Wilderness4All

The Sun Giveth...

2012-01-07T11:29:00.001-08:00

Hot sunrise over a once verdant land.
No green grass for cows.

Wild Droid

2011-12-13T15:19:00.001-08:00

Lookout Wilderness! I've installed the Blogger Droid app. No more 'unplug and go hiking' excuses for not blogging... cool, check out this redwood tree...

Johnny Walker - Thank you for the memories

2011-02-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

On the eve of my departure from San Diego, I spent the evening last night with my friend Johnny Walker (right in photo) and his wife Almarine. Over the twenty-five plus years I've known Johnny, and the late Sam Hinton, my life has been enriched by their vast treasure-trove of folk music. Johnny -- 'The Yorkshire Tyke' -- always brightened the room with his unique smile and the twinkle in his blue eyes. Johnny is now lost to this world -- a victim of the memory-robbing ravages of Alzheimer's Disease. Last evening I sang a few bars of 'The Manchester Rambler' to him, and recalled his oft-recited poem, 'Albert and the Lion'. I like to think he heard me, and that some distant memories surfaced for him. I know they did for me.

Thank you Johnny -- for the memories.

(photo:Chris Stauch, http://members.cox.net/sdfss/samhinton.htm)

Milk

2010-10-13T11:41:00.001-07:00

Wise matron speaks
Young boy wonders
Why Holsteins give the best milk.

Brown

2010-10-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Brown hands pick fruit
White hands count cash
Fresh cut crops smell sweet
in Fresno.

The DAMNing of the Tuolumne

2010-09-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

(originally posted June 2008 at UCAN.org)

The Governor's 2008-09 budget called for $11.9 billion bond financing for 'water management investments', including $3.5 billion for development of additional storage. Dam, there goes another river or two.

This takes me back to 2003, when I had the occasion to visit the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. My journal from that winter day tells the story:

Trip Log: February 18, 2003
Hetch-Hetchy: A sobering send-off

(click on thumbnail image)
The sun draws low on the western horizon as we make our way by VW bus to the western boundary of Yosemite National Park, to the drainage of the Tuolumne River. For me this is a journey of discovery. I seek to discover what power humankind has over the forces of nature. I am reluctant to make the trip, and trembling at the emotion I will feel when I see It.

For my 47 years of life I have so far avoided confronting this horrific monster in the flesh. Only in pictures have I seen it: O’Shaughnessy Dam. The Hetchy-Hetchy Reservoir. The damming of the Tuolumne. The DAMNing of the Tuolumne. The dam named to honor the engineer who dishonored the River.

As we approach the ranger kiosk, the time is 4:00. We have exactly one hour to make the 24 mile round-trip drive to the reservoir, and pay our respects to the once-grand valley, before the gates close for another day. I’ve never enjoyed funerals, and I especially despise open casket viewings, so best to make this memorial tribute a quick one. The viewing. The river in death. A poignant vision for 20 minutes that will stay with me for the rest of my life. We drive on.

As we round the curve in the winding road, we gain our first view of the reservoir, hundreds of feet below us. A pock on the landscape. We press on, reluctantly.
Driving past the full-time caretaker housing, and the police cruiser which has become a constant fixture at the dam since '9-11' we approach the dam itself. I've seen dams before, but this one is different. This is the dam in a National Park that John Muir tried in vane to stop almost 100 years ago, dying shortly after the decision to build the dam was approved.

The painted over graffiti on the face of the dam, which once read 'Free The River', says it all. The Tuolumne is a prisoner, and unfairly incarcerated. It committed no crime, other than to flow freely and powerfully from the mountains to the sea.

Standing on the dam now (10 minutes left!), we look eastward. We imagine what the fertile valley used to look like (we've seen pictures: Beautiful, serene.) It is dead now. And buried.

And then it hit us. The stillness. The coldness. The lifelessness. There is no life here. THERE IS NO SOUND. Sterile, antiseptic, like a morgue. The eerie, solemn feeling of death. The river and valley before us lay in state, dead of the greed that caused humankind to snuff it out for the water and power that it could provide to the Citizens of San Francisco.

