Vol 2013, Issue 3 Branching Out Page 1
Volume 2013, Issue 3
Friends of the Forest Sedona June 2013
Greetings Fellow Friends of the Forest,
Summer is upon us and it is warming up quite
a bit. Some of you have already headed off to
cooler areas but I hope to see as many of you
as possible at our summer meeting on June
19th.
During early June, FOF members will receive a
Member Survey via email. The purpose of the
survey is to gather information about FOF
member skills and areas of expertise, and to
identify where there may be member interest in
utilizing their skills, hobbies and talents in new
initiatives supporting the Red Rock Ranger
District, or in sharing skills in new programs for
Friends Members.
The survey will be short and simple, utilizing
an online format which is easy for us to tabu-
late and review. We encourage members to
respond to the survey when it goes out. At this
time, we do not plan to make the survey avail-
able by regular mail.
Janie Agyagos, Red Rock District Wildlife Of-
ficer has requested some help for an ongoing
survey that the Forest Service is supporting.
Here is part of the original request:
From the President SPENCE GUSTAV
“The Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and
Conservation is asking for your help in under-
standing how bats use swimming pools across
North America. Anecdotal reports suggest bats
use swimming pools for drinking, perhaps es-
pecially in areas where natural water sources
are scarce. If you own, use, or manage a pool
on a regular basis, you could provide valuable
information regarding bats' use of swimming
pools.
We have developed an online survey, which is
voluntary and meant to be taken only once per
person, to gather data about this subject.
Whether you observe bats around your pool or
not, your responses are still valuable to us.
This survey is open until 15 September 2013.
You can find the survey, as well an informed
consent statement, at this website http://
batsandpools.wordpress.com/.”
Please feel free to distribute this message and
web address to other contacts in North Ameri-
ca. We are interested in gathering data from a
diverse array of pool users.
I must admit, we do get some interesting op-
portunities to help out on a great variety of pro-
jects. This is an especially good opportunity for
Page 2 Branching Out Vol 2013, Issue 3
MERCHANDISE
SUZIE DUNN DEBBIE WYCH
our members who live in various parts of the
country to participate.
A quick reminder about safety when you are
out and about enjoying the forest or doing
various volunteer duties. Be sure to carry and
drink a good supply of water when you are out.
There have been many reports of black tail rat-
tlesnakes being active and there appears to be
a bumper crop of these critters this year.
Please keep an eye out for them and give
them some space.
A recent incident by a Friends of the Forest
member has prompted a safety reminder from
the Forest Service. While hiking in a relatively
remote location, a member came across what
they believed to be construction of an illegal
“farm”. Forest Service personnel recommend
that “if you ever come across something in the
Forest that is unusual or looks suspicious to
"LEAVE IMMEDIATELY THE SAME WAY
YOU CAME IN" and if possible note the loca-
tion (GPS coordinates if available). We were
told these sites are occasionally guarded by
armed personnel and if not manned, they often
have bobby traps. They stressed the extreme
danger of spending time around one of these
sites.
At the June 19th meeting the FOF merchandise
committee of Suzie Dunn and Debbie Wych
will have available a supply of our new Sedona
Friends of the Forest embroidered patches.
The patches are 3 ½ x 3 inches. We are mak-
ing the patches available to our members at a
price of $2 each. These patches can be sewn,
glued or attached to any items on which you
wish to place them. My volunteer vest and hik-
ing pack will definitely have them displayed.
Best wishes for a fun, healthy and safe sum-
mer to all. Spence
Spence has introduced you to our new FOF
patch (see above) we will have them for sale at
our June 19th meeting. Also at that time we
will have a fresh supply of FOF caps, our pop-
ular key tags, golf shirts and t-shirts. If your
size or color choice is not there, you may order
in person. We are there to assist you so stop
by.
Recently, we received an order from life mem-
bers who live in New Jersey. Wow! They want
to advertise our great organization along the
trails in New York and New Jersey! We hope
you are wearing your FOF gear proudly at
home and abroad.
Take a picture when you are and send them to
me. The persons photographing themselves
the farthest distance from Sedona, wearing
FOF gear, will be honored at our September
meeting. Now who doesn’t like a contest!
Vol 2013, Issue 3 Branching Out Page 3
CULTURAL RESOURCES
JERRY WALTERS
FOF BY THE NUMBERS
BILL KUSNER
Be sure to check out the FOF website, which
includes the link to our catalog company, for
more information on merchandise colors and
styles.
Suzie
MEMBERSHIP
ELOISE BALDAUF
Five new members have joined Friends of the
Forest
Bob Beltz
Barbara and Leonard Lewis
Susan Justin
Rosemary Semrau
Rosemary Semrau offered to share the fol-
lowing information for our June Newsletter.
