Organizers of the largest cleanup and fix up of America’s public lands expect to see a historic turnout of volunteers when National Public Lands Day begins Sept. 26.

Nearly 2,000 service projects have been registered at sites across the country, from Washington, D.C.’s Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Hawaii’s Pu’ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site.

“We attribute this new surge in volunteers to the United We Serve initiative,” said Robb Hampton, program director of National Public Lands Day, in a press release. “Judging from the number of people who have already signed up for our event, I think enthusiasm for volunteering will carry on well beyond the summer.”

National Public Lands Day carries on the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a program established to revive communities and create opportunities for employment following the Great Depression.

On National Public Lands Day, the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation will host a day of volunteering and a sneak preview of the Ken Burns film, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, which will premiere the following night on PBS television stations.

Free entrance will be granted to all 391 national parks on Sept. 26.

Nationwide, National Public Lands Day will offer a wide range of projects and activities, including litter removal, planting trees, testing water quality, restoring campgrounds and educating the general public about the history of well-known national and community public lands.

For more information about National Public Lands Day and to locate a site, please visit www.publiclandsday.org.

The Lake Tahoe Marathon is more than running 26.2 miles. The multi-day event includes a 5K through historic Lake Tahoe estates of yesteryear and an all-downhill 10K that kicks off at Emerald Bay’s Inspiration Point – both scheduled for marathon race day, Sept. 27.

For those not ready to swim, bike and run back-to-back, they can take part in the marathon’s Three-Day Triathlon, which plays out over the course of three consecutive days (Sept. 25-27).

Water and biking enthusiasts are also covered with kayak races, and 20, 35 and 72-mile rides (Sept. 25-26), and everyone can see Lake Tahoe aboard the region’s best vantage point – on board a Mississippi paddle-wheeler at the Sunset Pasta Cruise to Emerald Bay the evening of Sept. 26.

Runners and walkers have a host of events to choose from during the Lake Tahoe Marathon Race Week (Sept. 23-27), including the Marathon, coined “a Sunday morning run you’ll never forget,” that winds down the West Shore from Tahoe City to South Lake Tahoe for a post-run bash; Tahoe Triple (three marathons in three consecutive days); Marathon Relays; Half Marathon; Three-Day Triathlon; 20-Mile Run, Jog and Walk; Biking events; Kayaking events; free Kids Fun Run and Speed Golf.

For more information or to register (fees vary for events), call (530) 544-7095 or visit  www.laketahoemarathon.com.

Ultra runners can test their physical and mental endurance at the Lake Tahoe Marathon during the 9th annual Tahoe Triple and the 4th annual Super Triple.

The events are Sept. 25-27.

The Tahoe Triple has racers running three marathons in three consecutive days in two states, and circumnavigates the shoreline of Lake Tahoe. The Super Triple kicks it up with two marathons in two consecutive days (Friday and Saturday), but rather than resting Saturday night, participants hit the ground running at 10pm to run another 72 miles, which includes the Sunday marathon event.

Three years ago South African Johan Oosthuizen broke a Guinness World Record of “Fastest Aggregate Time – Three Marathons in Three Days” at the Tahoe Triple.

Oosthuizen’s official time was 8:11:08. Chuck Engle of Dublin, Ohio, took home top honors last year with a three-day combined time of 9:14:27, and Suzanne Wetzel of San Luis Obispo won in the women’s division with a time of 11:09:35.

A cash purse prize of $500 is awarded to the first overall man and woman winners.

Runners and walkers have a host of events to choose from during the Lake Tahoe Marathon Race Week (Sept. 23-27).

For more information or to register, call (530) 544.7095 or visit www.laketahoemarathon.com.

By Tahoe National Forest staff

Across the Tahoe National Forest, spotty rain occurred last weekend/early Monday with a slight short-term decrease in fire danger. This weekend, however, hotter temperatures, lower humidity and gusty northeast winds are predicted. This will bring us back into very high fire danger. North/northeast winds are frequently associated with severe fire conditions and serious wildfires and often extend through the month of October. We are not out of fire season and need everyone to be especially careful with fire.

Deer hunting season begins Sept. 26. All hunters and others who are camping/recreating in the forest need to remember that fire restrictions are still in effect which means that campfires can only be in designated campgrounds. Small, portable propane/liquid fuel stoves can be used in the back-country with a campfire permit. For those camped in campgrounds – please be sure to completely put out your campfire – even before you go to bed at night. Embers from a campfire can escape and start a wildfire while you sleep. Please be fire safe.

Kahle Community Center in Stateline would like to start a girls’ basketball league this fall-winter season for third through eighth grade if there is enough interest. The deadlines for the Kahle Community Center girls basketball league have been extended. The deadline for girls grades 3-6 is Sept. 23 and for girls grades 7-8 it is Oct.23.

The Forest Service is looking at the possibility of turning the Grouse Ridge Fire Lookout Tower into a rental facility. A preliminary planning meeting will be Sept. 23 at 5:30pm at the Tahoe National Forest Headquarters in Nevada City.

