (Cartography and Geographic Information Society) Map Design Competition award for Best of Category: Recreation/Travel. Marlene Finley, Region 5 Recreation Director, noted, “This map series is an outstanding example of collaboration to provide the best information available for hikers and equestrians who travel on the PCT. I appreciate the level of dedication required to produce such high quality maps.” Read more
May 8, 2008
Contractors completed the final phase of improvements to the Big Rock River Access on the Wild and Scenic Trinity River. "This river access receives year round use and provides recreation opportunities for rafting, kayaking, tubing, swimming, exercising and fishing. The site has long needed permanent facilities," according to Orleans and Lower Trinity Recreation Officer Bob Hemus. Read more
May 13, 2008
Nancy Gibson comes to the Forest with over 30 years of Forest Service experience serving in a variety of management positions. "I look forward to the opportunity of working with local diverse communities and managing the unique natural resources found on the Six Rivers National Forest," said Nancy. Read more
May 15, 2008
For those of you who may not have had the chance to know Mike Foster, he was the Los Padres National Forest Botanist and was stationed at Chuchupate Ranger Station in Frazier Park. Mike died without warning of a heart attack while working at his desk, on February 26, 2005. He was an extraordinary person. Many of his coworkers and professional colleagues wanted to do something meaningful to honor his memory, and we decided to create a garden at Chuchupate Ranger Station featuring the native plants that Mike loved. Read more
May 15, 2008
May is the time to remind all forest visitors how to enjoy our wildlife treasures, especially bears, safely and responsibly. Spring is when bears emerge from their winter dens, wildflowers are blooming, songbirds are building nests, and children are exploring the great outdoors. This is also the time of year when there is the greatest potential for human wildlife interactions. Read more
May 15, 2008
Region 5 received 4 out of 15 National Forest Foundation Stewardship Award Grants for 2008. Forests with partners in these grants include the Los Padres, Inyo, Mendocino, Sierra, Sequoia, Stanislaus, Plumas and Modoc National Forests. Read more
May 21, 2008
Woodsy Owl asks that forest visitors "Lend a Hand — Care for the Land." On Saturday, May 17th community volunteers joined forces with employees of the Plumas National Forest's Feather River Ranger District, to do just that. Clean-up projects educate participants about the value of forest land for recreation use and wildlife habitat. Read more
May 23, 2008
Los Padres Forest Supervisor, Peggy Hernandez, was featured in the Spring 2008 issue of CAL POLY magazine where she graduated with a Natural Resource Management degree in 1982. She became Forest Supervisor in September 2007, overseeing the 1.76 million acre forest. Peggy realized early on what she wanted to do in life. "I love being outdoors and enjoy getting dirty." As Forest Supervisor of the popular forest, she is heading up rehabilitation efforts following the Zaca Fire, one of the largest fires in California history. Read more
May 23, 2008
Two young civil and environmental engineering students from UC Berkeley made a recent discovery trek to the Plumas National Forest. Jessica Watkins is a third year student and Mario Liu, a second year student. Both jumped at the opportunity to shadow Plumas National Forest engineers Jonathan Berry and Ryan Nupen for a field experience in surveying and to understand the practical application of what they are learning. Read more
May 23, 2008
Ricardo Cisneros, who works with Regional Air Program Manager, Trent Proctor, out of the Sierra National Forest office, was featured in a Fresno Bee story. He was the first student to graduate with a doctoral degree from the University of California at Merced. Ricardo received his degree in environmental systems. When he was 14, he and his family immigrated to the United States from Mexico and settled in Fresno County. He is the first one in his family to graduate from college and has been an inspiration to many.
