2007 Moose Anderson Days!

April 28-29, 2007

Flyer (.pdf)

Flyer (.doc)

2005 Photos

4/30-5/1/05

Friends Of Jawbone

Meeting Minutes

May 21, 2003

The meeting was called to order by president, Ed Waldheim, at 9:00 a.m. Members and guests introduced themselves. The minutes were approved as read.

Vice President's report: Paul Kober was absent. Our condolences to Paul for having to be at the lake for ten days.

Ed noted they met with Mojave C of C two weeks ago. Friends of Jawbone signed on as a member of the Mojave C of C. Ed stated to them that Bill Deaver sponsored us, and Roy Ashburn recommended them. Ed feels we need to join more chambers of commerce. Ed noted that there are grants to be applied for.

Ed noted that we had a copy of the Ridgecrest Independent which praised Robin Mallow for her work, and included the publishing of two of her poems. Letter from Vicky Salazar was discussed. Letter from Lou Peralta regarding putting on an Enduro race in California City was also discussed.

Don Maben noted they are tightening the land use codes. There is a meeting on This coming up soon. He also noted they are moving forward on the OHV park for Bakersfield area.

Ed noted that $20 million has been designated for land acquisition, including Prairie City, Jawbone and Bakersfield. This is monumental. This includes acquisition of the 60,000 acres of Rudnick property. This will go to the State Senate for vote. If this goes forward, our trails will become legal and no longer be trespassing on the Rudnick properties. Ed asked Keith Axelson to identify riparian areas which need special attention. Ed asked Mary Lou Priest to pass on to Bill Maze our thanks for his support.

Ed noted that Rick Fisher and he have found a main route that law enforcement wants put in the map. We have the major streets identified and the camps are identified on the map so law enforcement will know where to go to aid the public. These will be on the new printed map. Ed hopes the maps will be printed by mid-June. The loop through to Boron will be on the new map. Ed discussed getting through from SC 36 to the Bright Star Wilderness corridor. Keith and Craig will work on this.

Ed and Jim Arbogast went to the show at Costa Mesa. 50,000 people were there. They passed out CORVA literature, and Friends of Jawbone memberships were on display. They gave out things on the law enforcement and noise issue.

Mary Lou Priest noted that Bill and Roy are working on trying to get a stop light at Hiway 14 and CA City boulevard. They are working with Bishop on this. Eventually there will be an overpass. Bill Maze was in Bishop and feels the budget will be passed by July. This will depend on California's ability to borrow funds. Bill said if the raising of license fees goes through, they are poised to sue. Don Maben added that there is talk of passing authority down to counties and cities with no added funds for this. Mary Lou noted that Bill is the only freshman assemblyman to get so many bills through. Mary Lou said they hope to get a satellite office in Mojave. She also noted that she recently made a three day trip with Bill Maze to travel the entire district.

Ed said he admired Don Maben for doing what is right for the county, and right for the people.

Ed discussed trying to get legal access into Randsburg. He talked to Francis Moore about this. They are trying to get the road from the Catholic church down dedicated to dual use. Francis said he is currently scheduling a meeting with the people in Randsburg to find out what the main complaints are. There are two families who feel motorcycles should be banned, but the rest seem to be in favor of them. He said his course of action is parking a patrol car in the middle of town and walking up and down and there are less people doing wheelies, etc. Ed said we are still trying to get legal access into town. He noted complaints from Marge Balfour and Paul Condon about people trespassing on their lands. There is a new bar in the area and there is lots of traffic to this. Francis Moore said the Lerdo facility could produce signs to guide people around this area. Ed, Craig and Francis will go out and scope this area. It was noted that Johannesburg has gasoline now and the users want to get to this. Joel Martinez noted there are six CHP officers patrolling that area. Ed suggested we meet with CHP to discuss this.

