Raven Jake Dawes

Sailing With Captain Tim

Shout out to our friend Tim Ream for taking us sailing about a month ago. Tim's recently arrived from Oregon and has been taking sailing lessons. Now I don't think I've ever heard someone describe sailing as being a real bargain, but when you think about it, the expense is in buying and maintaining a boat - not in buying fossil fuel, and there's no damage to the environment. You're just zipping along using wind power. Anyway, Jane and I jumped at the change to go for a ride with Captain Tim and lovely First Mate Kylee for a very enjoyable Saturday cruise around Santa Monica Bay. Wildlife sightings included sea lions and Pelecanus occidentalis californicus, the endangered California Brown Pelican. Saw a whole flock of them off the Santa Monica Pier and then again hanging around on the breakwater. Tim has an unusual capacity for gull discernment, and I highly recommend him for all bird identification projects, should the need arise. Tim's off on a three-day cruise to Catalina, getting more accreditations, so we wish him a lucky albatross on his journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Train service to Kelso restored

Old time Raven Jake readers might recall that about 2 1/2 years ago we made a 3-day trip through the Mojave. Well, that's all well and good, but when this came across the digital desk, Jane just about fell outta her chair and now she's fixin' to cover it for her magazine, The Insider.

This is, for the first time in about 10 years a train is goin' from L.A. to Barstow to Kelso, a beautiful trip and the best part is, with all this new investment in infrastructure, this won't cost much a'tall: tracks already there. Train already exists. Just gotta open that line, and if everything goes well, David Lamfrom, California Desert Program Manager National Parks Conservation Association, thinks daily service might become an option again. And Barstow's Chamber of Commerce is right behind it.

Kelso's a great little spot and if you can meet that train - or better yet, get on it - bet you'll be in for a treat. Here's the fine print:

After more than a decade, Group's Hope Ride is first step in reconnecting visitors to the history and beauty of the Mojave.

BARSTOW, CA—The history of the California Desert and the western United States is deeply connected to the railroad, but with the advent of the automobile, it is also something few experience in these modern times. A key desert passenger rail route, Amtrak’s Desert Wind, connecting Barstow’s historic Harvey House and Mojave National Preserve’s Kelso Depot last ran in 1997.

That will change next month, when service resumes on Sunday, October 17, 2010. “Bringing the Barstow-to-Kelso railroad back to life can help strengthen Barstow’s economy while connecting visitors to the history and beauty of the Mojave,” said Jeri Justus, executive director of the Barstow Chamber of Commerce.

Renowned for its scenic views, this route across the desert passes through Afton Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Mojave, and an immense sand dune system known as the Devil’s Playground. Bringing passenger rail service back to the Mojave is the result of a multiple year effort by the Barstow-to-Kelso Railroad Committee, a local organization headed by two former mayors; area business leaders; the National Parks Conservation Association, the Barstow Chamber of Commerce, and the Mojave National Preserve.

“The opportunity to experience the Mojave National Preserve via passenger rail honors the history of the desert and the spirit of the communities that are so uniquely linked to this beautiful land,” said David Lamfrom, California Desert program manager with the National Parks Conservation Association.

A weekend of events celebrating the return to service of this historic route can be accessed via existing lines in the Los Angeles metro area and the inland empire on Saturday, October 16, 2010. Passengers can depart from Los Angeles’ Union Station that morning with stops in Fullerton and San Bernardino prior to arriving in Barstow for the annual Rail Fest celebration. The following day, Sunday, October 17, 2010, the train will depart from Barstow’s Harvey House for the scenic two-hour ride to the Kelso Depot.

Local guides will highlight the history and geology along the route and passengers can enjoy the Mojave National Preserve on foot prior to reboarding the train for service to Barstow and continuing return service to Union Station in Los Angeles. This ride, is open to the public and tickets can be purchased for the full ride or for stops along the way. Snacks, beverages, and meals are included.

To purchase tickets or for more information contact the Barstow Chamber of Commerce at 760.256.8617, visit http://www.ridemytrain.com/view_entry.php?id=96 . Additional Information can also be found at: Mojave National Preserve Kelso Depot Visitor Center Barstow Road Barstow, CA 760.252.6100 http://www.nps.gov/moja/

There you have it, and check back in - we otta have some pictures up by the end of the weekend.

Buffalo Field Campaign

This event was posted on NDN.me and I had to share.

Saturday, October 9 | 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Venue/Location

1770 Glendale Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

 

Details

Get together with Buffalo Field Campaign for an evening of story telling, video footage, and music inspired by America's last wild buffalo and those who work in their defense!

What are the BFC Road Shows?