May 23, 2008
Shasta-Trinity National Forest employee Tim Lovitt has been credited with finding the largest Ponderosa Pine in the U.S. by the American Forests' National Registry of Big Trees. Lovitt, a Forestry Technician, discovered the tree while conducting a stream condition inventory survey. The Ponderosa Pine measures an impressive 240.5 feet tall (approximately 24 stories high), with a circumference of 290 inches (the trunk of the tree is almost 8 feet wide), and has a crown width of 70 feet. Read more
May 27, 2008
Thanks to collaborative efforts among the Sequoia National Forest, Tule River Tribal Council, the city of Porterville and the Ennis family, a new visitor center will be built in Porterville. Groundbreaking for the 400 square-foot facility is expected to take place this fall with a completion date expected before the summer season of 2009. The Center will be called Southern Sequoia Visitor Center. Forest Supervisor, Tina Terrill noted that nearly 13 million people visit the Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument each year, many of them traveling through Porterville. The Center will provide historical, cultural, recreation and business information as well as recreation guides and interpretive information.
June 6, 2008
Kids up to 16 years of age get ready for a fun filled day of activities and fishing at Pinecrest Lake on June 14th! The Pinecrest Fish Fair will be a memorable day for the entire family, featuring prizes, educational booths and activities, entertainment, and appearances by Smokey Bear, Frank & Frances Fish, Woodsy Owl and more! The event is free to participants and includes a hotdog lunch. Kids, bring a parent or responsible adult, fishing gear, sun screen and get ready to have lots of fun!
June 6, 2008
Building on the Forest Service's strong traditions and successes in supporting special events to engage people in their public lands, we are pleased to be part of the first National Get Outdoors Day. This unique event will be held on Saturday, June 14, and will target new and first-time visitors to our country's magnificent public lands. By offering diverse activities and opportunities, this national effort will broaden appreciation for and interest in the great outdoors — and awareness of its benefits. The Big Bear Discovery Center in Fawnskin, CA, on the San Bernardino National Forest has been selected as a location to highlight the great outdoors. Read more
June 10, 2008
The Pioneer Bridge in northern California looms over 200 feet above the Shasta River, offering rugged, natural canyon views along the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway. Sadly, many household objects were intentionally thrown from the bridge. Determined to restore the Shasta River's natural beauty a year ago, Discovery High School students from Yreka, California teamed up with the Klamath National Forest. Together, they assembled a large pile of the trash at the site, which has no road access. This year, Discovery High students and Klamath employees returned to manually haul and then ferry the trash across the river on an inflatable raft. Several loads were ferried across the Shasta and transported to the local land fill on a truck. This was the third annual Shasta River clean-up sponsored by the Klamath National Forest, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, and the second annual work party for Discovery High School students. The river's restored natural beauty was rewarding to all!
June 10, 2008
The Tahoe National Forest acquired 478 acres of land including two natural lakes and portions of two other lakes. Known as the "Milk Lake Acquisition," it is a popular recreation area located approximately 6 miles north of Interstate 80 on the western slopes of the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains. The property was acquired from The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a California non–profit public benefit corporation and a long time partner with the Forest Service in acquiring lands for public purposes in the Sierra Nevadas. The property was acquired over several years using a variety of methods, including land exchange, purchase and tripartite land exchange. This property is an excellent acquisition for the public and reflects the dedicated efforts of both the Forest Service and TPL personnel.
June 24, 2008
Due to the recent lightning event that has started 100's of wildfires across northern California, the U.S. Forest Service and CAL FIRE have opened a "Joint Information Center (JIC)" to provide fire information updates to the media. The JIC will be staffed with Public Information Officers from the interagency wildland fire agencies. Hours of operations will be 24 hours, seven days a week until conditions change. Read more
June 25, 2008
Senior high school students from Dunn School in Santa Barbara worked with Klamath National Forest employees recently to remove noxious weeds and perform trail maintenance work along the Klamath River, a designated Wild & Scenic River. They collected piles of Scott's Broom, four pickup truck loads of mustard, dug up Knapweed and performed trail maintenance work on a river access trail. Read more
June 26, 2008
At the June National Ski Area Association meeting, two of our partners were awarded the prestigious SAMMY Award by Ski Area Management Magazine. Kathy Hubbard, Deputy Director of the California Ski Industry Association, was recognized as an emerging leader for spearheading two partnership efforts for industry. Mountain High Resort received a Diversity Leadership Award. Read more
June 26, 2008
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on October 2, 1968 to protect the free flowing waters of many of the nation's spectacular rivers for water quality and outstanding values. There are 14 Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR) on the National Forests in California, totaling 1,100 miles, almost 10 percent of the WSR system. Read more
July 1, 2008
This year marks the Centennial anniversary for the Cleveland, Mendocino and Sequoia National Forests. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed Executive orders establishing these forests. Celebrations are being held on all three forests to commemorate the anniversaries.
