Mendocino National Forest, Upper Lake District, Mason Trail Connector Work Weekends

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

CHECK-IN: Volunteer Check in 9am, Saturday, USFS Middle Creek Campground, Mendocino National Forest, 8 miles north of Upper Lake on County Road 301 (Forest Road M-1).

CAMP: camping available on site with toilets and water; trailers/RVs ok.

JOBS:  will include hand tool work, cutting and moving cut tree limbs, and other trail repair and restoration work.

FOOD: Bring your own lunch/food (unless we get a sponsor/donor) and hydration fluids.

GEAR: Bring personal protective gear if you have it; some will be available on-site.

DATES: work is scheduled to take place the 2^nd Saturday of each month of January, February, March, April, May, June (nothing in July – September), October, November, and December.

VOLUNTEER: Post up here if you can make it.

BACKGROUND:  PWORA is working with the Mendocino National Forest, Upper Lake District to build new trails and restore fire-damaged trails. The Mason Trail Connector is a conversion to OHV use of approximately 1.3 miles of the abandoned logging road and will provide a connection between two existing Mendocino National Forest OHV trails. The trail was partially constructed by the Mendo NF and improved with 3 other culverts in locations along with the trailbed but lacked a sustainable all-season creek crossing in one location. PWORA constructed a multiplate culvert to provide an all season, sustainable and fire-resistant creek crossing to complete the new trail. Final preparations and arrangements are being made by PWORA and Mendo NF to prepare for an official opening of the trail in 2023.

SITE STEWARDSHIP TRAINING – Sept. 28/29 in Clear Lake Area

Wildfires and other natural disasters can impact important cultural resources.   PWORA believes that OHV trail volunteers have an increasingly important non-fire related or post-wildfire recovery roles to play in assisting BLM and Forest Service Archeologists as site stewards to help protect/monitor cultural sites. 

Motorized trail volunteers have important skillsets as they are equipped to travel long distances and can access remote archeological sites under supervision by the BLM or Forest Archeologist. 

Chris Lloyd, the BLM Archaeologist at the Ukiah Field Office, has alerted PWORA that the BLM is hosting a 2-day heritage site stewardship class hosted within the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (BSMNM).  This class will be provided for people who are interested in becoming archaeological site monitors within the BSMNM and on other lands managed by the BLM, Ukiah Field Office. 

This opportunity will take place on Saturday, September 28th and Sunday, September 29th.  The event is hosted by the California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program  - CASSP - http://www.cassp.org/ - - and will take place at the UC Davis McLaughlin Reserve from 9-am to 4:30-pm (26775 Morgan Valley Rd, Lower Lake).  The first day will include presentations and discussions regarding local archaeology, safety, the law and archaeology, environmental responsibility, confidentiality, discussions about encountering the public in various situations where safety, environmental ethics, and respect for private property are discussed.   The second day consists of a field trip to practice site visit procedures and recording observations.

Our maximum class size is 25.  For those that are interested in participating please supply your name, phone number, and email address to BLM Archaeologist Christopher Lloyd.  His contact information is listed below.  Please RSVP only if you can attend both days and are interested in helping monitor cultural sites on federal lands (w/ a commitment of roughly once per month).  There is a $25 fee for participation which includes a Society for California Archaeology membership - https://scahome.org/ - as well as helps pay for materials.  For those that are interested in lessening their commute time for the next day, the McLaughlin Reserve has an established campground at $10 night.  There are also several hotels in and around the town of Clear Lake. 

RSVP Contact Information:

Christopher Lloyd, M.A.

BLM Archaeologist   

Phone: (707)468.4075

Email: crlloyd@blm.gov

As a site steward, I hope that some in the OHV community will take advantage of this opportunity for OHV to build our capacity to help federal agencies protect/monitor important cultural resources for future generations.

Don Amador, President/CEO

Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance

Email: Damador@pwora.org

Web: www.pwora.org

COW MOUNTAIN REOPENING CELEBRATION HIGHLIGHTS PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP

Matt Mattison, 707 Trail Riders Founder, Speaks to Celebration Attendees

BLM Cow Mountain OHV Area - Ukiah Field Office

Over 60 trail volunteers, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, non-profit representatives, and agency leads participated in a public event to celebrate the timely reopening of the BLM’s Cow Mountain OHV Recreation Area on June 3, 2019. The event was held on July 27, 2019 at the Red Mountain Campground and Staging Area and was hosted by the 707 Trail Riders.

June 3, 2019 Official Reopening of Cow Mountain OHV Area

The free event was open to the general public and featured a number of post-wildfire recovery and trail education booths where attendees could visit with organization representatives and agency recreation leads from the BLM’s Ukiah Field Office and California State Office.

Visitors were also treated to a gourmet BBQ with all the fixings.  The celebratory feast was made possible by generous donations from the 707 Trail Riders, club partners, powersports dealerships, OHV aftermarket companies, and local businesses.

BLM Recreation Leads Sign in Volunteers for June 2019 Work Party

The grand finale was a free raffle where participates won some highly sought after prizes that were donated by a long list of OHV industry sponsors who wanted to express their gratitude to all those who volunteered their time on the post River Fire recovery efforts.

Don Amador, President of the Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance, states, “I believe the OHV community, agency, and partners have reason to celebrate the June 3, 2019 reopening of the Cow Mountain OHV Area after many months of post River Fire recovery efforts which included numerous meetings and work parties.”

Volunteers Install New Route Markers

“This celebration honors that substantive private/public collaboration and highlights the important role that clubs, volunteers, non-profits, grant partners, and federal disaster relief aid had in the delivery and implementation of post-fire mitigation efforts,” Amador continues.

Some of those post fire recovery efforts at Cow Mountain include the following:  installing trail delineators or barriers, replacing travel management or resource protection signs, cleaning or replacing culverts, repair/replace damaged campground infrastructure, recon/report damage to routes, bucking trees off of trails, felling hazard trees, brushing routes, repairing damage to trails from dozer lines or heavy water flows, and being a support for the local communities and agency staff impacted by catastrophic wildfires or other natural disasters.

“The OHV community can be proud of their response to the River Fire here at Cow Mountain.  It serves as an outstanding template for recovering OHV recreation areas damaged by intense wildfires,” Amador concludes.

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 Post Wildfire OHV Recovery Alliance (PWORA) is a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded to protect and restore sustainable OHV recreation from the devastating effects of intense wildfires and other natural disasters. PWORA will collaborate with a diverse array of multi-interest strategic partners to mobilize volunteers and deploy resources to mitigate post-disaster impacts to recreation areas.  You may contact PWORA president, Don Amador via email at: damador@pwora.org