It’s but the first step of many that must be taken before the Stewardship Council makes a final recommendation to the California Public Utilities Commission, ultimately the decider of the future of the popular Sierra resort and backcountry gateway. Final approval is subject to mutual agreement and acceptance of terms and conditions determined through a thorough due diligence process and legal review by the county, the Stewardship Council, and Mother Lode Land Trust.

The Stewardship Council has received approximately 800 letters regarding the future of Kennedy Meadows and has heard many public comments about keeping ownership and management of Kennedy Meadows locally accountable. Today we moved one step closer to seeing that happen!

Over the last year, the Stewardship Council has worked with a core group of four pre-qualified organizations (the county, the Tuolumne County RCD, the Mother Lode Land Trust, and the Stanislaus National Forest) to determine which is best suited to own and hold a conservation easement on Kennedy Meadows. Last December, the county submitted a joint proposal with the Tuolumne County RCD and the Mother Lode Land Trust. The Stanislaus National Forest prepared a separate proposal for ownership as it is unable to jointly own and manage its properties.

The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors has approved the negotiation and will consider accepting ownership if a mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. The county will work with PG&E and Stewardship Council staff to determine the terms and conditions of the agreement. After negotiations are completed, the Stewardship Council will review the draft agreement and make a final recommendation to the CPUC. The process is expected to take at least six months to complete and possibly more.

Tonight’s recommendation was endorsed by the county, the RCD, Mother Lode Land Trust, Senator Dave Cogdill, Congressman George Radanovich, Matt Bloom (operator of the Kennedy Meadows Resort), and others. All Stewardship Council members ulitimately agreed to the recommendation, although some expressed a desire to proceed cautiously to ensure that any agreement with the county (and Mother Lode Land Trust) is enforceable, collaborative with the RCD and USFS, and in the best interest of all the beneficial public values.

As described on the Stewardship Council’s website, Kennedy Meadows is 244 acres of scenic high sierra meadow, forest, and native cottonwood habitat in Tuolumne County and home to many special status species. For hundreds of years, the Mi-Wuk Tribe traveled, traded, hunted and fished the area. Currently, it’s a popular recreation spot for horseback riding, camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, and backpacking. Since 1917, the Kennedy Meadows Pack Station has provided visitors an opportunity to spend time in the adjacent wilderness.

The DEIS presents a proposed (favored) action, a no action alternative and 3 additional action alternatives and describes the environmental impacts of each. The alternatives seek to:

1. prohibit motor vehicle travel off designated National Forest Transportation System (NFTS) roads and trails by the public except as allowed by permit or other authorization (excluding snowmobile use);

2. add 157.39 miles of existing unauthorized routes to the NFTS of trails currently open to the public for motor vehicle use; and,

3. make vehicle class changes to the existing NFTS on 623.28 miles of roads. The proposed action replaces all existing seasonal closures with season of use restrictions based on elevation and wet weather closures on native surfaced routes.

For more info and details on how to formally comment, see http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv or contact Sue Warren at (209) 532-3671. The Board of Supervisors will hear a briefing on the EIS in mid-April and will comment formally, as well. A Final Environmental Impact Statement and decision are expected later this year.

Kennedy Meadows decision expected in late April. There’s little to report on the Stewardship Council’s (SC) evaluation of USFS’ and local partners’ (RCD, county, Mother Lode Land Trust) proposals to own, manage, and protect Kennedy Meadows. The SC’s evaluation team will be here in the next few weeks to ask questions about both proposals. Stay tuned – a recommendation for who should own/manage and oversee the conservation easement is expected at the April meeting of the Stewardship Council in Redding.

District Office Hours in April

Tuolumne: Weds., April 1, 10:00 – 11:30 am, Tuolumne Memorial Museum on Carter Street

Twain Harte: Weds., April 8, 10-11:30 am, Twain Harte Community Service District office on Twain Harte Drive across from the Eproson House; and

Mi-Wuk Village: Fri., April 24, 1-2:30 pm, Mi-Wuk Village Library next to the Post Office (office hours will not be held in MWV on Apr. 17th due to scheduling conflict).

The Tuolumne County RCD, the county, MotherLode Land Trust, and the USFS made their presentations to the Stewardship Council yesterday. The Stewardship Council is the multi-interest stakeholder group tasked with giving away some of PG&E’s land (and funds) under the terms of a bankruptcy settlement agreement administered by the California Public Utilities Commission. Summaries of the proposals can be found on the Stewardship Council’s website at http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/.

