AI-MSummit-post-summit-report-VisionintoAction

11 San Bernardino County General Plan Update……… 12 Educating People for Sustainable Communities & Forests….………..13 Democracy in Action: Democracy Inaction………...15 Watershed Values……….. T

Mountain Summit:

Creating a Positive Future for Our Forests and Communities

Vision into Action

August 17, 2003 University of Redlands, University Hall

Meeting Report

Thank you to our sponsors……… 2

Planning & Facilitation Teams……… 3

Agenda……… 4

Mountain Summit: Vision into Action……… 5

Progress since June 27-29……… 6

Reports from August 17 Follow-up Meeting Ongoing Leadership Team/Forest Health Network……….

7 Healthy Forest Action Group……… 9

Building Support for Forest Thinning……… 11

San Bernardino County General Plan Update………

12 Educating People for Sustainable Communities & Forests….……… 13

Democracy in Action: Democracy Inaction……… 15

Watershed Values……… 17

GIS (Geographic Information Systems)………

19 Capacity and Acquisition……… 22

Closing……… 24

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

This summit was made possible through generous contributions of time, money and in-kind donations

peter.parry@verizon.net

Riverside County Board of Supervisors

San Bernardino

National Forest

Association

San Bernardino National Forest

California Licensed Foresters Association

San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors

PLANNING & FACILITATION TEAMS

Greg Boll Big Bear Valley Fire Safe Council

David Nef California Department of Forestry

Candysse Miller Insurance Information Network of California

Rob Lindquist Lake Hemet Municipal Water District

Garrick Lahoda Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council

Laura Dyberg Mountain Rim Fire Safe Council

Mary Moreland Riverside County Board of Supervisors

Stan Lake Riverside County, California Department of ForestryKris Assel San Bernardino National Forest Association

Gene Zimmerman San Bernardino National Forest

Max Copenhagen San Bernardino National Forest

Gary Nakamura University of California Cooperative Extension

Giford Pinchot Facilitator, Pinchot & Company

Peggy Holman Facilitator, Pinchot & Company

Otis Wollan Facilitator, Pinchot & Company

Mary Corrigan Graphic Recorder, Pinchot & Company

Purpose

To sustain the momentum from the Mountain Summit by:

♦ Giving and getting feedback on work done to date

♦ Creating new and deepening existing relationships and connections

Mountain Summit: Vision into Action

Throughout the day, action teams provided images of their work.

Progress Since June 27-29

The day began with short reports from the original summit action teams.

Ongoing Leadership Team / Forest Health Network

Conveners

Kris Assel, San Bernardino Nat Forest Assn

Michael Perry, City of Big Bear Lake, and

Garrick Lahoda, Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council

Discussion Notes

Kris Assel and Michael Perry led this session's discussion regarding a proposal for ongoing leadership for the Summit's efforts and were joined by Garrick Lahoda and members of the Forest Health Network committee More than 20 people participated Key issues discussed: authority, accountability, influence of any ongoing leadership team Key characteristics of leadership team:

DIVERSITY !!!!; non-governmental; locals and users of the forest who are directly affected; representatives from action teams and key interest groups; involvement of USFS, CDF, etc so they will 'hear' the discussion directly from the locals, users, interest groups Goals of leadership team: Provide input on governmental decisions affecting the health of our forests; develop proposals for forest health; CONSOLIDATE the "interests" of ALL our member groups; provide COMMUNICATION between member groups, action teams, agencies, etc on ALL matters of discussion and interest

Outcome - Volunteers were asked to meet and to design the ongoing planning committee Kris, Michael and Garrick will coordinate the meeting and facilitate the design and implementation of the committee USFS will attend the meeting and provide input into the process to assure our efforts are compatible with the USFS

Communication - Outcomes of meeting will be communicated to the Summit Membership List

Coordination - Planning committee will coordinate with all the action teams and interest groups

NOTE: Following is a list of those who have committed to be part of the Planning Committee Others interested in serving on the committee should contact Michael Perry at: "mperry@citybigbearlake.com"

Planning Committee Members:

Ian Musto, Redlands Institute

S Randall Williams, Southern California Edison

Chip Herzig, Back Country Horsemen

Laurie Rosenthal, San Jacinto District Ranger, USFS

Carol Ford Benson, Community Member

Randy Scott, San Bernardino County

Brian Romberg, Tree Removal Contractor

Chuck Tobin, Burrtec Waste

Lee Lockie, Southern California Air Quality Waste Management District

Lacy Goldsmith, San Bernardino National Forest Association

Leanne Sowande, F& E / LAS Group

Daniella Lowery, Children's Forest

Ruth Wenstrom, PIO, USFS

Tim Allyn, Sierra Club

Holly Owens, Idyllwild Community Member

Michael Perry, City Manager, City of Big Bear Lake

Kris Assel, San Bernardino National Forest Association

Garrick Lahoda, Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council

Notes by Michael Perry, mperry@citybigbearlake.com and Garrick Lahoda, mcfsc@greencafe.com