The river is dead. We pay our respects and depart.

There are rivers and mountains yet to be saved. We pay our respects and climb slowly back up the road to the kiosk, making it out by 5:05 pm.

Fast forward to present. Do we need to dam another river to slake our thirst for water? Or can we get some political leadership in our region to implement sound water conservation policies that can produce real savings in water use? Perhaps a visit to the Hetch-Hetchy should be mandatory for all in-coming electeds. I'll drive.

Remembering Mom

2010-09-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

[I'm publishing this remembrance on the 15th month anniversary of mom's passing. I miss you mom, and I'm trying to be good, but I'm letting my hair grow long. - Your son, Geoffrey]

RUTH EVANGELINE WILLIAMS SMITH

How can a long life of giving, loving and charm be captured in a few words?

Ruth’s loving heart stopped on June 2, 2009 as her daughter Kimberly sang to her with words of love and admiration, and loving husband Devore and son-in-law Glenn stood by. 78 years of service and nurturing in life on this earth came to an end, the result of an unexpected cerebral hemorrhage on June 1.

The youngest of six children, Ruth was born in Newman, CA, on November 5, 1930 and lived on the family farm in Gustine, CA until the age of 18. Her love for the simple things in life was born of this time with no electricity or plumbing, and the loss of her mother at age 12. Her Presbyterian faith was strong at an early age. She enjoyed singing in the Community Church choir, and spent many summers as a counselor at Mount Hermon church camp near Santa Cruz.

Ruth attended San Jose State College, and earned a BA in Education. Active in the faith community, she met and married a young theology student, Devore Craine Smith, in 1952. In a teaching career spanning 35 years, Ruth taught Kindergarten through 2nd grade, earning a Master’s Degree. She created a learning environment rich with love and storytelling, and was a highly respected professional. As a minister’s wife, Ruth faithfully served church communities throughout California as a leader, with a particular focus on children. As her own two children grew, Ruth’s guidance and love as a youth group advisor changed the lives of countless young people, many of whom made our family home their own. Following her own retirement and that of her husband, Ruth increased her involvement in the church, with her leadership role as an Elder, and her beautiful alto voice in choir. She co-founded and supported the ‘Kids Club’ program at El Cajon Presbyterian, which now shapes the lives of over 60 children each year.

An accomplished artist, Ruth was a skilled woodcarver, whose nativity and Christmas creations grace the lives of countless friends and family. An avid collector of antiques, she frequented antique stores and estate sales all over the county. She created a warm, beautiful home for her family.

As a mother, Ruth gave everything to her children. She brought the family to Germany in 1967, where she taught kindergarten at Frankfurt International School. This began for her many decades of studying our family genealogical history, with roots in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Isle of Man. For connecting us with our rich past, we are forever grateful.

Ruth’s later years were blessed with two beautiful grandchildren, Matthew and Rebecca, who meant the world to her. Their brightness, intelligence and love of the arts are the living legacy of their grandmother.
Ruth’s spirit carries on in the hearts of those who survive her: Rev. Devore Craine Smith of San Diego, her husband of 56 years; Kimberly Evangeline Smith Billman (Glenn Billman) of Minneapolis, MN, her daughter; Geoffrey Devore Smith (Camille Armstrong) of Mira Mesa, her son; Matthew Glenn Billman and Rebecca Evangeline Billman of Minneapolis, MN, her grandchildren; Arabella Harding Williams Bloise of Fresno, her sister. Ruth was buried June 11 at Hills Ferry Cemetery in Newman, CA, resting in peace there with Joseph and Blanch Williams, her parents, and Robert, Roger, Alan, and Carl Williams, her brothers.

Ruth’s glorious life was celebrated Saturday, June 20, 2:00 pm, at First Presbyterian Church of El Cajon, 500 Farragut Circle, El Cajon, CA 92020.

Donations to honor Ruth’s life will be accepted by the church, in furtherance of its ministry.

