Volunteer Work Less Taxing?
Adventure Pass for Volunteers
Pacific Crest Trail Update
Wilderness Forever 
Thank You for Your Support
John's Notes
Where Eagles Soar

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4-VICTOR is published by the San Gorgonio Volunteer Association, 34701 Mill Creek Road, Mentone, CA 92359. A non-profit organization in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest. The goals of the partnership are to educate the public to preserve and conserve our natural resources.

4-Victor newsletter edited by Teri Cappuccio and Ann Robinson

Portions of this newsletter may have been edited to present material applicable to the general viewing public.

SPRING 2000
Volume 4 - Issue 1

Services provided by the SGVA are supported by the U.S. Forest Service, your National Forest Adventure Pass, Alpine Meadows Camp and Conference Center, and public donations

Volunteer Work Can Be Less Taxing
John Flippin - Volunteer Coordinator

If you itemize deductions for your federal and state income tax returns, you may deduct transportation expenses for volunteer work. You can deduct 14 cents a mile, or the actual cost of gas and oil, for driving to and from your volunteer work. This deduction is reported on Schedule A (Form 1040).

If you are in the lowest tax bracket (15%) and live close, this deduction could save you a couple dollars for each volunteer trip to the mountains. You'll save even more if you are in a higher tax bracket or live a great distance away like many of our volunteers do.

Of course, Uncle Sam likes records. An easy way to keep him happy is by simply recording your mileages on the volunteer scheduling letters sent to you. Then keep the letters with your other tax papers. Also, don't forget your trips to training sessions, board meetings, the printers, the post office, the supply store, etc.--anything in support of the volunteer program.

Adventure Pass for Volunteer Service

Karen McKinley, Front Country District Recreation Officer and Volunteer Program Manager, recently mailed a free Annual Adventure Pass to many of you. This was a result of Gene Zimmerman, San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor, recently announcing a new volunteer service recognition program.

Gene said, "Volunteers are invaluable to the management of the San Bernardino National Forest. Last year, more than 1,800 volunteers contributed over 72,000 hours of time, which is conservatively worth more than $870,000 in salary value alone if we had to use our own staff to do the work. This is a remarkable achievement, and I’m gratified that it continues to grow each year.

In the spirit of rewarding this exemplary volunteer service, I’m pleased to announce that the four Southern California National Forests are instituting a new recognition policy. Any volunteer who contributes a total of 100 or more hours of documented service may be offered an Annual Adventure Pass as recognition by the Forest Service. The program will begin now and continue for the life of the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program (currently scheduled to end September 30, 2001). We will start immediately on the San Bernardino by recognizing volunteer service performed in calendar year 1999."

Here are some program details:

Participation by individual volunteers and groups is optional

Volunteers may accumulate hours from year to year to reach the 100 hours, e.g., if you served 85 hours in 1999, you will be eligible for an Adventure Pass as soon as you serve 15 hours in 2000

A maximum of one pass may be presented to each volunteer per year, even if they contribute more than 200 hours in a year.

Karen has mailed the passes having a distinctive volunteer stamp to all volunteers who served at least 100 hours in 1999. Other volunteers will receive an Adventure Pass when they reach 100 hours served since the beginning of 1999. Volunteers who do not have an Adventure Pass will, as in previous years, be issued Administrative Passes for use while on duty.

Congratulations for this recognition you deserve so well!!

Pacific Crest Trail Update
Roger Gossett - SGVA President

Hello to all. I hope everyone is healthy and enjoying the SGVA off-season. I have managed to volunteer my services for a few new projects, but these are the around-the-house type projects and the Crew Chief is my wife, Patti. That's OK though, because I can't think of any previous bosses I would want to spend this much time with. And these projects around the house are "around to its" that I've been putting off for a few years. I did want to update you on a Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) project coming up here in the near future. You do not have to sign up for an entire week or weekend. You can help out for just a day if you like.

