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Local land stewards feted in D.C. |
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
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By Ken Koerner
Register Staff 4-26-2008
Rebutting the axiom that “no good deed goes unpunished,” a contingent of Eastern Sierra residents just returned from the nation’s capital with a coveted award for all the good that they have done.
The efforts of the Alabama Hills Community Stewardship Group (AHCSG) to preserve and enhance that picturesque Owens Valley landscape were honored during a special ceremony on April 21 in Washington, D.C.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) award presentation, hosted by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne – and appropriately held during Earth Day week, shone a well-deserved spotlight on the AHCSG for its work in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Bishop Field Office.
“The Alabama Hills Stewardship Group, in association with the Bureau of Land Management and its local Resource Advisory Council, has forged a strong community-based partnership to address the area’s multiple priorities of landscape integrity, tourism economy and recreation opportunities,” the award says. “The Alabama Hills Stewardship Group is granted the Cooperative Conservation Award of the Department of the Interior for its exemplary and creative collaborative work towards achieving ecological and economic goals of the Alabama Hills Special Recreation Area and the Lone Pine community of California.”
The AHCSG were among only 21 such groups nationwide to receive the DOI’s unique award. As is the case with most every successful endeavor, the path leading to this accomplishment began with a simple first-step.
“This really all got started because the Alabama Hills are the recreational backyard of Lone Pine,” Bill Dunkelberger manager of the BLM field office in Bishop said, “and Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce President Kathleen New, Inyo Supervisor Richard Cervantes and some other interested parties met with us and spoke about how all the interested parties could collaborate to accomplish their goals for the Alabama Hills.”
Since the AHCSG was formed, a number of the group’s initial goals have already been met, leading to its recent recognition. An entry station that was overgrown and virtually unnoticeable has been renovated and now provides a clear welcome for visitors to the area. An Alabama Hills Arch Trail has been developed. A volunteer “Community Spirit Day” helped with rehabilitation and clean-up. The routes shown on the Alabama Hills Movie Tour Guide map are now easily followed, thanks to improved signage leading to the recognizable locales featured in many Hollywood films and TV shows.
Another sizable achievement, accomplished thanks to the collaborative partnership between the AHCSG and the BLM, was the appointment of Dave Kirk to the position of Alabama Hills Steward. Kirk’s onsite presence provides friendly and knowledgeable assistance to the steady stream of visitors to the area.
Eastern Sierra attendees at the award ceremony included BLM-Resource Advisory Committee member Mary Gordon, Inyo County Film Commissioner Chris Langley, Dave Kirk and the much-traveled-of-late, Kathleen New. Also attending were Dunkelberger and BLM Recreation Planner Jim Jennings.
Other AHCSG members, not in attendance at the ceremony, but also sharing in the award, include Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, Robert Frickel, Linda Hubbs, Woody Hunter, Charles James, Dana Jeffries, Gene Mathern, Kevin and Lis Mazzu, Paul McFarland, Russ Monroe, Wilford and Sanford Nabahe, Mike and Nancy Prather, Donald Reeves, Beverly and Jim Rogers, Tim Standing, Michael Strassman (posthumous), Doug Thompson and Jon Turner. In addition, BLM staffers Diana Pietrasanta and Joe Pollini were also recognized for their contributions leading to the award.
Businesses, agencies and organizations recognized by the AHCSG for their past and on-going support include Inyo County, the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce, the Inyo County Film Commission, the McDonald’s restaurant in Lone Pine, the Whitney Portal Store, the Healthy Communities of Southern Inyo County, the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History, the Lone Pine Band of the Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Indian Tribe and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Anxious to share the award with all those unable to make the trip to Washington, D.C. and to recognize their role in winning the accolade, a special get-together has been planned, explained Chris Langley upon his return.
“This award wouldn’t have been possible without the wonderful efforts of all of our volunteers,” Langley said, “and we’ll be having a pot-luck dinner for those supporters and the community as a whole, at the Lone Pine Film History Museum on June 10.”
Not content to rest on its laurels, the AHCSG plans to continue actively fulfilling its conservation mission. The AHCSG’s BLM partner looks forward to the on-going and mutually-beneficial collaboration.
“As an agency, we learned long ago that local people care greatly about their natural resources," Dunkelberger said, "and that local people tend to have excellent ideas on how it should be managed.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 June 2008 )
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