USFS

These signs are not on the LPNF, they are on Shasta, I think it was. This is from VWA by way of Anneliese Agren. I think she is working on convincing USFS to put these up here. (Feel free to correct me if I am wrong) If you need any help, Anni, let us know! I know if they just give me permission to put these up on Plaskett, I’ll make ALL the arrangements, including payment. I imagine others feel the same.

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19 thoughts on “USFS”

  1. Important words for sure… but do wish that typo wasn’t on the sign. These seem to be the times of the scatterbrained trying to teach/lead the scatterbrained.

  2. Typos grate, granted, but do not imply scatterbrained-ness, IMHO. Rour for your can be hard to see for the person not trained or used to editing. I like the fact that the USFS is trying to combat a horrible situation with no funds.

  4. I agree, Danner, but the problem with campfires is that they are allowed 1/2 of the time, and not allowed 1/2 of the time, so that part of the sign (or the sign itself) would have to be changed seasonally. Perhaps, adding a sign underneath with the universal symbol could be added and removed as necessary.

    https://bigsurkate.blog

  5. Yes – plaster those signs front and center. Need to put the appropriate campfire sign right next to it. I will donate for signs and also post fundraiser in my Nextdoor website with “encouraging” words. 🙂
    Now – before people bring up the language barrier… there are at least 3 apps that can translate a photo (taken by your phone) and translates it into quite a few native languages. If these people can use GPS, read blogs, use FB and even go as far as finding the lats/longs of your “local secret places” off those photos that you post but FORGET TO UNABLE LOCATION
    (HINT-HINT) they are capable of using those apps.
    Now whether they use them or not of course is the question but it might help separate the “accidental idiot” from the intentional flat-out asshole.

  7. Was looking for the sign and found this site. Could be useful in the effort to “educate”. Lots of good information. While I have not thoroughly vetted it seems they’ve done a lot of the foot work. “Work smarter, not harder”
    https://lnt.org/about

  8. Kate, this site would rock if WordPress could add an edit feature for all and a system that allerts the administrator when links past/present- go dead and /or into error.

  12. Kate, An individual edit feature is what I was getting at where folks could correct its own mistakes.. By the way being the dead link whisperer is not a fun feature to address and time consuming! We observers want a smooth and no troubles functionality ability too. Ha.

  13. “THE PUBLIC IS COMPLAINING ABOUT THE MESS”

    that line needs to be removed, it implies that the mess would be acceptable if the public wasn’t complaining.

    At no time would any of the mentioned issue be acceptable anywhere on this planet or any other.

    the sign also needs reference to ‘FIRE’ not campfire, fire is the issue campfire softens the responsibility because everyone thinks they have a right to a campfire, you don’t have a right to fire, its a privilege with responsibility that is earned and one that can be taken away.

  14. I have a little bit of experience with this and very similar signage down here south of you, still in LPNF, but outside of SLO. The issues are similar on the West Cuesta Grade. I have been working with USFS in a different capacity regarding access but they have recently installed these signs and refer to them as “Interpretive” signage. It takes nearly an Act of Congress to make this signage happen and one would think that having them paid for would be a real promotion but anything that goes up has to built to a USFS standard with appropriate color and lettering and a myriad of other conditions that must be met and the hoops to jump can be numerous. I don’t recall if your in the same District run out of Santa Maria or not but get the ball rolling with your District Office. If, in fact, Santa Maria is your office, your contact is Alicia Sanchez with Nate Rezeau being her boss and the District Superintendent. Perhaps since these, or at least similar signs already exist, you might be able to jump on the bandwagon and speed up the process.

    Good luck!

  16. Tim: Yes, anything that goes up has to be approved both for words and installation. Same with Caltrans’ signage.

    We are out of King City office and I’m working with Lynn. I expect this to take awhile due to process, but the very good news is LPNF told me: “We agree that this is a good idea and one way to keep visitors informed and educated. We will work on installing information boards in these locations.”

    Thank you for the perspective Tim. I could have these printed and laminated at Kinkos, but they’re only be removed. As you point out, we just have to give the agency their time to get it done.

  17. Note that this sign was photographed at a dispersed camping area on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (Oregon). The typo is regrettable & the text is verbose, but we posted it on the VWA facebook page to encourage discussion. Most folks seemed to agree that similar signage could help here on the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) Monterey Ranger District. Nevertheless, it’d be a Band-Aid on the root problem of insufficient agency funding for education & enforcement. Thanks to the “starve the beast” approach of a Congress overwhelmingly hostile toward the very concept of public lands, the LPNF now receives ~1/6 of its 1990s-level annual recreation budget, & more vacant non-fire positions than staff. The real world implication is that a few million $ for recreation management is seen as a waste of tax dollars, so we instead spend $260+ million fighting anthropogenic wildfires ignited by unmanaged visitors. “Working forests” like the Rogue River-Siskiyou fill the funding gap with timber dollars; on a “recreation forest” like the LPNF volunteers & signage seem to be the only short term fix. VWA is willing & able to assist in the short term- please keep us in the loop if there’s any way we can support this signage project, for instance. That said, I hope we can all keep our eyes on the prize & work tirelessly for a long term solution- namely, sufficiently funding our land management agencies. Despite the hassles & perils inherent to life on the wildland interface, we all derive great benefit from public lands- fresh air, clean water, protected viewsheds, abundant wildlife, agricultural pollinators, increased property values, the list goes on & on…Let’s not let decision-makers forget how important it is to properly fund their management.

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