The Forest Service and the Pacific Crest Trail Association have put together a plan for the rehabilitation of the PCT in the area around Arrowhead, which was damaged by the Willow Fire. It will run from Friday. April 7 thru Sunday, April 16. Most of the work will probably be centered in the Deep Creek area about 2 miles below Devil's Hole. It will include erosion and slide repair, rock and tread work, and some deadfall removal. Base camp will be at the Splinter's Cabin site.

Your San Gorgonio Volunteer Association (SGVA) has just established the SGVA Wilderness Forever Fund, an endowment savings fund for perpetual maintenance and protection of the San Gorgonio Wilderness and surrounding forest. The principal amounts of donations made to the endowment fund will be held in the fund while only earnings (interest or dividends) on those principal amounts will be used to protect and maintain the wilderness and surrounding forest.

Federal funding for the care and protection of wilderness areas continues to decrease relative to the increasing use of these areas. We know the need for clean and protected wilderness areas will continue to increase as population levels rise. It is up to us now, as individual citizens, to start making plans and investments to ensure that our wilderness areas will remain clean and healthy for the enjoyment of generations to come. President John F. Kennedy expressed this responsibility best when he said, "It is our task in our time to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours."

Large and small gifts of cash, investment stocks, or property (all tax deductible) are important in helping us build this legacy for the future. A gift of cash or a pledge over a period of time is a simple way for a donor to become involved in the Wilderness Forever Fund during one’s lifetime. Donations may also be made through bequests in wills (contact SGVA for suggested wording in wills), through life insurance policies, through memorial donations in the name of family, friends, and loved ones, and through celebration gifts for Christmas, birthdays, retirements, promotions, and other special occasions.

We are excited to begin this perpetual care of the wilderness and we thank Michael and Heather Gordon for making the initial investment in the SGVA Wilderness Forever Fund. We invite you to take part in the future of the wilderness you love and enjoy. Please call John Flippin at 909-790-2157 if you have any questions.

Many who know the great value of our forest and wilderness areas may not have the time, but have the monetary resources to help the SGVA continue to "Serve, Protect, and Educate." Recent contributing members to whom forest visitors and we owe many thanks are:

Regular Contributing Members ($20 or more annually)

• David Hood

• Henry Hall

Trail Partners ($50 or more annually)

• Steve and Barbara Ohse

The excitement is beginning to build over the start of another summer season in and around the San Gorgonio Wilderness. There are more calls from veteran volunteers and more applications from people wanting to join the renowned San Gorgonio Volunteer Association--all anxious to serve in the forest. I must admit I eagerly look forward to seeing all of you and spending some summer nights in the mountains.

We have a great summer ahead of us as our rain and snowfall levels are finally coming up close to normal. In addition to our volunteer training day on May 13, the Forest Service is providing several interesting training opportunities this year. We’ll have map and compass training and additional safety training. Also, there will be training in GIS (geographic information systems), saw operation, and trail maintenance.

Some of our extra safety training is encouraged by President Clinton who wants federal managers to reduce workplace injuries by 15 percent over the next five years. Currently, workplace injuries cost the government $1.9 billion a year. In a recent memorandum to agency heads, President Clinton called on managers to make worker safety "a central value in each operation." Clinton went on to say, "Even more disturbing is the pain and suffering of employees and their families that is caused by these injuries and the fact that many of such injuries are preventable."

We’ve always held the importance of your safety above all else. This year you will see more mandatory training and more reminders to keep all of you safer in the performance of your duties.

Michael Gordon, our SGVA website manager, has made a generous donation to the SGVA through the Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Foundation. Michael works for the Fluid Products Group of ITW. The ITW Foundation matches employees’ contributions to certain not-for-profit organizations on a 3 for 1 basis. We thank Michael and the ITW Foundation for their generosity in helping us to serve, protect, and educate.

This is especially for the volunteers who were able to help start the inventory and condition surveys of real property (including building, campgrounds, and trails) on the San Bernardino National Forest. Along with her great appreciation for your hard work, Karen McKinley, our Forest Service liaison and Front Country District Recreation Officer, passes along the following comments from Mike Dombeck, Chief of the Forest Service.