The TCRCD, county, and MotherLode Land Trust collaborated on a proposal that puts forward 3 different ownership/management configurations for local ownership and management of Kennedy Meadows. Despite diligent effort on the part of those organizations and the USFS to collaborate in a way agreeable to all, ultimately the USFS is not legally able to share ownership or management decisions and put forward its own proposal. The local organizations do not feel it is within the best interests of Kennedy Meadows to have the USFS as owner or manager of the parcel and although they were invited and considered it, did not participate in the USFS’ proposal.

The Stewardship Council will meet in committee over the next few months to evaluate the proposals. Their planning committee will announce a recommendation to the entire Stewardship Council at their next public meeting in Redding on April 30th.

Government reform time

And finally, to kick off our new video section, here’s an interesting clip from California Forward, a bipartisan effort to “transform our state government through citizen-driven solutions to provide better representation, smarter budgeting and fiscal management, and high quality public services so all Californians have the opportunity to be safe, healthy and prosperous in the global economy,” (http://www.caforward.org/).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXpvSms6V4

What do you think? Please click on “Comments” below and tell us!

They have made considerable progress in evaluating existing easements on the parcels. In addition, the proposed local stakeholder process goes to the Stewardship Council Planning Committee next week for discussion and recommendation to the full Council. The process will be considered by the whole Stewardship Council on March 26th and if approved, scheduling in local communities will follow. I don’t know what the process is that is being proposed, but will post it when I learn.

As the stakeholder process moves forward, the Stewardship Council will begin evaluating registered donees for suitability and begin negotiating the requirements of the management plan. It will be an iterative process – back and forth communication and adjustments – as things go forward.

They plan on sending a letter to the Chairmen of the Board of Supervisors in the 4 pilot project counties asking each Board to consider registering as potential donees to come alongside local groups (if they haven’t already). Tuolumne County has not registered and to do so would require formal action by the full Board of Supervisors. That action, if considered, would be publicly noticed.

Finally, it looks like the PUC will consider the Section 851 application (reaffirming the land divestiture process, accepting Vol. 1 & 2) sometime around the end of March.

Stay tuned – I’ll post more info as I hear it.

A huge thanks to Buckaroo Ball organizer Lisa Morales and her committee. Lisa knows how to put on a party – things ran very smoothly. Members of the Sheriff’s Posse, Tuolumne County Farm Bureau, TuCare, and many others showed up to help and a great number of local individuals, businesses, and organizations contributed.

Last night was a demonstration of community and regional support for Kennedy Meadows and for Matt & Leslie Bloom and family. It was nothing short of… well, a miracle.

Incredible. Thank you.

If you are concerned about how the decisions will be made about its future, you need to show up and speak up at the Opera Hall in Sonora at 10 am on Wednesday, December 6th.

Please let them know you are coming by going to:

http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/public_information/upcoming_public_meetings.htm.

Here’s more info…

Stewardship Council’s
Kennedy Meadows Pilot Project Meeting
Thursday, December 6, 2007
from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Opera House, Sonora

Purpose:

· Bring interested-parties up-to-date on the plans for disposition of the lands

· Increase understanding of how the Stewardship Council will depend on the collaboration of all interested-parties

· Get input on ways that the Stewardship Council can support increased collaboration between interested parties

This meeting will be open to the public, but we ask that anyone who would like to attend the meeting to pre-register. Once you register, they will contact you to confirm the meeting location. Please click on the link below to register for this meeting. Click here to register for this meeting!

For additional information, please call (650) 344-9072, email info, or submit written requests to: Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, 15 N. Ellsworth Ave, Suite 100, San Mateo, CA 94401. This notice is also posted at www.stewardshipcouncil.org.

What does it look like up there? How could it have happened? Accident or worse? Will it get rebuilt? Who owns Kennedy Meadows? Who might be wanting to run it? On and on we ask each other. So what’s the scoop really?

Inquiring minds need to know. The Bloom family’s misfortune – Kennedy Meadows’ misfortune – is also ours. Most of us have been going up there for years and are profoundly saddened by the news. And since so very few of us know the answers, sometimes we end up with… shall we say… creative assertions that pass for truth.

Tuesday we’ll get the real scoop. Matt, along with representatives from Tuolumne County Fire, PG&E, and the Stewardship Council, will tell us what they know. We’ll hear how we can best help the Blooms and where we can donate for the rebuilding effort.

Here’s a sneak preview. The bottom line is, Matt Bloom is pretty tough. He knows how to cowboy-up and he’s optimistic about the future, if not exactly looking forward to the process of rebuilding.

Join us on Tuesday to support the Blooms and hear the rest of the story – because our inquiring minds need to know.

