About Us | What's New | Calendar | Newsletter | Forum | Members Only | Join | Links | Contact | FAQ | Home Northern California Rover Club - Club Calendar Fouts Springs Volunteer Day - March 22, Mendocino National Forest Please join NCRC in helping the National Forest Service by volunteering to spend a day working in the Menocino National Forest near Fouts Springs. Please contact Bruce Bonar for more information on attending this important event. The following information is from the National Forest Service announcement. As you are aware, the Mendocino National Forest, Grindstone Ranger District is still in a recovery mode following the catastrophic, 25,000 acre Trough Fire. This fire burned through every campground in the Fouts Springs/Davis Flat OHV Staging Area with devastating effects to most of the facilities and vegetation in this and surrounding areas. We have been working hard to recover from the damage caused by the fire, using regular Forest employees, contributed inmate labor and volunteers to help in our efforts. So far, the response has been outstanding. Not only has the OHV community come to our aid, but para-gliders and hang gliders have also shown a tremendous commitment to helping out in the recovery effort. The Forest Service is pleased to announce that the Phase 1and II Volunteer Days last year were a great success with much of the work completed that enabled us to re-open most of the Fouts Springs OHV Staging Area by Thanksgiving. The work accomplished far exceeded Forest Officials’ expectations. The projects that the volunteers worked on were varied, and included fertilization, straw mulching, barrier installation and old barbed wire fence removal. These projects were designed to ensure public health and safety, and resource protection of sensitive areas. All volunteers worked a full day to help restore an area that has provided them many years of outdoor recreation. Just as important, this work represents a long-term investment in maintaining the valuable watershed, cultural heritage and botanical resources located in and surrounding this popular multiple use area. As a perspective volunteer, we are sending you this announcement to let you know that the scheduled workday will be 03/22/00, beginning at the Fouts Springs Nail Track at 9:00 a.m. You will need to bring sturdy footwear and gloves, warm cloths, raingear, eye protection if you have it and a hardy lunch. The Forest Service will supply hardhats unless you have your own. We will be breaking into small groups with a mission in mind, and plan on working as long as you wish on this date. Most of the labor is relatively heavy so we would like no more that 5-10 of your best from each club, group or organization to help in this effort. Our primary tasks will be to plant native vegetation, install barriers and spread mulch. If any volunteer has a small Bobcat type rubber tired tractor with an auger we will pay for the fuel. This will make the planting much easier to accomplish. Tools we would like you to bring, if available, are hay hooks posthole diggers, shovels and a strong back. We may also need some 4x4 pickups to transport people to work sites. The Forest Service will work hard to deliver most of the material and supplies to the locations where it’s needed prior to your arrival. Upon completion of your volunteer assignment a non-monetary award will be awarded to each participant. This opportunity is a win-win for the Forest Service and Off-Highway and other advocates of recreation on public lands. We will continue to prove that multiple use advocates and OHV visitors in particular are willing participants in perpetuating OHV use on our public lands. We should also have good representation from the paraglider and hang glider community. Please direct any questions to Jeff Applegate or Matt Piper at (530) 963-3128. We will need to have an RSVP from you stating the number of participants from your group by no later than 03/20/03. We look forward to working with you all to keep the Fouts Springs Staging Area and Grindstone Ranger District #1 in Northern California. Happy Trails!! When: March 22nd Where: Mendocino National Forest Contact: Bruce Bonar for more information << back