Mike Dombeck said, "Seldom, in the history of the Forest Service, have so many of you been involved in an effort as we have been this year in the collection, verification, and reporting of deferred maintenance and real property information. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your extra effort, dedication, and sacrifices. We have several more years of inventories and condition inspections to tackle before we can shift to maintaining our data. Your efforts have yielded vital information about the condition of our National Forests. Direct cost estimates now total $8.7 billion for deferred maintenance alone. This information will allow us to make informed resource decisions at all Agency levels, as well as allowing us to articulate Forest Service needs. My thanks to all of you for making this truly national effort possible and successful."

SGVA Officer Changes

We are very happy to have continuing for the year 2000 Roger Gossett as President, Sandy Messner as Secretary, and Cindy McGregor as Treasurer. Linda Roddick has resigned her position as Vice President to attend college courses. Linda has been very helpful and we are happy that we will see her bright, smiling face while continuing to volunteer on the mountain. We are also happy that Jarome Wilson, excellent on wilderness patrol, has agreed to be our new Vice President. So your SGVA is, as always, in good hands.

The Forest Service fiscal 2000 budget will invest an additional $11.8 million to help restore 12 large watersheds nationwide. The additional funding supplements about $6.7 million from local Forest Service funds, and up to an additional $18 million from partner organizations for a total of about $36 million in fiscal 2000.

Collaborative partners include conservation, wildlife, and forest management groups, American Indian tribes, state and local governments, and community organizations. These projects engage hydrologists, foresters, fire ecologists, soil scientists, and wildlife biologists. Two of the twelve watersheds involved are in California. One is the Warner Mountain/Hackamore project in northeastern California on the Modoc National Forest. This project will benefit the headwaters of the Pit River, which provides 20 percent of the total runoff into the Sacramento River. The second California project restores watershed health along the Pacific coast on the South Fork Coquille River, the Sandy River Delta, and the Siuslaw River.

Several of our volunteers are Southern California Edison employees--much to the benefit of the SGVA. Southern California Edison has made another donation to the SGVA, this time on behalf of volunteer Pete King who, with his wife Vicki, has been serving the public with us for four years. We greatly appreciate the generosity of Southern California Edison and the services of Pete and Vicki, which make such donations possible.

The Chief of the Forest Service, Mike Dombeck, recently emphasized the commitment of the Forest Service to protecting the very few remaining roadless areas in the U.S. In a December 29, 1999, letter, Mike Dombeck said, "The Forest Service has embarked on a national initiative to determine how the American people want these lands managed. Although roadless areas represent less than one percent of the American landmass, they serve as a reservoir of rare and vanishing values. They provide clean drinking water, habitat for wildlife, abundant hunting and fishing, recreation opportunities, and reference areas for research. In the face of growing sprawl and urbanization, the values of national forest roadless lands are immeasurable.

"The Forest Service is committed to providing access for the full array of commodity and recreation uses of national forests such as timber harvest, mining, off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, hiking, horse trail, mountain biking, and other forms of recreation that allow an increasingly urbanized society to enjoy the great outdoors. Yet, multiple use does not mean we should do everything on every acre, simply because we can.

"In the 21^st century, our greatest challenges are less technical or scientific than they are ethical and social. More and more, we recognize the inextricable link between the quality of our lives and the health of the lands and waters that surround us. As our lands are fragmented at alarming rates, do we have the collective wisdom and humility to pause in the face of pressure to develop the last roadless areas? It is time to answer this question."

On our own San Bernardino National Forest, the President’s Roadless Area Initiative is in the top three of eleven immediate priorities being worked on by our Forest Service professionals.

Sandy Vandenberg, Mill Creek Ranger Station Office Manager for the past eight years, decided to accept a position with The Rock Christian Center in Loma Linda. Higher pay and no requirement to work on the weekends will make life better for her and her son James. Sandy’s last day at Mill Creek was January 29^th.

Sandy contributed so much to the Forest Service, the public, and the SGVA that it is difficult to describe. She made our Back Country Store a success and trained hundreds of volunteers in forest rules and regulations, interpretive techniques, and visitor center operations. She was the primary force behind making all those Fishing Festivals a tremendously wonderful experience for hundreds of children. Sandy also made my job interfacing with the Forest Service much easier and immensely more pleasurable.