As I crossed the bridge and saw the first cabins on the right, it was as if nothing had changed. The row of cabins was there on the left too. And then I saw it. A pile of rubble remained of the lodge and a handful of outbuildings. So it was at least partially true. The central portion of Kennedy Meadows Resort – the heart, if you will – was missing.

I looked around and it was disconcerting. As long as I didn’t face the lodge, it was as if nothing had changed. The meadow looked the same. The pack station looked the same. Nothing had changed at the saloon. But turning, the true story was undeniable. The lodge with its historic hotel rooms, restaurant, and store was and is surely gone.

CAL FIRE command center got the call from the Blooms, the family that operates the leased Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station at pretty close to 1:00 am on Sunday night. Apparently folks sleeping upstairs in the hotel heard an explosion, awakened, and woke the others.

They began fighting the fire using a 500 gallon fire engine kept on hand for the express purpose of fighting fire should one come to the isolated canyon. Five hundred gallons of water didn’t quite do it. The fire was so hot that a car parked out in front began melting down.

CAL FIRE believes that a chimney flue fire got into an adjacent tree and the flames quickly spread to adjacent buildings. Matt Bloom, his dad Bart, his uncle, and others worked valiantly, falling several trees to extinguish the flames.

The first unit arrived from Pinecrest about an hour after the call for help came in. Long response time? Yes, it’s a long ways from Pinecrest and below and a heavy fire truck or water tender fully loaded can’t hustle up the mountain.

Before it was all said and done, CAL FIRE had sent 4 engines, 1 chief officer, and 1 investigator. Tuolumne County sent 2 engines, 3 water tenders, and 2 inspector/information officers. Mi-Wuk Village Fire Protection District sent an engine too. The USFS sent 2 engines (from Dry Meadows and Brightman), a hand crew (Crew 3), a Prevention unit, and a District Fire Management Officer.

This supervisor is extremely grateful to all the fire personnel – local, state, and federal – that came and extinguished what could have been a much worse fire.

Their efforts, combined with those already on scene, contained the fire to the main lodge, cabins 1-7, the laundry house, the shower house, the restroom, a generator shed, tool shed, and storage shed, and a water heater building. Matt’s cabin and 2 travel trailers were damaged.

Bart Bloom told me that he’d never seen anything like it. “Oh I’ve been on forest fires before, but I’ve never seen it like that. I’m used to wildland fires where you’re worried about more acres of forest burning.” On early Monday morning, Bart’s goal was that and more – it was also to extinguish nearby buildings beginning to burn.

The Blooms lost a dog in the fire inside the store. Incredibly, no other lives were lost. Two of the Blooms were burned – 1 slightly and the other had a second degree burn on his forearm. Over 250 saddles and 100 pack saddles were unscathed. Matt moved most of his horses and mules last week – not too many remained – and those that remained were safe. The fire didn’t come near them. Approximately 10 cabins remain intact. The saloon wasn’t touched either.

It’s not the first time Kennedy Meadows lost a hotel. The one that just burned was built in the 40s to replace a previous hotel that burned. District 3 has lost many historic mountain buildings to fire. Some are lost forever, but Kennedy Meadows has experienced this before. The resilience of human nature arises and does what it has to do to go forward. That will happen again.

Matt will open for business next year when the snow melts. In the meantime, he’s got a lot of work to do. Insurance adjusters have been out. Tuolumne County’s chief building officer has made a visit. Representatives from the Stewardship Council and PG&E (the property owner) have been up to see what they can see. And there is a constant stream of volunteers and well-wishers coming by to help and express their support.

Matt plans to rebuild and Tuolumne County stands ready to do whatever can be done to help. A fund has been established to receive donations at Oak Valley Community Bank. Please reference: “Kennedy Meadows Reconstruction Account.” If you live out of the area, you can contact Oak Valley Community Bank at (209)532-7100 for more information.

In a statement released today, the Blooms said,

“In this destruction the business has lost ALL records, including and not limited to old and new customer contact information as well as all reservations for pack trips and cabins for 2008 and 2009. The management of Kennedy Meadows Resort is asking their customers (from around the world) to photocopy their deposit receipts and mail them to the resort.

The Bloom family would also like to thank the community for all their well-wishes and the immediate community for literally pitching in and helping the family in this unfortunate event. Dodge Ridge ski area has personally sent employees and generators to the scene to help in any and all ways. Dardanelle Resort has also taken the displaced customers and employees in, they arrived immediately with food for the employees and fire crews and have continued to play a vital role in providing meals and essentials that were all lost in the fire.

