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In This Issue:1. What's New?2. Annual Gathering 3. Do You Remember? 4. Progress and Plans 5. Taking Care of Business 1. What's New?Lorant Veress is the new 'acting' Cedar Grove Subdistrict Ranger (until the position is officially filled) since Scott Wanek moved on to Redwoods National Park this winter. Our old friend Ron Cook retired, and (unfortunately) passed away. His position is now held by David Karplus - a former backcountry ranger with lots of hours logged in Kings Canyon.New "Friends" are being added to our directory frequently these days, so make sure and ask for your copy of the directory if you want one. SWAMP is also NEW! It is an acronym that stands for "Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program". We are now part of this program, and starting Opening Weekend, April 26, 2002, we will begin helping the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) by providing them volunteers for gathering water samples in the South Fork Kings River, Ten Mile Creek, and Hume Lake. Pam Buford of the RWQCB attended our FREE workshop last July and is now the lead person on this effort. Sampling events are planned for April 26, June 14, July 19, and September 6 (just before this year's "Celebrate Sequoias Festival"). If you are interested in learning more about how you can help, just drop us an e-mail and we will get back to you. The training is free! And the exercise and experience is guaranteed to be rewarding! The Regional Board is providing sample analysis and monitoring equipment and we have been loaned a brand new pH, conductivity, and temperature meter by Amy Wagner at the U.S. E.P.A. Your taxes at work for you! 2. Annual GatheringWe are looking forward to our annual gathering in July and seeing so many of you all again in lower Sheep Creek Campground (hopefully Site 100), or wherever you camp. We have lots of new photos, pamphlets, and ideas to share. Make sure to bring yours too, OK?Here's a "HEADS UP" for those of us who have depended on the dump station - it has been CLOSED DOWN. Seems there was a problem with exceeding the watershed basin's water quality standards or something, and this is the answer - for now anyhow... The algal mats were back this spring, but not just adjacent to the wastewater treatment plant! On May 11, 2002, some of us started at Roads End and stopped several times observing where the algae begin to appear. We have it narrowed down to between the confluences of Roaring River and Hotel Creek with the South Fork Kings River (didn't there used to be an old garbage dumpsite located somewhere in that area?), and extending down past Grizzly Creek and the old USGS stream gage. Beyond that we lost track due to all of the whitewater - more to come on this one. We have some new friends in the Maintenance unit of the NPS at Cedar Grove, and they were suggesting that this "nutrient cycle" in the S.F. Kings River might make someone a good PhD dissertation topic. |
Anyone know of someone who could use an interesting topic to study in one of Mother Natures' most scenic natural laboratories? Ah, to be twenty years younger and know then what we know now, huh?
Oh yeah, we now have new bear boxes. Most people seem to like the new design better than the old...let us know what you think... 3. Do You Remember?...when the bridge spanning the Kings River at Zumwalt Meadow was a suspension bridge?
(click on images for larger versions)It indeed was a suspension bridge prior to the 1990's. The bridge, in the late 1940's, was a very narrow bridge and could really sway from side to side as you walked on it...not only did it sway, but not much to hold on to as you walked. High water would come and the bridge would end up down-stream. Each new bridge meant an improvement in construction of another bridge. Now there is a nice fixed bridge that we hope can withstand any flood.(Historian: Emilia Wandro) 4. Progress and PlansThis year we plan to keep "getting the word out" that we are alive, healthy, and getting stronger every year! We are building our base of interested folks who live and work in the local (Fresno - Tulare - Visalia) area.Last year we made a lot of progress! Our website (http://sfkingsriver.org - you're looking at it!) has had a major redesign and we should be even more proud of it than we have been! Thanks to John Schinnerer for his skills and interest in sharing them with us. We are officially "nonprofit" with both the IRS and the CA FTB, so your donations are all tax deductible! We have also been successful in getting the concerns we have for the river's health recognized and on the State Water Resources Control Board's list of priority issues to resolve. We still have more questions than answers, but we can now start to help them find the funding to work on answers to the many questions we have raised. 5. Taking Care of BusinessTreasurer's Report:Account Balance = $343. Thanks for all of your donations! Expenses: None due. Purchases last year: New banner for 'Friends of South Fork Kings'. If you'd like to become a member, please print out and fill in our membership form and mail it to us with your contribution. Thanks for your support !!Your Board of Directors:Marlene Ballard |
