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This week, only in the print edition of The
Kaweah Commonwealth (December 26):
Christmas is for Kids
NOW IN ITS SIXTH YEAR! ‘Christmas is for Kids’ is
a special edition of the newspaper devoted to children with a
special Neighbor Profile, Snapshots, and annual holiday story
with story-endings written by Three Rivers School third-graders
and artwork provided by Three Rivers School first-graders. It’s
priceless!
In the News - Friday, December 26, 2003
Recreation fees
Fishing and hunting
Worst air
Smoke law begins
 Santa’s
sleigh, the Three Rivers way: It’s over the river and through
the woods when traveling in Kaweah Country, so an entourage of locals
took over as reindeer, led by Frank "Rudolph"Root, owner
of Kaweah White Water Adventures, who, with his kayak so bright, guided
Santa’s sleigh last night.
Recreation fees to take a hike
by John Elliott
In a report released December 16, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
announced that it would charge a fee at three recreation sites that provide
public access to the Kaweah River on upper North Fork Drive in Three
Rivers. The BLM announcement came only days after the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers announced its plans to implement a recreation fee program.
North Fork-Kaweah River
The $5 fee per vehicle per day at three North Fork BLM sites will become
effective April 1, 2004. According to Michael Ayers, a BLM recreation
planner who is
responsible for the fee demonstration project, 100 percent of the fees collected
will be available for use at the sites from which they are collected.
"The amount [$5] was determined to be fair when
considering the $10 charged at nearby Sequoia Park," Ayers said.
No fees will be charged during the "low use season"from October
through March, the report stated. Visitors who walk or ride a bicycle or horse
to the areas — Paradise, Cherry Falls, and Advance — will not be
charged a fee.
Ayers also reported that an annual pass for $20 would
be available from the BLM-Bakersfield office. Parking will be closely
monitored and available on
a first-come, first-served basis, regardless if the user has a "day"or "annual"pass.
At any one time, parking will be limited to: 20 vehicles
at Paradise, 12 vehicles at Advance, and 10 vehicles at Cherry Falls,
the report stated.
With an estimated
use of 5,000 vehicles annually from April through September, the project
is expected to generate approximately $25,000 in 2004.
The report also states that among the goals of the project
is that the BLM intends to add permanent restroom facilities at the Paradise
site. The fees
will also aid in the development of educational and interpretive programs
as well as an increased BLM law-enforcement presence at the sites.
The BLM is organizing a Three Rivers Town Meeting to
be held in March 2004. Ayers said the purpose of that meeting is to brief
the community on how the
fee program will work and answer questions.
Lake Kaweah
The Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Kaweah will start
charging a $4 per vehicle day-use fee once its new recreation facilities
are completed
in 2004. An
annual pass for $30 will also be available for use at Lake Kaweah sites.
"We don’t have any set schedule as to when
we will start charging the fees," said Phil Deffenbaugh, Lake Kaweah’s
manager.
Deffenbaugh said that the biggest project of Lake Kaweah’s new recreation
facilities would include the reconfiguring of the Slick Rock recreation area.
"We’ll have new parking there [Slick Rock],
restrooms, a boat ramp, and access to both the river and the lake," Deffenbaugh
said." The
new location will make Slick Rock more a Three Rivers area park."
Extreme
team: Josh Gilbert (left) and Joey Galloway of Visalia get ready
for a bike ride this week from the Village Shopping Center in Three Rivers
to Big Baldy in Sequoia National Park, a 90-mile round trip with almost
7,000 feet vertical elevation gain and, this time of year, cold temperatures
and snow-lined roadways. The two bikers mentioned they look forward to
the downhill portions of Generals Highway. Duh.
Fishing and hunting
fees increase in 2004
For the first time since 1987, California sport fishing and hunting
license fees are being increased across the board, the California Department
of Fish and Game (DFG) announced this month. The fishing and hunting
fees, used to manage fish and wildlife and their habitat, will increase
effective Jan. 1, 2004.
"License fees essentially pay dividends to wildlife and the
public who value a wide variety of uses," said Renee Renwick,
acting deputy director of DFG’s fiscal administration." Increasing
these fees is a way for us to maintain our efforts and meet the demands
of conserving wildlife and preserving habitats."
In addition to more traditional roles like managing
recreational opportunities and employing wardens, DFG is conducting
wildlife assessments and restoring
habitat and wildlife populations — all of which is mostly paid with revenue
from licenses.
The annual resident fishing license, which is valid
both for inland and ocean waters, has been increased from $29.25 to
$31.25. A 10-day non-resident license,
frequently purchased in Three Rivers by visitors, was also increased from
$29.25 to $31.25.
A one-day fishing license for all California waters
is available for $10; a two-day license is now $15.75.
The California resident hunting license costs the same
as a fishing license. The increase to $31.75 will take effect July
1, 2004. A junior hunting license
(under 16) will increase from $7.25 to $8.25.
The biggest increase will be the "wild pig"tag, which was increased
from $8.75 for a book of five to $15 for each animal. The wild pig tag was
increased to a fee more consistent with other big game tags.
The non-resident wild pig fee is $50 for a single tag
(not a book). Funding from wild pig fees will be dedicated to management
of the species.
Fees for lifetime hunting and fishing licenses will
also increase in 2004. DFG is reminding prospective "lifetime"buyers to purchase by December
31 to receive the old rate.
Valley seeks worst air designation
Air pollution becomes an ‘extreme’ problem
Air-quality regulators in the smog-plagued San Joaquin Valley took the unprecedented
step last week of asking the Environmental Protection Agency to put it in
the worst category for air pollution as a last resort to meet federal air
standards and avoid expensive sanctions.
The move puts the valley in a category with only notoriously
polluted Los Angeles as an "extreme"violator of federal ozone pollution
standards. The designation gives the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control
District the stigma of being the only region to seek the designation, but
gives it until 2010 to clear the air.
Under the current "severe"category, failure to clean the air
by 2005 would penalize businesses $36 million in fees and cost the eight-county
region, which includes Tulare County, $2 billion in federal highway funds.
Automobiles are blamed for the bulk of the valley’s pollution woes,
but the district has little power over regulating them.
Smoke law begins, election changes ahead
A new California law requiring smokers to stand at least 20 feet away
from entrances to public buildings is set to go into effect January
1.
Election improvements
The Help America Vote Act, created after the ballot
problems Florida had in the 2000 presidential election, requires all
50 states to make
changes to their voting processes by the federal election of January
2006.
The 161-page Act states that at least one touch-screen
voting machine per precinct must be fully accessible to disabled people
so they may
cast their ballots without the help of others. With more than 25,000
voting precincts in California, this could become expensive, with
each machine costing an estimated $3,000.
Other changes called for include getting rid of the
punch-card voting systems, improving poll worker training, and creating
a one-stop shop
for military and overseas voters.
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