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Sunday, June 1, 2008

Hannagan Meadow and Wild Bill McClain




We made it to Hannagan Meadow an hour later, at 10:15am. The lodge and the Campstore were next to eachother, with the green meadow across the street. A few people were outside the buildings but the place did not look busy. I was expecting to see more Valley People up here getting away from the triple-digit heat.
We walked inside the campstore to look around and immediately were welcomed by Karen, the store clerk. An older, slender woman in denim jeans, she's only been working at the campstore a month, and from northern New Mexico she's grown up hunting and fishing. She could only speak accolades for the campstore, the lodge and the people working there. She and her co-hort, "Wild" Bill McClain, clearly have a great working relationship.
"We spent six hours a few days ago cutting down trees" said Karen. "You should have been here last weekend, when we got 16 inches of snow! The lodge had to cancel all its reservations because the roads weren't cleared yet...the owners lost a lot of business because they were booked." That explained the small mounds of snow we saw in shaded areas along the road.
Bill was dressed in his cowboy regalia, with wide-brim hat, turquoise belt buckle around his jeans, and high cowboy boots. Bill's main job is to ride the horses and lead guide for tourists around the ski trails. Originially from Tucson, Bill's even had small parts in westerns, including one with Kevin Costner. "I normally play the town drunk, but I'm often in the background on a horse" he beamed.
As charming as Bill is, he also has a serious side. He told us about his part in the Citizens for Multiple Use Trails, a political committee with national chapters fighting the continued public access to Forest Service Trails.
"If the Forest service had it its way, it would close all the trails here to the public" said Karen earlier, and even camping would be in regulated campsites only"
Bill gave us more details, and talked about the Citizens for Multiple Land Use and Access (CMLUA). "The Forest Service doesn't even maitain the trails around here anymore. We have to go out and saw the downed trees ourselves!" said Bill. "Please read up about this organization and help us keep these beautiful trails open for all of us!"
We chatted more about the Forest Service, and some of the wildfires the personnel have started in the last few weeks in Arizona and New Mexico alone, like the one near Mount Graham just before Memorial Day (which burnd around 3000 acres), and a smaller one near Animas NM a few days later. Although the USFS will announce their "prescribed burn" ahead of time in local newspapers, the USFS doesn't seem to understand that starting a prescribed burn DESPITE HIGH WINDS (Red Flag Warnings) is a negligent and often dangerous thing to do.
"If you or I were to start a fire, we'd be charged and imprisoned, but they don't get charged with arson when they start a wildfire" added Bill.
I understand that the USFS lately has been facing a budget crunch--it's even on its website with a reasonabe explanation--but starting prescribed burns that get out of control so often needs to be investigated better. Where is the risk management there? If the military were to do something so negligent the press would be all over that.
We stayed at the store for quite a while chatting with both Karen and Bill. The campstore was small, but large enough to provide hikers the essentials. Besides coffee and hamburgers ($7.99 with a bag of chips), there are t-shirts and camping supplies for sale.
On one wall are colored photographs of hunters and their trophies: elk, mountain lion and bear cubs shot dead. I can see shooting an elk for food, but a mountain lion or bear? But I kept my mouth shut.
We took Karen's advice and headed out to the Ackre Lake trailhead she recommended, a 7.5-mile trail with a slight descend to the small lake. This would be a long enough hike to give us some exercise, but short enough not to be too challenging for either Kevin or the dogs.
The dogs were clearly ready for a "Dubya."
Kevin and I were both a little aghast at hearing about the Forest Service closing the trails in the White Mountains. If the trails are closed, why keep any FS personnel then? I can't imagine these beautiful trails being closed for hikers and bikers and left to the delight of the timber and rancher agencies.
"Well, the Forest Service was first created to manage the timber for the lumber companies. The recreational part came later..." I said. "And you remember the comment Bush said a few years ago about forest fires?"
"That the reason we have so many forest fires is because we have too many trees?"
"Yeah..."
"The current Bush administration has been all about business and not at all about the good for the American people" I went on. "Boy am I looking forward to a change!"
And the conversation only got sadder as we moved on.
USDA Forest Service Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
The fiscal year (FY) 2009 Forest Service budget request totals $4.109 billion in discretionaryappropriations, an 8 percent decrease from FY 2008 enacted level and a 5 percent decrease from FY 2007levels. The President’s Budget reflects our Nation’s highest priorities, including supporting our troops,strengthening our homeland security, and promoting sustained economic growth. The President’s progrowth economic policies, coupled with spending restraint, are key to keeping us on track to continue to reduce the deficit in the coming years. Spending restraint is essential to ensure the long-term financial health of our Nation in the face of escalating entitlement program outlays.

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