Healthy Forest Action Group

Convener: John Mount

Tree Planting Primer This discussion centered around the need for urban lot owners to have easy access to accurate information abouthow to reforest their lot, and/or how to manage the remaining trees on their lot We looked at a great example developed by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, entitled “The Los Angeles Home Tree Guide.”

Some work has been done on this topic, and other work is underway Lake Arrowhead CC has produced a document CDF is

apparently compiling existing documents However, the group felt there is a need for a stand-alone document specific to the

ecosystems in these mountains It could be produced in several media—hard copy, CD, and on the web

It should focus on native species, yet look at other species, such as giant sequoia, that may be appropriate, or that have inherent intrinsic value It should have a strong education component, so landowners would have a good understanding of the need for

thinning

The overall message should be that the urban lots are part of the overall forest

Demonstration Forests The group discussed and agreed upon the need to demonstrate to the greater public what the historic settlement) forests looked like, and how they functioned They will be based on the premise that the future of the forest will be determined by what we do today In other words, our actions now will determine what kind of forest we have in the future

(pre-Dr Tom Bonnicksen, working with the Forest Service, has proposed development of several “demo forests.” Initial thinking would bethat the first would be in the Lake Arrowhead area, followed others in the Childrens Forest, Big Bear, and Idyllwild areas

Simply put, the proposal calls for removing excess dead and green trees so that the remaining stand replicates a natural forest, leaving appropriate amounts and quality of dead and down logs and other vegetation, and reforesting as necessary Intrepretive and

educational facilities and programs would be put in place (trails, signs, videos, etc.) to help the public understand, and accept, the notion of a forest managed to restore natural functions The public would have the opportunity to be deeply involved in the design andprescriptions for the demo forests

Educational efforts would need to be coupled with all other educational efforts associated with the forest health issue, including Fire Wise and shaded fuel breaks

Notes by Gene Zimmerman, gzimmerman@fs.fed.us

Building Support for Forest Thinning

Convener: Blair Ceniceros

Discussion Notes

Blair introduced the topic with back ground of his concern: opposition to forest thinning by environmental groups Environmentalists’ nervousness about forest thinning is understandable, in view of a history of clear cutting by loggers and timber sales by the Forest Service resulting in some instances in clear cutting and damage to streams and rivers But the current crisis necessitates

accommodation so that the agencies and Fire Safe Councils can work on hazard reduction One solution might be having

sylviculturists and arborists mark trees needing removal to restore the forest to its historic condition Biologists could locate nesting sites of threatened or endangered species Loggers could be accompanied by representatives from environmental groups to ensure that only marked trees are taken and specific habitats are spared The subject was opened for discussion

Key statements by participants:

The President’s initiative does not distinguish between urban and wild forests

The environmental side is on the defensive 55% of the time the Forest Service is faced with law suits

Agencies inabilities to follow their own management directions makes them vulnerable to lawsuits

Funding for the President’s initiative is not there; it does not deal with local projects

Identify what needs to be done If it goes to court, so be it

Some species, e g., rubber boa, have seasonal nesting periods for which regulations preclude fuel reduction operations for 2-3

months during summer and fall

Conflict exists between Governor’s emergency declaration and regulations preventing emergency action

Habitats may be protected from fuel reduction but destroyed by catastrophic fire

Solutions:

Agencies follow process; get “taking”permits where necessary

Get agencies together to revue environmental guidelines and discuss whether they make sense Example, workers have been

hired by Fish & Wildlife to find rubber boas in fuel break areas and move them Handling may damage them and moving may kill them Workers could instead locate and mark nests so that crews could work around them

Notes by Blair Ceniceros, mtnhouse1957@greencafe.com

San Bernardino County General Plan Update

Convenor: Terri Rahhal

at 13 locations throughout the county, including Twin Peaks on September 3 and Big Bear on September 9 Detailed meeting

announcements and other information concerning the General Plan update are available on the County web site

at:http://www.sbcounty.gov/landuseservices/general plan update

Participants discussed their concerns and recommendations for General Plan policies affecting the mountain region, such as:

 The capacity of infrastructure and public services in mountain areas should be quantified to determine appropriate long-termland use plans

