Angeles National Forest News!

[Wrightwood]

BLUE RIDGE ROAD OPENS

Blue Ridge Road is now open to Guffy Campground. This is nearly a month earlier than it usually opens but according to Ron Heinig, the Assistant Recreation Officer with the SCMR Ranger District: "With the lack of snow there is no reason the public shouldn't be allowed to enjoy it".

Ron said that crews from Camp Fenner have been busy cleaning up Blue Ridge and Guffy Campgrounds in preparation for the road's opening.

[Wrightwood]

The State will be stocking Jackson Lake this year according to ANF District Ranger Bob Blount

[Joe Schmoe]

Anyone know if Angeles Crest is open?

[The Boys Dad]

It is not open.  I hear the 17th is the date.

[Wrightwood]

The initial estimate by the Caltrans Superintendent was April 15.

As of yesterday:
The work is going well.  There are a couple of pieces of equipment that have recently gone to the shop for repairs.  The current progress is just past Dawson Saddle.  He'll  give me a target date once the equipment has returned to the work site.

[Joe Schmoe]

Thanks!

[ezzpete]

The State will be stocking Jackson Lake this year according to ANF District Ranger Bob Blount

they better add some water, last week it looked about 1/3 the size of the lake at the country club.

[RobertW]

The State will be stocking Jackson Lake this year according to ANF District Ranger Bob Blount

It will be like shooting fish in a barrel.   

[Bob C]

Stocking the lake with what?? Lizards?

[Joe Schmoe]

...the Lizard Fish is saltwater, exclusively  .

Caught one of those off of one of our piers once...

[Wrightwood]

The State will be stocking Jackson Lake this year according to ANF District Ranger Bob Blount

Looks like they may need to add some water.






Thanks to Elk for taking these photos 4-22-15

[Nolena]

I hope they bring the small tank truck when they stock. Looks like it could support 2,.... maybe 3 fish.

[Elk]

The lake is in very sad condition given the drought. Now... if we could only get the USFS to thin/clear the vegetation from the banks/shore area. The Fenner crews have done outstanding work on the shoreline vegetation thinning in the past. "Maybe"  (that is a HUGE maybe) with the new Monument status and desire to make the forest more accessible for recreation purposes while preserving resources, they will find the money and resources to do it while the conditions are naturally conducive. When the drought conditions change (hopefully soon) the lake will be in much better condition and more accessible for all to enjoy.

Back to the conditions... I have not seen the lake in this bad of condition since my first experience in 2001. As a former camp director in that area I have spent hundreds of hours at the lake and drove passed it every day for nearly 14 years. After seeing the conditions today, I would begin to question whether or not it is safe for use by youth summer campers. I did not take the time today to make that determination but from what I saw from a distance it is very questionable.

I hope mother nature brings some rain/precip to Jackson Lake!

[RobertW]

Grassy Hollow Summer Programs have started. Here are a TWO that are coming up in the next week or so. These programs are FREE of charge, donations are welcome.

SATURDAY , JUNE 6TH GEOLOGY OF THE AREA
What's underfoot in the San Gabriel Mtn.?
Time 1:00 pm
Location Grassy Hollow
Leader Loren Schneider, Teacher, Serrano H.S.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13th PCT LOOP HIKE
5 mile rt. trail. Moderate due to length of hike.
Time 10:00 am
Location Grassy Hollow
Leader Sabrina Johnson

MORE TO COME AS THE WEEKS GO ON, SO STAY TUNED!!
Schedule will soon be listed at grassyhollow.net and Mountain Progress. Also posted at Jensen's, kiosk in hardware store parking lot and at available at Grassy Hollow.

[RobertW]

[Joe Schmoe]

Have the goldfish been removed?

[RobertW]

Have the goldfish been removed?

We will never get rid of those.  While on patrol I had some people complain to me that a couple of people were catching WAY OVER their limit of fish, maybe 60 or 70. Upon investigation I found a couple using poles with no reels, just long bobbers to snag little goldfish.  They indeed were very successful and had maybe 100 of them. Apparently they are a delicacy in some cultures.  I told them there was no limit on the goldfish and they could catch every one of them in the lake if they could.  LOL!

[Wrightwood]

[RobertW]

CAMPFIRES ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED IN THE ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST!

ORDER NO. 05-01 -16-07 FIRE USE RESTRICTIONS
ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST

Pursuant to 16 USC 551 and 36 CPR 261.50(a) and (b}, and to provide for public safety and protect natural resources, the following acts are prohibited within the Angeles National Forest. This order is effective from September 8, 2016, through the end of the official 2016 fire season.

1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire. 36 CPR 261.52(a).

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or within a Developed Campground that is barren of all flammable materials for at least three feet in diameter. 36 CPR 261.52(d).

3. Welding, or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame. 36 CPR  261.52(i).

4. Discharging a firearm.   36 CPR 261.58(m).

Pursuant to 36 CPR 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

1. Persons with a permit from the Forest Service specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.

2. Any Federal, State or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or fire fighting force in the performance of an official duty.

3. Persons hunting a legal game bird or mammal are not exempt from the prohibition s listed above. However, a person hunting during the open hunting season for that bird or mammal as specified by the laws of the State of California, and having a valid California hunting license in his or her possession, may discharge a firearm at the legal game bird or mammal.

4. Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above. However, persons with a valid California Campfire Permit may use portable lanterns or stoves using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel within a Developed Campground.

These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions in 36 CFR Part 261, Subpart A.

A violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $ I 0,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 16 USC 551 and 1 8 USC 3559, 3571, and 3581.

Done at Arcadia, California this 7th day of September 2016.

Jeffrey Vail
Forest Supervisor
Angeles National Forest
 
This Order supersedes Forest Order 05-01-16-04, dated January 29, 2016.

[Joe Schmoe]

How is such a thing communicated to visitors?  And one would think that a temporary OHV restriction should coincide with this.