Lewis 'Mucaw' Jefferson, July 4, 1987 - November 26, 2008

2008-12-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of a great young man, known by his Quechan name,"Mucaw". Just 21 years old, Mucaw tragically lost his life last week. For most of his young life, Mucaw was apprentice to his grandfather, Preston Arrow-weed, tribal elder of the Quechan Tribe, based on the Fort Yuma-Quechan Reservation. Together, Mucaw and Preston have strongly advocated for protection of sacred lands in Imperial County, including many lands that are now the subject of administrative and legislative protection under the state parks system and the BLM. Many more of these sacred lands are at great peril of destruction, including those affected by the Quechan's own casino/resort project near Yuma. Mucaw was a faithful carrier of the tribal traditions and customs imparted to him by his grandfather. Mucaw appeared in the recently-released movie, "Journey From Spirit Mountain" (view trailer posted on the Yuma Sun site), in which he received the ceremonial rattle from his grandfather, Preston, as a symbol of the passing of tradition to future generations. It is with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Mucaw, and it is with a profound sense of love and admiration that we extend our sympathies to Preston Arrow-weed and Helena Quintana, who were such an important part of Mucaw's short life -- and in the long tradition of the Quechan people.

The circumstances surrounding Mucaw's death are currently being investigated, as described in this article in the Yuma Sun: Quechan mourners take spirit walk for youg leader

No Power Line is a Good Line

2008-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

The recent news about the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) proposed decisions to reject the northern ‘Sunrise Power Link’ alignment outright, and possibly approve a southern alignment with conditions is DANGEROUS! Already we hear partying in the streets, as folks rejoice in the apparent saving of our beloved Anza-Borrego Desert State Park from this ill-advised power line. But wait…

We must all be strong, and maintain our focus to stop these power lines completely!

The 'southern alternative' would be devastating for the federal public lands that have been the focus of so much work over the past several decades. (Ironically, a northern alignment would by-pass many of the federal lands that are now seemingly at risk.) A southern alignment would: Cut in half the Hauser Canyon & Hauser Mountain federal wilderness and proposed wilderness complex near Campo; run up the middle of McCain Valley, impacting Carrizo Gorge existing and future federal wilderness areas; and encircle the La Posta, Manzanita and Campo Indian Reservations (think 'electric fence'), while running adjacent to the Cuyapaipe Indian Reservation. Impacts to federal public lands in the eastern Cleveland National Forest and along the San Diego River adjacent to El Capitan Reservoir further compromise the public trust. Wreck less proposals being put forward by the BLM and wind energy companies to destroy thousands of acres of land in McCain Valley, adjacent to the Carrizo Gorge Wilderness, Sawtooth Mountains Wilderness, and precious Anza-Borrego Desert State Park... are the icing on this electric cake.

We are not out the woods yet – not by a long shot. In fact, these proposed power lines are very much still *IN* the woods that we have come to know and love as our precious public lands.

The potential impacts brought about by the 500 KV power lines and towers would destroy the wilderness value of these lands, and place them at great peril due to the associated roads, infrastructure and fire risk.

Don’t be fooled. Continue to watch this process carefully. Participate when and where you can to unplug the power line proposal once and for all.

Geoffrey Smith
http://www.wilderness4all.org/
858.442.1425

PS – For up to the minute news on this and other desert and public lands issues in San Diego, visit the Desert Protective Council’s DesertBlog at http://www.dpcinc.org/blog/

View the maps of the proposed allignments at:
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/aspen/sunrise/feir/figs/Figure%200ES-04_Environ_Superior_N%2BS_Routes.pdf

The Damning of a River

2008-08-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a post I placed on the www.UCAN.org blog. I can't figure out how to copy/paste it into my blog here, with all the formatting intact (blogger.com needs to go back to the drawing board), so here's the link to the UCAN blog: http://www.ucan.org/blog/water/water_conservation_efficiency/damning_a_river_increase_water_supply_why

Be sure to come back!

Solitude in Borrego Springs

2008-05-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need to attend meetings inside to save the wilderness outside.