July 7, 2008
Not only are the Little Tujunga Hotshots back after a 28 year absence from fighting fires, but this time they also are working with four firefighters from Greece. The four Greek firefighters, who have been on fire assignments such as the Basin Complex on the Los Padres National Forest, are getting all the training the rest of the crew gets including fire behavior, fire preparedness, water handling and much more. Read more
July 9, 2008
The Round Valley Elementary School Seventh Grade Class recently went to the Eel River campground on the Mendocino National Forest and helped with a Mendocino County Resource Advisory Committee Project called Auto–Photography — Kids in the Woods Project. Read more
July 15, 2008
The Klamath National Forest will celebrate a career spanning 50 years as a fire lookout when it honors Nancy Rebecca Hood at a dinner to be held on July 23, 2008 at the Yreka Community Center, 810 North Oregon Street. Ms. Hood's career is exceptional both for its incredible span and for the contribution she has made to her forest and local communities. Read more
July 23, 2008
On Thursday, July 17, President Bush arrived at Redding Municipal Airport on Air Force One along with Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Congressmen John Doolittle and Wally Herger. At the airport, they met with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and CALFIRE Chief Ruben Grijalva, Region 5 Regional Forester Randy Moore, General William Wade from the National Guard and Henry Renteria, Director of Office of Emergency Services. The President and others took a helicopter tour to inspect the fire situation on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. He later met with smokejumpers at the California Operations Center and watched them prepare their parachutes for their next jump. President Bush praised firefighters for their courage, hard work and dedication.
July 25, 2008
On July 22, the Forest Service received the first of three checks for a total of $102 million from Union Pacific as a settlement for damages from the Storrie Fire. The Fire, which began in 2000, was caused by sparks from welders repairing tracks and burned 52,000 acres in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests. The fire burned old growth forests, designated wilderness and wildlife habitat. Most of the money will go towards rehabilitation in the burned area.
July 25, 2008
During President Bush's visit on July 17, he presented the President's Volunteer Service Award to 3 Eagle Scouts who are members of the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow national honor society. The awards were given to Mark Hendricks, Jake Wellman and Alex Branden who have been instrumental in the long-range planning and execution of the Boy Scouts of America and the Forest Service's largest national service project since World War II. The service project, called ArrowCorps5, involves performing conservation work on five national forests throughout the country. It is made up of 5,000 volunteers and will result in about 250,000 volunteer hours of work. The three scouts have been working on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. More than 500 Boy Scouts from 33 states, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines conducted 100 miles of trail maintenance and reconstruction on the Pacific Crest Trail, restored a historic lookout and removed 22 tons of illegally dumped garbage from the forest. Deputy Chief of the Forest Service, Joel Holtrop and Undersecretary of Agriculture, Mark Rey, joined the group and thanked them for their outstanding accomplishments.
July 25, 2008
Due to decreasing fire activity throughout the state, the California Fire Situation Update will no longer be updated beginning July 25, 2008. Information for specific fires can be obtained through Incweb for federal fires (http://www.inciweb.org) or through the CAL FIRE website for state fires (http://www.fire.ca.gov). If fire activity intesifies again, the California Fire Situation Update will be reinstated and new updates will be posted. Read more
August 6, 2008
"The Forest Service is one of the largest employers in Vallejo, and we want to be a good community partner," said Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore. "Giving local students job training opportunities is important for their future and the future of our agency." Read more
August 8, 2008
On July 26, Fire Chief Daniel Bruce Packer, 49, of Lake Tapps, Washington, was supervising firefighting efforts as part of an interagency emergency management team at the Panther fire south of Happy Camp in the Klamath National Forest, when he was overrun by wildfire following an unexpected shift in the wind. Further details of the incident are pending investigation. Read more
August 8, 2008
Andrew Palmer was working with a crew of firefighters from Olympic National Park, WA, on the Eagle fire, part of the Iron Complex fire on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Friday, July 25th, was their first day on the fire line and Firefighter Palmer was reported to have been fatally injured when he was struck by a falling tree. Read more
August 8, 2008
Services for Daniel Bruce Packer were held in Orleans, Yreka, California and Port Townsend, Washington. Andrew Palmer's services were held in Port Townsend, Washington. Honor Guards representing the Forest Service and CALFIRE were present at the services. If you would like to donate in memory of these firefighters, contact the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, or call Toll Free (877) 336-2950.