Ed noted that if we lose riding areas, a lot of the time it is because people do not obey the rules, and these areas need to be patrolled by the four law enforcement agencies. We need to come up with an agreement on how to enforce the rules and regulations. He noted the new noise enforcement rules which go into effect 7-1-03, and the need to enforce them.

Rick Price discussed getting rules set for racers. All the kids are buying race bikes. They want the same bike as the professionals and the same noise level. The aftermarket is booming, but it is creating problems with noise pollution. Mary Lou Priest asked if louder is faster. Rick said it is not. Joel Martinez noted they have one sound meter, but it is difficult to spread it around among several officers. Rick noted their grants have been sent in. Most of the grant is for doing upgrades. They have a $322,000 grant for a field supervisor. If the unit goes full time it will be a county-wide unit. Francis said he would like to put in a grant for a couple of ATVs. Ed agreed they should put in for this.

Rick Price added they will be out in force this weekend. Francis noted they will have some reserves in Randsburg. They are expecting a large crowd in Randsburg.

Bob Slade asked if anything has transpired regarding the letter about the aqueduct. The letter said they don't want people trespassing on the aqueduct south of Jawbone. He wondered if they would expand this to include the Jawbone area. Ed said if it ever came to that, they would have to fence the areas they own in Jawbone. Bob asked about putting GPS points on the map. DWP does not want this because it would enable terrorists to identify these points. Ed suggested we put the numbers on the map which are already on the aqueduct.

Ed asked Craig Beck if they need any help with the Rands this weekend. Craig said he feels BLM has it covered.

Rick Price said he is meeting with the business owners in Randsburg and wants Ron Lewis of BLM, Jon McQuiston, and Joel Martinez to go with them. Rick said he is averse to writing too many tickets for noise as it will cause bikers not to return. Ed asked Rick Price to explain the fears of the people in Randsburg regarding the noise and law enforcement's inability to control it. He said the officers look for spark arresters, etc. Francis Moore stated they do write warnings. Ed said too many warnings will set off an alarm, and feels there is nothing to warn them about. He feels if they break the law they should be ticketed. Mary Lou Priest asked if they are given a ticket, can they ride that bike out of town, and can they reduce the noise at that point? Francis said they cannot reduce the noise, but if they leave at a slower pace, the noise level will be less. Ed said Ron Lewis wants to create a special order that if you are off trail they can confiscate the motorcycle. Ed said he hates to see this, and feels that getting a permit to be in an area would be a better idea. Francis said if you catch a guy in the desert and take away his bike, you are endangering him.

Bob Klein gave the treasurer's report. There is $13,797.35 in the Friends of Jawbone account. Unfortunately, he does not have all of it because of a change in recording practices. At this time he does not feel Moose Anderson days was a financial success, but suffered a financial loss of about $1,100. Last year we had a dual sport ride which took in $708.00 and there was no ride this year. Raffle tickets and 50/50 drawing money was down. As of 5-13-03 the check for the grant money had not been received. Bob said he has sent several bills to Rick Fisher but has received no approval to pay them. Ed told Bob to call Rick. Ed said he ordered two black and white and one color cassettes for the printer at Jawbone Station. There will be a bill for these. Bob Klein noted the food was excellent and the cost was less than in past years. It seems the t-shirts are the main drain on the funds.

We are still waiting for Honda to solve the post office problem.