So it was with a sense of purpose that I headed out to Borrego Springs on Monday to participate in the CPUC’s public hearing on the dreaded proposed SDG&E 500KV power line, which would run from their dirty gas-fired power plants in Mexico, all the way to Carmel Mountain north of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve – with a northerly way-point near Lake Henshaw where a large substation would be built to serve as a jumping-off point for a northerly link to the ultimate goal: Electricity customers in Los Angeles, the City of Angels. Along the way, portions of 64,000 acres of proposed federal wilderness stand to suffer the impacts of 7-story tall power towers, high tension lines, and associated road and building infrastructure. The presence of solitude – the very core of federal wilderness – would suffer tremendously should this ill-advised power line be allowed to go forward.

On my arrival, I was greeted to some of the first public comments in an evening that was to include testimony by nearly 70 individuals. I took a number: #65. What I heard as I entered the venue set the tone for the evening: A folk music quartet with a fiddle was singing a heart-warming ode to the desert and the public lands that we all hold so dear to our hearts. It was beautiful, and touching. And it brought smiles to the faces of the four commissioners (one commissioner was absent), and several hundred ‘publics’ in the chamber.

What a moving experience it is to hear the 1-1/2 minute soliloquies spoken by citizens who have strong feelings about the proposal. Mothers, fathers, kids, cowboys, riders, runners, homeowners, boy scouts, business owners, advocates for the power lines, advocates against the power lines, biologists, engineers… all of them tax payers, all them rate-payers (well, there were a handful who were off the grid), and all of them heard. Some of them were woefully miss-guided, but what are you going to do? This is a democracy! (Photo: Ten public citizens lined up against the wall, awaiting their turn to give heart-felt testimony.)

As I made my way to the podium, I took a moment to poke my head out the open door. Just as I suspected, the dark night sky was still there, and the bright twinkle of stars penetrated the few dim lights that illuminated the courtyard there. Moments later, I uttered these unrehearsed lines into the public record: “Good evening members of the Commission. Thank you for having us. I hope you can all join me, this evening soon after the hearing adjourns, for a walk out in the desert to view the dark night sky, examine the stars, and have a beer. Or any libation of your choosing – water works. And even if you cannot join me – as I will most certainly be out there very shortly – I urge you to drive your vehicle to a solitary road in the nearby desert, head down the road a bit, stop the vehicle, turn off the engine, and take a walk into the darkness. Look up into the sky, take in the freshness… and experience the solitude. After all that’s why we’re all here (gesturing to the gallery): Solitude….”

I hope some did.

Geoffrey

Wild Border!

2008-04-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

In response to Serge Dedina's blog on Cafe San Diego (Voice of San Diego),
I wrote on April 17, 2008 4:24 PM:

"As a young boy, in 1968, I visited the Berlin wall. I was fascinated that such a structure would be built by humans, to cage in other humans. To this day, I still cannot fathom it. But I saw it with my own eyes. 40 years later I am seeing it again. Where is my country? What has happened to us? Mr. Bush, "Tear down that wall." The cost in human lives, the irreparable damage to our ecosystems, and the loss of integrity of our federal wilderness system at Jacumba Wilderness and Otay Mtn Wilderness, demonstrate a serious degradation of our country's values. Shame on us. Kudos to Serge at WildCoast for highlighting this important issue. Let's keep our border wild. WildBorder!!! Geoffrey Smith"

Comment letter to the CPUC for the Proposed SDG&E Power Line draft EIR/EIS

2008-04-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

April 11, 2008

CPUC/BLMc/o Aspen Environmental Group
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 935
San Francisco, CA 94104
Fax: (866) 711-3106
Email: sunrise@aspeneg.com

Subject: San Diego Gas & Electric Company's Sunrise Powerlink Project, Draft EIR/EIS

We support of pending federal legislation, The California Wild Heritage Act, to protect over 45,000 acres of San Diego County public land as federal wilderness. We oppose any wire-based transmission line alternative that proposes to run high-voltage transimission lines through the San Diego back country from Imperial County to San Diego's urban areas.

San Diego supports more biodiviersity than any county in the continental U.S. Much of this biodiversity is located on city, county, state and federal public land. A new transmission line would potentially impact sensitive lands through increased fire risk, road support infrastructure, visual impacts, and loss of solitude -- an essential component of federal wilderness protection.