“The lookout is no longer being used to spot wildfires but it is a favorite amongst recreationists and has tremendous potential as a rental facility. This is the oldest lookout on the forest,” stated Jean Masquelier, Yuba River district ranger, in a press release.

The lookout out has suffered quite a bit of damage over the years, however, the structure is still intact.

“We will need to do fairly extensive repairs to make it habitable again and this is where we need the public’s help. We have absolutely no funding for this project, but hope that with some grants and lots of volunteer help, we can recreate a lookout opportunity for the public,” stated Masquelier.

The first meeting will include an overview of the site, the historic renovation needs and information about the lookout rental process. One of the goals of the renovation is to maintain the historic nature of the facility while still providing some amenities.

“We will be looking for ideas, volunteers, and potential partners at this first meeting and would welcome anyone or representative from any group that might want to be involved,” stated Masquelier.

This will be the third lookout on the TNF to undergo restoration. The first two on the Sierraville Ranger District include Calpine Lookout which has been available for rent for five years and Sardine Lookout which is expected to be available in 2010. The facilities are rented through the National Reservation System for about $45 per night.

What: Initial Planning Meeting for the Restoration of the Grouse Ridge Lookout

When: Sept. 23 — 5:30 pm

Where: Tahoe National Forest Headquarters — 631 Coyote St., Nevada City

Use the employee parking area in the upper parking lot to enter the conference room.

For more information on the Grouse Restoration project, contact Jean Masquelier (530) 288.3231 or (530) 478.6853.

A draft environmental impact statement for the reforestation of approximately 4,320 acres of Eldorado National Forest lands burned in 2004 in the Fred’s Fire near Kyburz is available for public review and comment.

The U.S. Forest Service will accept comments until Oct. 26. The DEIS and related information is available at www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado.

The Fred’s Fire resulted in adverse effects to forest resources such as high rates of soil erosion, increased sedimentation to streams, destruction of wildlife habitat, and caused extensive tree mortality.

Previous projects addressed the need for removal of the dead trees, repairing damaged roads, providing for public safety, and replanting plantations. The Fred’s Reforestation Project DEIS proposes to further the restoration of the area so seriously impacted by the Fred’s Fire.

For information regarding the project, contact Robert Carroll at (530) 647.5386 or rlcarroll@fs.fed.us.

US SNOWBOARDING

PARK CITY — With athletes already landing on snowboard World Cup podiums this fall, U.S. Snowboarding revealed its 2010 roster which is highlighted by Olympic gold medalists Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT), Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) and Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME).

Also bringing their medals to the scene are 2006 Olympic silver medalists Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) and Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT), along with five-time X Games gold medalist Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA), 2009 X Games silver medalist Graham Watanabe (Sun Valley, ID), and World Championship bronze medalist Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI).

“There are again great athletes in our programs. The depth and amount of talent is incredible and we’re looking forward to getting competitions started,” U.S. Snowboarding Program Director Jeremy Forster said. “2006 was a great Olympic season and hopefully we can have another great performance in 2010.”

Read whole story

Ski Racing Magazine

Nine Olympians, including the three 2009 World Championship medalists, will head up the roster for a talent-stacked 2010 U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. A total of 36 athletes have been named to the Team, which kicks off its march to the 2010 Games with World Cup competitions in Finland and France.

Those ready to drop their skills on top of the Olympic community are World Championship gold medalists Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO) and Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA), World Championship bronze medalist and World Cup moguls champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) and Olympic moguls silver medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA).

“Our team is stacked with athletes who have found success at all levels of competition and we are looking forward to keeping consistency on that front in 2010,” said U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen. “It’s going to be an exciting season for freestyle.”

Read whole story

Big Meadow will be restored starting this fall. Photo/Todd Chaponot-USFS

By Kathryn Reed

It is difficult to pinpoint what are supposed to be four distinct areas within the 640-acre Big Meadow Creek Watershed.

“The big thing is some conifer encroachment is going into these unique areas. Some are no longer meadows because conifers are in their place,” explained Raul Sanchez, U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist.

Meadow, aspen stands, adjacent forest and riparian corridors dominate this area of the basin. Cattle grazing, fire suppression and timber harvest through the decades have made this setting less natural and more forested.

For decades, fire has been lacking off Luther Pass. That’s all about to change. Beginning this fall fire will be reintroduced by the USFS. Restoration work will also create better habitat for and diversity of wildlife.

The initial phase will be to thin some of the forest and then begin burning.

“The reason we need to do the pretreatment thinning and burning is we will reduce the amount of conifer encroachment,” said Sanchez, project point man.

Pile burns will take place when weather conditions permit. After that a broadcast burn will begin.

“(This) means we put fire to the ground in a controlled manner and allow the fire to burn on its own,” Sanchez said.

Because this is such a remote area without roads, hand tools will be used for thinning. It is on the left side of Highway 89 going toward Hope Valley from South Tahoe. From the Big Meadow trailhead walk in a ways; the meadow complex is part of the project, as are the two drainages that go farther up the watershed.

The proposed plan of action is at www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/projects; scroll down to Big Meadow.