Rosemary had resided in California, Wiscon-
sin and Illinois. While caring for her parents in
suburban Chicago she was certified as a natu-
ralist interpreter guiding children in tours at the
Arboretum. As a member of Tree Keepers,
she also planted and cared for trees in her
community. Rosemary first visited Sedona in
1990, captivated with Sedona’s beauty she re-
turned for another visit then moved to the area
April 16th. Rosemary is anxious to start volun-
teering in Trail Patrol, Cultural Resources In-
terpretation and Protection and Trail Encounter
Monitoring. With her love of the great outdoors
and trees Rosemary is especially looking for-
ward to joining Jennifer this fall in West Fork’s
Orchard Preservation.
On behalf of The Friends, I extend a warm wel-
come to all of our new members.
Eloise Baldauf, New Member Chair
928 284 4356
Members volunteered 2731 hours for March
and 2009 hours for April bringing the fiscal
year to date at 16,951 hours. No records were
broken by any of the committees and this is
the fourth highest year to date. Last year we
had 18,001 hours at this time.
A few committees - River Rangers and Trail
Register Pickup have not reported their April
hours.
Bill Kusner
Photo Digitization Project
The project to digitize and catalog the histori-
cal/archaeological 35mm slides and prints for
the Coconino National Forest inches along in
Phase 3 of the project (begun in July 2011).
All 13,586 slides have been processed along
with 11,000 of the 67,000 prints! Phase 3 en-
tails transcribing the typed and hand written
comments from the back of the prints into a
“photo log” database (MS Excel). This phase
is by far the largest in terms of hours required
for completion. To date, we are 30% complete
for the total project.
The skills required to be a member of this team
include a general comfort with using a Win-
dows based PC, entering data into a spread-
sheet, using an image (i.e. photo) viewer, and
attention to detail. Training and group work
sessions will be provided. Please consider vol-
unteering for this project. You do not need to
be a docent to provide great value to this pro-
ject. If you are interested in helping with this
Page 4 Branching Out Vol 2013, Issue 3
project, or would like more information, please
contact Jerry Walters at Fof-
Honanki Photo Documentation Project
This project is well underway. The team of nine
has contributed 300+ hours to this project since
February. Room documentation has been com-
pleted and the rock art portion is well underway.
If you are interested in helping with this project,
or would like more information, please contact
Spence Gustav at [email protected].
Site Report Digitization Project
Spence and his team of four have done a blitz-
krieg on this project. It went from inception to
completion in just a few weeks. The team
amassed over 130 hours on this project in a
very short time. Well done!! Kudos to Eliza-
beth Dean, Kurt Starbuck, Roberta Stock-
man, Kris Van Gorkom, and Spence Gustav.
Join me in welcoming new docents Paul
Schwartz, Jon Petrescu and Terri Petrescu.
All three have jumped in and started volunteer-
ing regularly within a few days of completing
their training. Thanks to Spence Gustav for
conducting the Palatki portion of the training.
They are all new to FoF this year and are work-
ing on multiple projects and committees.
WELCOME ABOARD!
If you are interested in helping protect our cul-
tural heritage sites and learning more about the
Palatki, Honanki and V-Bar-V sites, consider
joining the Cultural Resource and Protection
Committee. Please call or email
g) for more information.
Jerry Walters 284-1339
On the outside looking in, left to right, Kurt Starbuck,
Roberta Stockman, Scott Newth, Elizabeth Dean,
Vicky Garrard. Photos provided by S Gustav
“When you don’t like the FOF President”
The photo documentation team at Honanki temporarily
opened a ruin room allowing Spence Gustav time to
crawl in. The room was sealed off again 10 minutes lat-
er after Spence completed the documentation.
Take a Hike and take along a friend or two
Vol 2013, Issue 3 Branching Out Page 5
VISITOR INFORMATION SERVICES
NOREEN LISOWSKI DOTTIE CORRELL
Members are always welcome at Board Meetings. It is a good way to get acquainted and learn what
the Friends are doing. A bonus is the great refreshments that are provided. Check out the Friends
Website at www.friendsoftheforestsedona.org. If you have a change of address, be sure to post it
on the website. Thanks.
Two fee-free days on Red Rock Ranger Dis-
trict coming up
Flagstaff, AZ – In celebration of National Trails
Day and Get Outdoors Day, the Red Rock
Ranger District will waive day-use fees for the
first two Saturdays in June, including June 1
and 8.
