Robb and Tom's excellent visit with the NFS
Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:42 pmToday Tom Pipkin and I had a meeting with Charlie Robinson, the Recreation Officer for the Forest Service in the Ojai Ranger District. Our fifteen minute meeting lasted over an hour and then he introduced us to the head of the Ojai Ranger District, John Bridgwater (yes, that John Bridgewater. Keep reading!)
When we sat down with Charlie I outlined the four main points I wanted to discuss:
1. Introduce the SCPA; who we are, what we do, our membership, what parts of the NFS we fly from and over, and myself as the President (it sounds so prestigious…). I also spoke in general terms about the SBSA and our combined membership, and also about USHPA, pilot certification, and our insurance.
2. Forest Management Plan. We discussed the plan and what it means for Pine, Chiefs, and Skyport – no impact expected for the next 10 years. Then we learned about “Wilderness” and the US government definition of “Wilderness” and how “Wilderness” differs from “General Forest”. Skyport and all our launches are in the General Forest; if the areas get reclassified as “Wilderness” there will be no motor vehicle access, and no launching or landing. Be careful if you’re asked to sign a petition to “Save the Wilderness” – that will shut down our access! One area at risk is bounded by Jamison Lake on the north, Snowball on the south, and east to the 33. They call this the “White Ledge roadless area” and were in favor of keeping it General Forest. Also, “Wilderness” areas can not be flown over at less than 3000 ft. agl. So if you go over the back at Pine towards Lockwood, make sure you stay at least 3k above the ground.
3. Support the Forest Service. I asked if our groups could help the NSF in any way. Charlie told us about an effort by the Ojai district and the Ojai Conservancy to open up access to the area to the south and east of White Ledge. I haven’t had the opportunity to spend the night out there (yet) so get the details from Tom. At this point he told us about the Open House at the Wheeler Gorge ranger station this Saturday from 11-5. So please stop in and get your adventure pass and all your maps (you all have maps of the Sespe don’t you??)
4. Claude Fiset: I told Charlie about the article in the Ojai newspaper about Claude coming back to Ojai and gave him Claude’s background as I understood it. My message was there is a large and solid local flying community, and Claude was not part of it. Further, the local community is very concerned about Claude’s business and safety practices and want to avoid a repeat of the Malibu closures. I have given Charlie my contact information in the event our local or national organizations need to be involved.
The meeting went very well, and I think Charlie was happy to have a visit from a group that uses the forest on a regular basis, doubly so since we knew about the FMP. On the way out he introduced us to John Bridgewater, the top dog at the Ojai Ranger District since 1999. Before that John was head of the Santa Barbara district and instrumental in getting Skyport donated to the NSF and getting the fence removed. John is clearly a fan of free flight – “you take three steps and then you’re gone. What could be better for the environment?” and made sure we had copies of the FMP and the 1964 “Wilderness Act”
We can give more details at the SCPA meeting.
Tom - please add anything I missed, or correct any mistakes.
Thanks,
Robb
When we sat down with Charlie I outlined the four main points I wanted to discuss:
1. Introduce the SCPA; who we are, what we do, our membership, what parts of the NFS we fly from and over, and myself as the President (it sounds so prestigious…). I also spoke in general terms about the SBSA and our combined membership, and also about USHPA, pilot certification, and our insurance.
2. Forest Management Plan. We discussed the plan and what it means for Pine, Chiefs, and Skyport – no impact expected for the next 10 years. Then we learned about “Wilderness” and the US government definition of “Wilderness” and how “Wilderness” differs from “General Forest”. Skyport and all our launches are in the General Forest; if the areas get reclassified as “Wilderness” there will be no motor vehicle access, and no launching or landing. Be careful if you’re asked to sign a petition to “Save the Wilderness” – that will shut down our access! One area at risk is bounded by Jamison Lake on the north, Snowball on the south, and east to the 33. They call this the “White Ledge roadless area” and were in favor of keeping it General Forest. Also, “Wilderness” areas can not be flown over at less than 3000 ft. agl. So if you go over the back at Pine towards Lockwood, make sure you stay at least 3k above the ground.
3. Support the Forest Service. I asked if our groups could help the NSF in any way. Charlie told us about an effort by the Ojai district and the Ojai Conservancy to open up access to the area to the south and east of White Ledge. I haven’t had the opportunity to spend the night out there (yet) so get the details from Tom. At this point he told us about the Open House at the Wheeler Gorge ranger station this Saturday from 11-5. So please stop in and get your adventure pass and all your maps (you all have maps of the Sespe don’t you??)
4. Claude Fiset: I told Charlie about the article in the Ojai newspaper about Claude coming back to Ojai and gave him Claude’s background as I understood it. My message was there is a large and solid local flying community, and Claude was not part of it. Further, the local community is very concerned about Claude’s business and safety practices and want to avoid a repeat of the Malibu closures. I have given Charlie my contact information in the event our local or national organizations need to be involved.
The meeting went very well, and I think Charlie was happy to have a visit from a group that uses the forest on a regular basis, doubly so since we knew about the FMP. On the way out he introduced us to John Bridgewater, the top dog at the Ojai Ranger District since 1999. Before that John was head of the Santa Barbara district and instrumental in getting Skyport donated to the NSF and getting the fence removed. John is clearly a fan of free flight – “you take three steps and then you’re gone. What could be better for the environment?” and made sure we had copies of the FMP and the 1964 “Wilderness Act”
We can give more details at the SCPA meeting.
Tom - please add anything I missed, or correct any mistakes.
Thanks,
Robb