For the hundreds of phone calls the Resort is receiving offering help, the family cannot express their gratefulness enough, and if anyone would like to know how they can be of any further assistance please look at the website for updated needs and areas of support. www.kennedymeadows.com.”

Today (Oct. 2nd) I met with staff from the Stewardship Council and PG&E on their way back to the Bay Area after visiting Kennedy Meadows. They came to offer their support to the Blooms and to see first-hand the extent of the damage. Like me, they were devastated by the news initially, but after visiting today don’t feel the damage was as bad as they had expected. They also feel that Matt will be able to operate the pack station and remaining cabins next season and that he’s got some time over this winter to plan the future. They are encouraged by the strong community support and confident in Matt’s positive attitude and grit. The Stewardship Council has made it very clear that existing uses on PG&E properties are very important and to be preserved. Let’s take comfort in that.

In the meantime, the Stewardship Council will continue to finalize the draft Volumes I and II of the Land Conservation Plan (see my previous post on the process for divesting PG&E of 140,000 acres of land in California, including Kennedy Meadows).

We discussed beginning our facilitated local stakeholder process in the first half of November(Kennedy Meadows is 1 of 4 pilot projects to serve as a model for the disposition of the rest of the lands in the state). The process is expected to yield a recommendation for the eventual ownership and/or management of Kennedy Meadows.

The Stewardship Council will provide a neutral facilitator to lend process support. I will assist with logistics (securing meeting locations, etc.). I encourage anyone who has an interest in Kennedy Meadows’ future and wants to participate to join us. The group will self-govern and come up with an ultimate recommendation to the Stewardship Council via consensus, as their own decisions are made.

So, all in all, there is reason to mourn, but also much to be thankful for and look forward to. I will keep you updated on the blog and my website (www.terimurrison.com).

Thanks for all of your kind words and offers to help. I am amazed at the outpouring of support for the Kennedy Meadows Resort and the Blooms.

Because the Kennedy Meadows hotel, dining room, and store are now gone – incinerated in a fire last Sunday night – I find myself rewinding a mental tape of things I loved about the place and that I am certain I will forget over time… some of which I already have. So for posterity, here’s what I remember… and that I hope I will never forget.

I remember the noise my boots and spurs made clumping up the steps onto the porch. Ching, ching, ching.

I remember the warm glow of the dining room, rowdy back and forth banter, and raucus laughter as we dwelt on a perfect day together in the Emigrant.

I remember how loud the generator was out behind the kitchen and how cold it was in the bathrooms on a frosty night. I remember waiting my turn, freezing to death, and throwing about 25 million sticks for that silly dog.

I remember brilliant stars twinkling above the canyon walls and through the trees ringing the meadow.

I remember dimly but surely, my best friend Anne and I trailing our husbands to a hoofbeat cadence as we headed back down the trail to Kennedy Meadows. We were covered in dust and mosquito bites, alternately singing and talking about babies (and husbands), our very good fortune, and the cold drink and dinner ahead.

How do make sure I remember all these things that I need to remember?

And how do I make sure I remember those things that I’ve already forgotten?

Maybe you can help.

Tell me the things that you loved about Kennedy Meadows. Please share with all of us. So together we can remember not to forget.

Though our values are considerably different from Scarlett and Rhett’s, that famous scene from Gone With the Wind always makes me determined to work hard for the things I value. Regret is not an emotion I enjoy. I love Kennedy Meadows and I’m hardly alone in that. As you may have heard, its future is up in the air. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work right away.

“Yahoos and cowboys are ruining our land – we’ve got to get horses and cows off the trails and out of the meadows,” say some.

“Those wacko environmentalists are trying to turn Kennedy Meadows into wilderness. They plan to get rid of the pack station just like they’re doing with our check dams,” assert others.

“The Forest Service is at it again – Kennedy Meadows is next on the hit list! They want to tear down our historic buildings and drive the pack station out of business,” claim yet others.

These are just a few of the highly-charged and provocative accusations being tossed around as interest groups have begun to posture, anticipating the next great environmental battle over treasured areas in the Tuolumne County mountains. But what’s the truth and what’s to become of everyone’s beloved Kennedy Meadows? Like Scarlett and unlike Rhett, frankly we very much do “give a damn.”

The truth is that Kennedy Meadows’ future doesn’t have to be decided behind closed doors by folks we don’t know, most of whom already have their minds made up. The truth is that cultural resources there must be protected and preserved, along with the ecosystem. There are restoration needs to be addressed. The truth is that existing uses are valued and will be preserved in Kennedy Meadows and elsewhere on PG&E lands. That means the pack station and its historic buildings stay.