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization focused on protecting America's last wild buffalo population. BFC lives and works in the lands where wild buffalo still roam, in southwestern Montana, and has become the leading source of news and information about them. BFC volunteers embark on daily field patrols, monitoring wild bison migration and document all actions made against them in an effort to raise awareness and gain permanent protection for this sacred, iconic species. BFC's Road Show is one way we can bring the buffalo's story to you and build a strong advocacy for their defense. Read more here

View Full Schedule here

October 9, Saturday
7pm, LA, CA
2HeadedHorse Gallery
1770 Glendale Blvd

Los Angeles, CA

Jonny jvasic@msn.com

It's the only L.A. event (and I believe the last of this roadtrip) so I'll be there! You gotta love buffalo! Here's some more from their website underlying the urgency of this campaign:

Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization focused on protecting America's last wild buffalo population. BFC lives and works in the lands where wild buffalo still roam, in southwestern Montana, and has become the leading source of news and information about them. BFC volunteers embark on daily field patrols, monitoring wild bison migration and document all actions made against them in an effort to raise awareness and gain permanent protection for this sacred, iconic species. BFC's Road Show is one way we can bring the buffalo's story to you and build a strong advocacy for their defense.

The Yellowstone buffalo population is the last one to remain free of cattle-genes, to still follow their migratory instincts, and the only buffalo to have continuously lived on their historic habitat since prehistoric times. Once roaming free in the tens of millions across North America, today, fewer than 4,000 wild buffalo are left in existence; these few are confined to Yellowstone and are under constant attack by livestock interests.

Montana's voracious cattle industry, overseen by the Montana Department of Livestock, holds a "zero tolerance" policy against buffalo, harming, harassing and killing them for following their natural, migratory instincts that bring them to habitat in the state. Since 1985 nearly 7,000 wild buffalo have been senselessly killed. Montana and the federal government agencies supporting them claim that these actions are taken to prevent the spread of a livestock disease, brucellosis, from wild bison to cattle. In the centuries of cattle invading North America, wild bison have never transmitted this disease to the livestock they got it from. Other wildlife - such as elk, deer, and even domestic dogs - also carry brucellosis. Only wild buffalo are targeted, which demonstrates a deeper issue other than disease: grass. The cattle industry fears the return of wild buffalo because they want to hoard grassland habitat for their cattle.

With our country's shameful history of mass buffalo slaughter it is a bitter irony that 130 years later history repeats itself. Adding insult to injury, Montana's livestock industry has a unlikely partner in these crimes against buffalo: Yellowstone National Park. Amazingly, the agency that is in charge of protecting this sacred species, and that uses the buffalo as their very symbol fully participates in their harassment and slaughter. During the winter of 2008, Yellowstone National Park helped livestock interests kill over 1,600 wild American buffalo, becoming responsible for the largest buffalo slaughter since the 19th century.

In addition to our daily field patrols, and using our decades of experience, BFC is working to gain wild buffalo permanent protection under the Endangered Species Act; we are working with Congress for legislative support, working with First Nations that help honor the sacred nature of the buffalo, and we have joined with other bison advocates to take legal action against the governments that harm them. These buffalo are an American treasure, belonging to themselves and the land they have roamed since prehistoric times. America's last wild buffalo need all of our help to ensure their survival.

BFC co-founder Mike Mease, along with BFC volunteer and coordinator Noah will be traveling out West visiting communities, events and Farmers Markets sharing stories, music, poetry, video and discussion about the last wild buffalo. We are honored to have family members and friends GoodShield of 7th Generation Rise, and Phoenix AfterBuffalo back again this year joining us for the entire West Coast Road Show in 2010!

The Arroyo Chub (Gila orcutti)

Arroyo chub

Ever notice how people get all excited about endangered panda bears and such not, but could seem to care less about a critter that's going extinct in their backyards? Let’s change that…

 

The fish species is named for Charles Russell Orcutt (1864-1929), a San Diego-based pioneer naturalist who first began collecting the fish in 1889. UCs’ Mosquito Research Program is putting some effort into studying this fish as a natural mosquito abatement technique – totally non toxic – and said “The California Department of Fish and Game declared the arroyo chub "a species of special concern" in 1995. The fish is absent or rare in much of its native range, which includes the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, San Luis Rey, Santa Ana and Santa Margarita rivers and to Malibu and San Juan creeks. Urbanization threatens its habitat, as does introduced minnow species, including the red shiner.”

 

The chub has even been found fossilized at the La Brea Tar Pits, so we can’t just have upstarts like the red shiner displacing it. There has been a program to re-introduce the arroyo chub to the Arroyo Seco, where it went extinct a while back. In 2009, the Arroyo Seco Foundation added 300 of the little fish to the stream south of Devil’s Gate Dam and north of the Colorado Street Bridge. Apparently they’re doing well, although I have yet to see one.

Original Habitat of the Arroyo Chub

The Desert Fishes Council is keeping pretty exhaustive lists for research purposes http://www.desertfishes.org/na/index.shtml