Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Friends of the Eldorado Work Party

Good going F.O.E.! Considering this group is only two years in the making they are doing a great job working along side with the Forest Service. Here's a press release regarding their recent National Public Lands Day work party.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rick Ferdon
Tel. 925-551-7000
E-mail: Rick@Friendsofeldorado.com

September 28th, 2009


The Friends of Eldorado National Forest holds its Second Annual National Public Lands Day Work Party

On Saturday September 26th, the Friends of Eldorado National Forest worked alongside the National Forest Service cutting brush along the sides of forest road 9N22Y in the Eldorado National Forest . This road was possibly slated for closure during the route designation project two years ago. Due to work with Duane Nelson, the Placerville district Ranger and the Forest Supervisor back in November 2007, the road was shown to have value to the public. The end of the road has a foot trail down to a spectacular overlook of the Cosumnes River .

Over the years the brush has overgrown the road in many places and prohibited vehicle travel. Thirty two members of the Friends of Eldorado National Forest came from as far as the Bay Area and worked with Mike Villalobos of the Forest Service. Guided by the direction of Ron Hancock and Duane Nelson, they cut, trimmed and removed the brush from the road. Logs and rocks were also removed from the road surface as well as blocking an illegal trail to protect the hillside from further erosion. By the end of the day the 1.9 mile long road was once again open to all vehicles, something that hasn’t been possible for years.

Cathy Bounds of the Forest Service also allowed Friends of Eldorado National Forest access to the Capps Crossing campground which is closed after Labor Day weekend. The close proximity of the campground made it an ideal staging point as well as a place where the organization could hold a BBQ to feed their workers. They also celebrated with a birthday cake as the group turned 2 years old a few days earlier.


The Friends of Eldorado National Forest rely solely on volunteers for these projects. If you would like to help to keep a route open or other clean up project in the Eldorado National Forest , please e-mail Rick at: rick@friendsofeldorado.com



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If you would like more information on this topic, Please call 925-551-7000 or e-mail Rick at Rick@friendsofeldorado.com

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