 Expanding existing 2-lane mountain roads to 4-lane highways may not be the answer to existing transportation constraints

 The GPU should recognize the increase in the proportion of full-time vs part-time residency in mountain communities sincethe last update

 The General Plan should ensure the potential to accommodate the various commercial services and outdoor storage areas needed in mountain areas

Notes by Terri Rahhal, trahhal@lusd.sbcounty.gov

Educating People for Sustainable Communities & Forests

Convener: Judy Ritter

Participants

Terri Rahhal - trahhal@hotmail.com

Kimberly Fry - pinefry@aol.com

Laura Dyberg - Dyberg4fsc@aol.com

Martin Argo - mbargo@eee.org

Ruth Werstrom - rwenstrom@fs.fed.us

Daniella Lowery - QuietDusk@aol.com

Judy Ritter - juudyritter@earthlink.net

Gabriel Garcia - ggarcia01@fs.fed.us

Peter Brieety - pbrierty - pbrierty@fire.sbcounty.gov

Discussion Notes

There was considerable discussion about the lack of knowledge that the public off the mountain has regarding our National Forests,even among those living in close proximity of the mountains We see a need to better educate those who have not been exposed to therange of activities available, the beauty that surrounds them and need for proper management of the forests

It was brought to our attention that there are other groups who offer speakers such as the San Bernardino National Forest Association

We discussed that we are aware the association, however were not aware of availability of speakers off the mountain We don’t want

to duplicate services

The committee desires to have more educational materials produced by professionals with accurate information concerning our current forest crisis throughout the west and information as to how we can reach a more ideal natural state When speaking of the need to thin, it was agreed that we’ve all heard about the “evil loggers who will strip our forest.” We need to correct that perception For the immediate time, we need to get the message of fire prevention out and why this situation has gotten out of hand

Some suggestions for getting the message out to the public were:

• Posters with fliers on tear off pads (posters hung in stores in the mountains as well as off the hill Posters placed in sportinggoods stores, nature stores, book stores

• A CD/DVD with the adventure pass for visitors to take home and watch or listen to depending upon the method used

• Messages concerning the emergency at hand….fliers in supermarkets, convenience stores, etc

• Through a speakers bureau, either existing or newly formed, take the message to schools, especially high schools, service & social

organizations as well as youth organization (especially must advertise the existence of a speakers bureau to the schools and otherorganizations)

• Develop web site with links to all the forest entities

Laura Dyberg said there are so many entities doing the same things as we suggest We will research where we may join forces Shealso spoke of a fire education unit putting together a trailer on fire prevention, but that’s only one trailer, therefore we need to haveother avenues to reach a greater number of people

Group consensus that we will contact the other agencies to find out what we can do to support the existing speakers bureaus and helprecruit speakers to promote the positive reasons for maintaining a balance between nature and people

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Ritter

Democracy In Action: Democracy Inaction

Convener: Carol Ford Benson

Discussion Notes

As a retired attorney, consultant, founder of Environmental Professionals both in California and Nationally (NAEP) thirty years ago, first environmental consulting firm, consultant and writer/seminar initiator on fire related system safety and risk issues, I come to the party with a different background and deep concerns

While the process may appear to be democratic as do well managed Town Meeting in which only the institutionally-connected and economically dominant are permitted to speak, all questions being filtered through those who accept questions on cards but choose to answer only those they feel reflect the thinking they wish voiced this is not democracy in action but democracy-inaction

The image is of a pyramid with messages flowing top down like snowmelt from the summit But the person who understands process knows that water is in every form: fog, snow, underground rivers, reservoirs, tapped and untapped, contained in rocks, vegetation, every aspect connected and interdependent What wells up from beneath or is depleted at the bottom affects the whole

I am concerned that no one questions the basic issue: Is it good for today, tomorrow, seven generations later, for us to burn and harvest, thin and remove? I fear desertification across the arid arboreal forests of North America, not quick replenishment as

promised Every bough cut is a branch that no longer stores water; some would say it no longer uses water Where is the truth? In thewisdom of many and of nature itself (herself?) and in the "law of replenishment" that can be broken only by humans

The topic is one no one wants to discuss, it is too boring, to obviously naive, non-pragmatic Democracy is evanescent It vanishes under too much pressure from the top and insufficient encouragement as process Yes, we all know it is inefficient

Everyone in the little group discussions felt they were being democratic, but the entire thrust of where USDA Forest Service,

Presidential plan for "healty forests" is not a hollow promise for unreviewed and unstoppable degradation of forests, burning