As part of the celebration, Coconino National
Forest personnel will be leading hikes and con-
ducting light trail maintenance at the Boynton
Canyon Trailhead and Cathedral Rock Trail-
head on June 1, beginning at 9 a.m., and the
public is invited to join them.
Small teams will be organized for the trail
maintenance and those who want to participate
should wear a helmet, glasses, gloves, long-
sleeved shirt, long pants, boots, water and sun-
screen. For more information about the events
on June 1, please contact Forrest Saville at
928-203-7509.
Also, fees will be waived at most trails and day-
use sites on June 8 in the Red Rock Ranger
District in recognition of National Get Outdoors
Day. This includes places such as Palatki,
Honanki, and V Bar V cultural sites, and ap-
proximately 300 miles of multiple-use trails.
Areas not included in the fee waiver program
are campgrounds and recreation areas man-
aged under concession contract, including Call
of the Canyon, Grasshopper Point, and Cres-
cent Moon Ranch.
Additional free days planned later in the year
include: National Public Lands Day - Septem-
ber 28, and Veterans Day Weekend, Novem-
ber 9-11. For more information concerning fee
free days, visit www.fs.fed.us/passes permits/.
The Red Rock Visitor Center can also be
reached at 928-203-2900.
Respectfully,
Brady Smith, MBA
Forest Public Affairs Officer
Coconino National Forest
Tel: (928) 527-3490
www.coconinoforest.us
The summer season is upon us and the Visitor
Center is very busy, with many of our regular
VIS volunteers headed to cooler climates, there
are many available slots to be filled in the cal-
endar. If you have time to help out at the Visitor
Center, review the calendar on the FoF web-
site www.friendsoftheforestsedona.org for open
time slots. Please let me know the dates that
you are available to work. Thank you.
Noreen
Page 6 Branching Out Vol 2013, Issue 3
Branching Out Editors, Jean Ober, Darl Rector, and Chuck Jenkins thank all of you who turn in great
articles and pictures for Branching Out.
A Fond Farewell to Heather Provenico
District Ranger
Red Rock Ranger District
The Friends of the Forest Sedona wished
Heather Provenico farewell and good luck in
her new assignment as Deputy Forest Supervi-
sor at White River National Forest, Colorado.
After 12 years of working in the Coconino Na-
tional Forest, the last 6 in Red Rock Ranger
District, Heather will be missed by the Friends
of the Forest Sedona and especially the past
and present FoF presidents who have worked
closely with Heather to assist the Forest Ser-
vice. In the photo on the left, Heather is seen
with a walking stick made by FoF member Lar-
ry Frei which FoF presented to her at the April
17th meeting. In the photo below, FoF past
presidents Al Cornell, Mike Ward, Carol Wir-
kus, Roy Julian, Chuck Jenkins, Heather
and FoF President Spence Gustav.
Photos by M. Vitek.
Vol 2013, Issue 3 Branching Out Page 7
ARIZONA NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION
PAM MARSHALL
Hello to Everyone,
Arizona Natural History Association is pleased
to announce the launch of our revised web-
site. Please check it out at:
www.aznaturalhistory.org
New to our website is an online store and the
ability to pay online for membership. There are
destination pages, which provides some high-
lights of the National Forests we serve and
Verde Valley Archaeology Center .
Also, we are now on Facebook. If you have a
Facebook page, please search for Arizona Nat-
ural History Association to view.
Our many, many thanks to the designers of our
new website, Anugito ten Voorde of Artline
Graphics and Matt Schaefer of Sedona Website
Design.
Pam Marshall, Executive Director
Arizona Natural History Assoc.
Red Rock Ranger Visitor Center
8375 Ste Rte 179, Sedona, AZ 86351
cell: 928-821-6277 Fax: 928-284-4357
email: [email protected]
Waterfall at Fossil Creek
Oak Creek
Hiking West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon Photos on right by J. Ober
Page 8 Branching Out Vol 2013, Issue 3
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage Paid
Sedona, AZ
Permit No. 6
See Branching Out in color
www.friendsoftheforestsedona.org
The Friends of the Forest, Inc. is dedicated to assisting the U. S. Forest Service in maintaining, protecting, and restoring the sce-
nic beauty and natural and cultural resources of forest lands for the enjoyment and use of present and future generations. The
objective of this nonprofit, volunteer group is to work in partnership with the U. S. Forest Service in tasks it does not have the man-
power or the funds to accomplish on its own.
Wednesday June 19, 2013 9:00 AM - Ranger Station
FOF Quarterly Board of Directors and Members meeting
All Members are welcome
Future Board of Director Meetings:
September 18, 2013
December 11, 2013
IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Helping to protect
National Forest Land
PO Box 2391
Sedona, AZ 86339-2391
Friends of the Forest