So the truth is yes, there will be some changes in Kennedy Meadows in the future, and there will be some things that won’t change, as well. But we have a common goal shared by all interest groups: Kennedy Meadows is our heritage. We want to enjoy it and keep it in good condition for our children and grandchildren. With that as a starting point, competing interests can be addressed and a balance can be achieved.

PG&E, Kennedy Meadows’ legal owner, is under court order to divest itself of 140,000 acres of land in 47 separate areas or “planning units” in California (mostly in the Sierra Nevada). Kennedy Meadows contains 244 of the acres subject to the court order. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will decide who gets Kennedy Meadows and how it will be managed, based on recommendations from the Stewardship Council (SC).

The SC, a nonprofit public benefit organization, is leading the lands’ evaluation effort and will make recommendations to the CPUC regarding either outright donation of the lands to public or private organizations or conservation easements to restrict future development of the lands. It is governed by a diverse Board of Directors that includes representatives of many different interests and industries. See the full list at: http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/about_us/board_roster.htm. They are committed to consensus-based decisions and expect those interested in the properties to operate in the same fashion.

What does this mean for Kennedy Meadows? Certainly it means that it will be the center of intense public focus in the near future…

Kennedy Meadows is one of 4 properties that will serve as a pilot project to guide the disposition of the remainder of PG&E’s lands between 2008 and 2013. The Kennedy Meadows decision-making process allows – no, requires – a consensus-based recommendation from those who care most about it – all of us.

We can work out our own preferred solution and actively guide the fleshing-out of a final recommendation to the CPUC. That is, if we will agree to sit down together and negotiate the best way to insure good stewardship of all of Kennedy Meadows’ beneficial public uses and to achieve common goal.

To date, the SC has completed 2 components of the 3-volume Land Conservation Plan (LCP) and is awaiting their final adoption by the SC Board. Next comes Volume III:

• Volume I establishes the overall framework for the LCP (legal requirements, the planning process, methodologies, public involvement, and discussion of relevant regulatory processes) and
• Volume II outlines existing conditions and presents management objectives, potential measures, and conceptual plans to preserve or enhance the beneficial public values of the properties.
• The SC will shortly begin drafting Volume III, strategies for donating the lands and developing conservation easements, as well. While the timeline for completion of Volume III runs from 2008 through 2013 (and will also consider 2 other properties in Tuolumne County – near Lyons Reservoir and on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus), it is highly likely that Kennedy Meadows’ future will be determined sometime in 2008.

Of approximately 1,000 public comment letters recently submitted to the SC on the statewide evaluations – draft Vols. I and II – close to 650 letters were written referencing preferred outcomes in Kennedy Meadows.

There is significant public interest in what happens there: interest in insuring the historic pack station continues to operate, in protecting cultural resources, and in improving and wisely stewarding the land there. Different agencies and groups have indicated their willingness to step up and own or manage Kennedy Meadows in the future, including the US Forest Service and the Tuolumne County RCD. There are others, as well.

Jayne Battey, Executive Director of the SC, and 2 members of the CPUC recently met with a dozen or so interested stakeholders in Kennedy Meadows to hear first-hand our comments on Volumes I and II and our concerns about the process of developing Volumne III.

As would be expected, a diverse group that included folks from the US Forest Service, the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, CSERC, the Tuolumne County Resource Conservation District, the operator of Kennedy Meadows pack station, Congressman George Radanovich’s office, TuCARE, Tuolumne County and others wanted to talk about Volume III stuff. Who is best qualified to own and manage Kennedy Meadows. Various ones made strong and impassioned pitches for their particular interests, but the response from both SC and the CPUC was very clear. They are interested in consensus-based outcomes, not in conservation wars.

Next month, the SC plans to assign a neutral facilitator to our local discussions on the future of Kennedy Meadows. As you no doubt know, there are some significant trust issues between interest groups that we will have to deal with, but the facilitator will assist to maintain a level playing field. The facilitator will coordinate the process and see to it that those interested in the future of Kennedy Meadows have the opportunity to participate in the process. While it will be an added benefit to achieve “kumbaya” relationships in the process, that’s not our job.

Our job is to achieve an interest-based, respectful process and to come to agreement on the best management practices – to decide together who should care for Kennedy Meadows in perpetuity. Our focus will be to attain our common goal and to examine, weigh, and satisfy our various interests in the process.

Like Scarlett wanted to preserve the good things about her marriage, none of us want to lose those things we love about our Kennedy Meadows. Stay tuned. And please, participate.