Important Issues

Newsletter

Join Us

Map & Locations

Gallery

Hikes

Links

Home

MAY 23, ANNUAL WORK DAY
See photos and descriptions of Workday 2009

MARKLEEVILLE CREEK DAY
Saturday, September 17
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Markleeville Library
The Alpine Watershed Group will be hosting
it's10th annual Markleeville Creek Day, Saturday,
September 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This
event is free, and all ages are welcome.
Participants will meet at the Markleeville Library
Park at 9:00 a.m. to sign up for a project. Groups
will depart for project sites by 9:30 a.m. We will
have projects in Hope Valley, and along
Markleeville Creek and the Carson River. It is
important to arrive promptly in order to join one of
the work teams.
Projects will include: invasive weed removal,
stream bank stabilization, and the Great Sierra
River Clean-up. Children can help their parents
with these projects or spend the day with a youth
group learning about water quality and protection,
stenciling storm drains, and doing a small
restoration project of their own.
We recommend you wear work clothes, gloves,
and sunscreen. Bring a bag lunch, water, and
maybe a camera. Providing your own hand tools
such as hoes, shovels, loppers, or wire clippers
would be appreciated.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Work Of Friends: Updates

• Federal agencies have proposed corridors for electricity transmission and gas lines across the Sierra. One of these corridors may impact the Mokelumne Wilderness; another may follow Hwy 88, a designated scenic highway. The Friends participated in the public scoping process for the environmental impact statement addressing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and will continue to monitor this situation. http://corridoreis.anl.gov/documents/index.cfm
  
• FOHV submitted comments and questions in response to the DEIR for Mahalee Village, a proposed project consisting of approximately 200,000 square feet of commercial space, fractional ownership cabins, and a lodge to be built on 36 acres in Markleeville. The issues addressed were of water, wastewater, aesthetics, and the sheer size of the project.
  
• The Sierra Nevada Alliance www.sierranevadaalliance.org called together its conservation allies in the Eastern Sierra subregion to discuss the role of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy www.sierraconservancy.org and the services it could provide. The FOHV, with other conservation groups, land trusts and watershed groups, including the Alpine County Watershed Group, created a document discussing the unique context of the Eastern Sierra subregion and the services they would like the Conservancy to bring to bear on priority issues: water resources, recreation and tourism, community development, and land use.
  
• The Friends and Snowlands Network have collaborated on a proposal designating areas for motorized and non-motorized winter use in eastern Alpine County. This document was recently submitted to the Forest Service. The process has involved many meetings with all parties, in an attempt to reach an amiable agreement.
  
• FOHV donated $2,300 to the Alpine County Watershed Group. The money is to be used for clerical support, enabling its director Laura Leuders to proceed more efficiently with the watershed group¹s projects.

   

On July 15 the Forest Service announced proposed new rules for managing off-road vehicles on National Forest lands. The rule would require vehicles to stay on designated routes. While long-overdue, the proposal is weak, unfunded and includes no timetables for completing the designation process.

Comments on the proposed rule are due by Sept. 13, 2004. Please make your members aware of the proposal by circulating or posting on your website the attached Action Alert and sample comment lettter. If you have any questions, please call Karen Schambach at 530-333-1106. Thanks!

Join the Hope Valley Action Network. The fate of Hope Valley and the eastern slopes of Alpine County is in your hands.

Decisions of public officials threaten the quiet repose and scenic vistas of Hope Valley and the eastern slopes of Alpine County. The Sierra, free from the gas driven mechanized vehicle, is vanishing. Recent threats include:

No more scenic highway. Alpine County's Board of Supervisors recently ordered the deletion of scenic highway designation from Blue Lakes Road, the heart of Hope Valley. Opposition to scenic highway status along Highways 88/89, which offers long-term protections against inappropriate development, has also received alarming support from County officials.

Gas station/convenience store. Do you want one right in the heart of the valley? Some people do and they could get their way.

No added wilderness protection. County officials have said no to expanding Federal wilderness and wild and scenic river designation in Alpine County, even though the county's economy is totally dependent on tourism. The proposed California Wilderness bill would further enhance the county's reputation as a recreation destination, protecting some of the most spectacular, undisturbed back country left in California.

Noisy, polluting snowmobiles. Intense lobbying by snowmobilers has ruined efforts to reach a good compromise over winter use of Forestdale Rd.. For now, that means no peaceful cross-country ski tours; no quiet snowshoe hikes into the wilderness in this pristine section of Alpine County.

It's time to speak up! As a Friend of Hope Valley, you have already shown your support for protecting this largely unspoiled alpine jewel of the Sierra.

Now, you can do more, simply by joining our new HOPE VALLEY ACTION NETWORK. Your voices need to be heard, your presence and opinions noted. By sending us your email address today, we will alert you to critical decisions that threaten irreplaceable qualities of Hope Valley and the eastern slopes of Alpine County. We'll tell you how to have your voice heard, by sending emails and letters, and attending key meetings and hearings. It may take a little extra time on your part now, but the results will last for generations.

We must be proactive, rather than just reactive!

to top