August 11, 2008
James N. Ramage, age 63, is one of the nine fatalities of the Northern California helicopter crash that happened August 5, 2008, on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Ramage, a helicopter pilot, had an outstanding career with both the US Forest Service and CAL Fire, California's state fire agency. Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore said, "The US Forest Service was very fortunate to have Jim as part of our workforce and family. He was an aviation leader with extensive flying experience and knowledge." A celebration honoring Jim has been scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 16 at the Redding Convention Center in Redding, CA. Read more
August 11, 2008
Five Greek firefighters who received training and assisted on various fires in Southern California received a grand sendoff on August 7, 2008, with congratulations from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Each received the Governor's coin with a handshake for their efforts in assisting fires in Southern California. The crew also presented the Governor with a pin. Read more
August 15, 2008
On August 13, the California State Rural Legislative Caucus sponsored a summit on Wildfire Prevention titled "A Call to Action" at the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento. The forum explored ways to protect lives, communities and forests from catastrophic wildfires. State legislators, rural community leaders, California citizens, members of the Forest Service, including retirees, participated in the event. Deputy Regional Forester, Jim Peña, represented the Forest Service and talked about fuels reduction, rapid assessments of restoration needs in burned areas as well as NEPA project appeals and litigation in Region 5. He explained to State Representative Doug LaMalfa our timber salvage process and how it works. Read more
August 22, 2008
The Shasta Lake Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) has made an impact on students in the Redding area. A crew, comprised of twelve 15 to 18-year-olds spent their summer from June to August completing projects to better the environment and enhance recreation on Shasta Lake under the supervision of Shasta-Trinity National Forest employee, Ron Toroni. Read more
August 22, 2008
Gary Rotta, Wildlife Biologist on the Plumas National Forest, was presented the National "Answer–The–Call" Award at the 2008 Quail Unlimited Convention in Springfield, Missouri. "Answer–The–Call" is a partnership program emphasizing quail management nationwide through cooperative projects. Read more
August 27, 2008
Regional Forester Randy Moore talks about where we are in the current fire season, preparations for the months ahead, and the Wildland Fire Use policy. He praises the work of our firefighters and expresses heartfelt sympathy to the families, friends, and coworkers of the brave firefighters we have so tragically lost. Read more
August 28, 2008
The Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa and Big Bear Lake's Northwoods Resort joined in partnership with SBNFA to support projects that improve and enhance the surrounding National Forest. Fees contributed by these Resorts are particularly vital to the success of the educational programs for millions of people in Southern California, and provide opportunities for meaningful and memorable visitor experiences in Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and within the popular National Forest. Read more
September 12, 2008
On September 10, Jim Oftedal, Director of the Forest Service's Central California Consortium (CCC), was honored at the Hispanic Achievement Award Night by the Fresno PBS station KVPT for his 13 years as Director of the Consortium. The CCC is an environmental education program serving rural communities and teaching natural resources to K-12 students. Currently the program has established Hispanic and Asian components with African-American and Native-American programs being established in the near future. Many of the students attended the event in support of Jim and spoke enthusiastically about the program. One of the students from the program has gone on to become the first Ph.D candidate at UC Merced. Read more
September 16, 2008
More than 250 scientists, federal land managers, elected officials, tribal governments, non-government organizations, forest industry and a wide spectrum of the public gathered for the 2008, Southern Sierra Science Symposium on September 4, 2008 in Visalia, California. The theme for the symposium was "Agents of Change Affecting the Southern Sierra Ecosystems." People from around the country participated in this educational and networking event, a testament to the interest the Sierra Nevada generates. Read more
September 19, 2008
Raquel Jennings, a teen-aged resident of Paradise Ridge, near Paradise, California wanted to do something special to say "thank you" for all the hard work that went into fighting the fires near Paradise and throughout Northern California. Late last week we received a copied news article with a short thank you note from Ms. Jennings and a poster that she had created. In her message to firefighters she said, "I hope you enjoy the poster as much as I enjoyed creating it for you. If it wasn't for all of your efforts, our lives would not be the same today. My Sincere appreciation, Raquel Jennings."