Everyone in the Forest Service, including us volunteers, will miss the constant presence of her expertise and beautiful smiling face very much. Luckily for us, Sandy has already signed up to be a volunteer again (she volunteered for a few years before being hired by the Forest Service). We send her off with our everlasting gratitude and love and look forward to getting her back again as an occasional volunteer.

Where Eagles Soar
BobOpperman - Volunteer Wilderness  Ranger 

Nine-Peakers Rejoice!! No longer will your efforts be uncertain or unnoticed! Thanks to the fine work of SGVA Volunteer/Eagle Scout Candidate Tim Lilyquist, you can be sure which San Gorgonio Wilderness summits you have reached and your efforts can be recorded for others to marvel at. Yes, thanks to Tim and his crew, there are sign-in boxes securely fastened on six more peaks--Jepson, Little Charlton, Alta Diablo, Shields, Anderson, and East San Bernardino.

The project took place over three weekends in October and November 1999. The first weekend was a scouting trip to verify which of the peaks needed a new sign-in box. Originally, Tim was going to place boxes on East San Bernardino, Anderson, Little Charlton, and Jepson Peaks. But this first trip found that the box on Shields Peak was also gone and the box on Alta Diablo was unsecured. Therefore, these two peaks were added to the agenda.

The weekend of November 13-14 found Tim and his crew of 11 Scouts from Troop 883 of La Habra hiking up the Forsee Creek Trail to the campsite at Trail Fork Springs. Their loads included four metal ammo boxes (5.3 pounds each), about 18" (1 pound) of stainless-steel chain welded to each box, four star drills, two pair of goggles, and two 8-pound sledge hammers. Since no power tools are allowed in the Wilderness, drilling anchor holes in the granite is a manual process. A star drill is a drill-bit that is hand-held against the rock and hit with the sledge hammer. The spring at Trail Fork Springs was just a trickle. Fortunately, the puddles were just large enough to allow filtering, though it would be a lengthy process. Also, the runoff on the trail was frozen solid, giving us an indication of how cold we could expect the nights to be.

Saturday afternoon Tim led one crew (including his mother, SGVA volunteer Kim Lilyquist) up East San Bernardino Peak and sent another crew, including myself, up to Alta Diablo Peak. After a cold, clear, windy night at Trail Fork Springs Camp, we also completed installing boxes on Shields and Anderson Peaks. The process is a simple, yet laborious one. After 30 minutes or more of drilling a hole in the granite, we placed a lead bolt anchor in the hole. These anchors expand when a bolt going through a link in the chain is threaded into the anchor. We also place in each box a laminated description of the peak, including elevation. We finally finished this second weekend on a beautiful sunny warm day in the San Gorgonio Wilderness and got back to the trailhead at 4:15 p.m.

The following weekend, November 20-21, Tim took a crew of four up into the Wilderness to complete the project. We had a leisurely hike up to Dollar Lake on Saturday, where we rested for the day. We woke up Sunday to an extremely cold (20 degrees), windy day. We took turns hammering the star-drill and trying to hide from 30-40 mph gusts on top of Jepson. The cold wind proved to be an excellent motivator, as the hole was drilled and the box secured within a record 45 minutes! (Each previous peak had taken at least an hour!) But what a view! You could reach out and touch Catalina! We also had a great view of all the other peaks on which we had secured boxes, and felt pride in having done so. We still had one peak to go, Little Charlton. To our surprise, there was already a box on it, but it was smaller than the one we had brought and it was unsecured so we replaced it. After nearly two months of planning and organizing, the physical part of Tim's project was complete. Now successful summiters will know for sure which peak they are on and just how high they are!

We are hoping these boxes will remain for years to come. I used to take these boxes for granted but no more! The amount of work involved in this project was amazing, and I am extremely proud of Tim. His efforts will not go unnoticed by those of us who enjoy recreating in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. Thanks Tim!

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