How would each of the alternatives proposed in the EIR/EIS mitigate the impacts they would have on existing and proposed federal wilderness and wild and scenic river areas?

Affected wilderness and proposed wilderness lands include:

Hauser Canyon, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Hauser Mountain, proposed BLM wilderness
Pine Creek Wilderness, existing Forest Service wilderness and proposed wild and scenic river
No Name, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Sill Hill, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Eagle Peak, proposed Forest Service wilderness
Cedar Creek, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
San Diego River, proposed Forest Service wilderness and wild and scenic river
Fish Creek Wilderness, existing BLM wilderness

Additional impacted federal lands would include:

San Felipe Hills, BLM wilderness study area
San Ysidro Mtns, BLM wilderness study area

In addition to these designated wilderness or wilderness quality lands, the proposed routes would seriously impact other city, county, state and federal public lands -- lands that were set aside for the protection of resources, watersheds, and to promote recreation. We have no business using these important resource areas as transmission line corridors.

As established in "Mineral King verus the US Forest Service", truly, "the rocks have rights" -- a right to an environment free from power lines, roads, and associated infrastructure.

Geoffrey Smith
Wilderness4All.org
858.442.1425
gsmith@thecomputersmith.com

11572 Alkaid DriveSan Diego, CA 92126

We killed our television this week

2008-03-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon, I unplugged our venerable 27" 1982-vintage Sony TV, and put it in the garage. Next stop: Goodwill. Our home is now television-free. The feeling of release and freedom began to flood over me immediately. We're looking forward to more balance, more sleep, more reading, more communicating, more exercising, less brainwashing, less BS, less spin, no more insulting programs, no news at 11, no 1/2-hour sitcoms, no "What time does X start?", no "When is it over?", overall improvement in mental attitude, more radio, more movies, more Internet or print news WHEN we want it and how we want it, blissful ignorance. More time to read this web site: http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/. Let me know if you see any difference in my behavior...

Save Rose Canyon, too

2008-03-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Rose Canyon are determined to protect their open space resource from the threat of a Regents Road crossing. For 20 years, I have worked with legions of volunteers to safeguard Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve from roads, with some good success, and some notable failures ('Sorrento Valley Boulevard'). I read with interest the 'Strife Span' piece in the San Diego Reader, 2/21/08, and posted this comment:

#5.
Kudos to the Friends of Rose Canyon team! Generations from now, the efforts of Debbie and her team may well be forgotten, but their legacy will remain: A beautiful, un-interrupted open space canyon preserve serving as a natural treasure in a city that is defined by its canyon systems. Rose Canyon is part of the paradise that will always be 'temporary' -- if not for the leadership of visionaries like Debbie who understand that paradise is not for paving. May the Rose and Los Penasquitos canyon open space preserves remain just that: Open!
By Geoffrey 1:48 p.m., Mar 22, 2008

2007-11-29T07:42:00.000-08:00

This Wild blog is a repository of thoughts and dreams and tactics and celebrations and mournings -- all related to wild places on our planet. When I was a young boy in high school, when asked what I wanted to do when I grow up, I often replied, "I want to be a hermit and live in a cave." Only half-jesting, I was speaking from the experiences I was having at that time of backpacking and hiking into the wilderness a couple of times each month, with Troop 974 - 'The Trekingest Scout Troop in San Diego County.' How prophetic, as I find myself now working in the field of public lands protection (The Escondido Creek Conservancy), having devoted the past 30 years of my life to public lands advocacy in a volunteer capacity. All towards the goal of finding that cave to live in. Join me in this journey as I find that cave in that wilderness, where my soul can be free of the fetters of our over-mechanized and often cruel society. I am looking for my inner-cave.

Welcome

2007-06-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey Devore Smith is my name.

I dedicate this BLOG to my loving and understanding wife,

Camille Ruth Armstrong.

Camille, you are my Rainbow.
You bring color to my eyes, and compassion to my heart.

I love you.

June 13, 2007