Craig Beck said he appreciated everyone coming to Moose Anderson days and the agencies who sponsored us. RTP grant - we are working on the SEQUA for the toilet and fencing. It is a new process. The money for the purchase of one heavy duty quad is pending. Since it is federal funds it goes to the states for processing. He passed out copies of the State Park Grants. Basically, Ridgecrest has put in five grants for the Field Office. They put in the O&M grant that includes staffing Jawbone station. Ed noted that on page 87 it shows what they are proposing. Ed Waldheim congratulated Craig on the grant stating it is "perfect" and is the way other grants should be written. Proposed small changes were discussed. Also, the individual grants were discussed. Craig discussed the grant for the cultural inventory of the Olancha Dunes. Jawbone and Dove Springs both have had a class 3 inventory. There was also a class 2 sampling of the rest of the ACEC. There is also a class 2 sampling being done of the east side of the Spanglers (in the Christmas canyon area). This was funded in last year's grant. Ed questioned why a class 3 in the open area and a class 2 in the Spanglers. Craig discussed the $157,000 grant for Ridgecrest equipment. He said they would to purchase a front end loader with a box scraper to help us maintain access roads. It would also help with trash collection, restoration, fixing washouts, etc. They requested a travel transport type trailer to be able to set up a command post type visitor center. Also, a generator for this so people could stay overnight. They requested a multi-use desert buggy. Ed said he does not feel a park ranger should use a buggy. Craig said he feels it could be used as a passenger buggy, but could be changed to use a stretcher.

Ed said he is telling all the field offices should use Craig's grants as an example. Ed said the other offices are not doing O&M grants, but are just doing law enforcement grants. This is the first year we have individual grants for each function. Most field managers just put in one grant which is confusing, but Craig has spelled out exactly what he will do in each grant. Ed noted we only have six million dollars. There is a lot of give and take in the use of the money.

Trail maintenance update - this week is the last week of our current staff members, but they are working to get replacements. As soon as Randy can offer some positions, new people will be hired. Ed said he feels that Craig should get hay bales and close off the illegal trails, then send the crew in to do restoration.

Ridgecrest steering committee - no one who attended was present to make a report..

Jawbone was open 30 days, visitors 1,727, and sales were up. Robin noted that she went to Needles and was trained in a new program to take to the school children that which talks about the beauty of the desert and the protection of the environment. In the sixth grade they begin to teach vehicle safety and this includes an OHV pledge. She asked the officers present if they could go to the schools with her to explain the law enforcement part of the program. Ed noted that the $60,000 asked for in the grant includes about $5,000 to purchase supplies for the program. Ed asked if there is anything from the sheriff's department intended for schools that could be included in the program. Francis Moore said he would check on this. Robin also said if there is anything to be put in the Friends of Jawbone newsletter, they should get this to Robin or Margaret as soon as possible. Margaret will include a list of officers of the Friends of Jawbone.

Keith Axelson said he was unable to make the last meeting (except for five minutes) and he has obtained a study done on Golden Eagles and wind energy. He brought a copy to be put in the file here at Jawbone. He said it shows what damage wind machines can do. It is not just something to create clean air, but does some damage. Rick Price said he is concerned with the amount of structures. Keith added he is concerned that there needs to be a road to each tower and this does a lot of damage to the environment. He said if anyone is interested, they can pull the report off the internet, or contact him for a copy.

Ed noted that everyone worked hard on Moose Anderson weekend. He wants to be sure that thank you letters go out. Robin has sent personal thank yous from the Friends of Jawbone. Craig added we should start planning NOW for the next one. If we get a raffle item, we could sell tickets all year long instead of for a few weeks like we did this year.

Ed asked if there is anything we want to do in this area that would use an RTP grant. Ed said we are fighting to not lose trails in Red Rock State Park. He is also trying to find a route from Red Rock to Jawbone. Ed said we are still waiting for Barstow to claim this.

Ed discussed the banning of burning pallets as the nails are murder on tires. Bob Slade said they should be allowed to burn them at campsites at trail heads only.

Bill Bishop said we need to get a memorandum of understanding about the Josie Bishop claim. He said there is a history that needs to be put on the kiosk. He said nothing has happened for a long time on this and there needs to be some action.

Ed discussed the West Mojave plan. He showed maps of the proposed plan to the group. Ed asked people to sign out the map for their area of interest, look it over, and make suggestions. When the new EIS comes out for the plan, we have to really decide what routes we want.

Craig said he is working with the district engineer on resealing the parking lot.

Ed said he will show a draft of the new Friends of Jawbone map so any changes that are necessary can be made.

Meeting adjourned at 11:04 a.m.

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