September 29, 2008
On September 20, the Inyo National Forest, in partnership with the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, staged a multi–author book signing at the 50th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The event took place despite the September 4 fire that destroyed the beloved visitor center at Schulman Grove. This once–in–a–lifetime gathering of book authors on the bristlecone pines included Ron Lanner, author of The Bristlecone Book, Michael Cohen, author of A Garden of Bristlecones, and Mark Schlenz and Dennis Flaherty author and photographer of the latest bristlecone book A Day in the Bristlecone Pine Forest. More than 100 people attended the celebration which also included guest speakers, presentations, music and announcements about future plans to replace the visitor center. Read more
October 17, 2008
California is not alone. Record numbers of fires and burned acreage in the past decade has also been an issue for the Republic of Korea. That's why it makes a lot of sense for one country to learn from the other. That came to fruition October 13–15 when a Republic of Korea delegation came to California for a Study Tour of Fire and Aviation Management. Read more
October 22, 2008
President Bush has recognized more than 350 career federal executives for their outstanding leadership and longtime service to government. Regional Forester Randy Moore was one of more than 350 career federal executives to receive the 2008 Presidential Rank Award. "Winners of the prestigious Presidential Rank Award represent the cream of the crop within the federal executive ranks," Office of Personnel Management acting Director Michael Hager said in a statement announcing the 2008 awards. "Their professional dedication and commitment to excellence is helping to advance President Bush's agenda for enhancing federal government performance and creating a more effective civil service."
October 23, 2008
On September 8, 2006, the Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that, beginning that year, U.S. Veterans, members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families will be admitted free-of-charge on Veterans Day to public lands managed by the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior. In keeping with this direction, all day-use fees will be waived on Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at all standard amenity fee sites operated by the Forest Service. Contact your local Forest Service Ranger station for further information.
October 31, 2008
Nominations are now being accepted through January 5, 2009 for the following three positions on the 11 member Pacific Southwest Region California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (RRAC): Winter motorized recreation such as snowmobiling; hunting and fishing; and motorized outfitting and guiding or local environmental groups. Read more
November 6, 2008
The Mountain Top Ranger District, on the San Bernardino National Forest, and the State of California, Department of Mine Reclamation has successfully closed seven (7) mine entrances for public safety and protection of bat habitats along Forest System Road 3N03. The gates not only prevent the public from entering into dangerous mine openings but also protect bat rooster and maternity wards. Read more
November 6, 2008
In May, PSW scientists with the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry submitted a proposal to release a Brazilian insect to control the spread of strawberry guava, a South American tree that has invaded native Hawaiian ecosystems since it was introduced in 1825 as a garden plant. The scientists were working in collaboration with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Hawaii Department of Agriculture—agencies responsible for issuing permits authorizing release of the insect on Hawaiian Islands. The state posted a draft environmental assessment that generated more than 200 comments. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry employees have proposed holding statewide public information meetings and listening sessions beginning this fall. The events will be held on each island and provide input prior to completion of a new draft EA. Read more
November 7, 2008
Six ex–smokejumpers from the National Smokejumpers Association spent 5 days clearing the Western States Trail in the Granite Chief Wilderness in the Tahoe National Forest — using cross cut saws to remove downed trees and completing other trail maintenance needs in Picayune Valley this past fall. Ranging in age from early fifties to mid seventies, this group served with the Forest Service from the 1940's to the recent past and now spends time each summer volunteering on projects in the National Forests. Read more