As Friends of Jawbone responds to COVID-19, the health and safety of our staff and guests remains our top priority. The 24th Annual Moose Anderson Day will be POSTPONED to a date to be determined.
Ed Waldheim, the long time president of Friends of Jawbone, was presented with a resolution of commendation from the California State Senate at the annual Moose Anderson Day clean-up event held on April 28, 2018, at the Jawbone Station Visitors Center. A plaque was presented to Ed by Benjamin Stark, field representative for State Senator Jean Fuller of Bakersfield, honoring his decades-long work in East Kern County fostering communication among many diverse user groups and federal and state agencies.
Despite chilly weather and the threat of blustery winds, almost one hundred volunteers gathered to go out and help pick up trash in the greater Jawbone Canyon area. Volunteers were rewarded with relatively mild weather as they went out to the designated clean-up sites.
This year the focus was once again on trigger trash out in the desert, with volunteers helping to pick up shotgun casings, targets, and trash left at popular shooting sites in the area. A welcome addition this year was members of the Mojave Elks Lodge #2049 who showed up en-force to help comb through the desert for the detritus left behind by careless recreationsts.
Despite strong, frigid winds and the occasional spatter of rain, around 150 people participated in the 19th annual Moose Anderson Day Cleanup. This year breakfast and announcements were held inside the station to avoid the unsavory weather. The Moose Anderson cleanup, the largest event of its kind organized by the Friends of Jawbone in April of every year, focused on cleaning up the Middle Knob area. This gorgeous, remote area of trails is home to secluded canyons and spectacular mountain vistas, which makes it popular with recreational shooters, and, unfortunately as a result of that popularity, prone to large piles of trigger trash.
Read more: Cold Wind no Deterrent to Moose Anderson Volunteers
Heavy rain the night before, snow in the mountains, and a cold, extremely blustery morning did nothing to keep the dedicated volunteers from showing up for the annual Moose Anderson Days clean-up. About 66 volunteers started gathering around eight o’clock in the morning to volunteer for work parties and warm up with a cup of coffee.
Work crews this year were sent out to the Middle Knob area, a beautiful but little-known riding area that was in need of a little love. It's an unfortunate truth that even the most remote desert areas are often used as dumping grounds for household trash by those too lazy to drive it to the dump.