Backcountry Pilot

[Zzz]

It is obvious that a work party may be necessary to fix up Chicken Strip. Just vote for any weekend you can go. If all five weekends are good for you, vote for all five. A good BBQ and Breakfast would be in order.

Tim

DETAILS:
Date, Saturday OCT 15TH
If you are interested in attending, please contact Rick Lach @ 760-378-3870 (Kernville airport manager) to have your name be added to the list.
We need volunteers and the following equipment:
Suggested things to bring:
Shovels both round and flat
hard rakes
post hole digger
wheel barrows
gloves, boots
portable generator
small chain saw
gas air compressor or 12v compressor
2000 gallon water truck
road grader or tractor w/ganon
2-8' rail road ties
chain/tow straps/cable
Lawn rollers that can be filled w/water
1-sat phone
tables/chairs/shade canopies
BBQ /charcoal/
Blender
Coolers w/food/beer/drinking water ect
Breakfast/lunch/dinner suggestions and people that can volunteer to cook or prepare food.
first aid kit sun screen
tools/jack and fix a flat/ tire plug kits.

Road info/Driving conditions:
So if anyone comes from the South you will need to go to Big Pine and take the North Pass road. No real issues with the North Pass but it is still rough. North Pass is on all the maps. It is called Wacoba/Saline road.
The route would 395 to Big Pine to 168 to Death Valley Road to Wacoba / Saline road down to the valley. Later we can worry about the turnoff to get to the Warm Springs and Chicken Strip.
NPS contact (address/phone) ????-TBA

[Glidergeek offline]

My best window of opportunity and I suspect others are going to be on the weekends (except for you old retired geezers) . I would rather see an October weekend(s) Given that bear in mind that some research is bringing to light that driving in is quite a trip and might best be done with 4 wheel drive. The link below is a good source of knowledge but has plenty of rants. I'm seeing reports of up to 4-5 hrs driving from the last pavement to the Chicken Strip. I think there's only 3 ways in on the surface.

http://forum.salinepreservation.org/

[qmdv offline]

I guess that I picked the best weekends for me cus I put up the Poll. I can include a the 22 and 23 of October if you like.

Just joined RAF http://theraf.org/ and think that it is a good organization.

Tim

[qmdv offline]

There I changed the poll and voted for the three that are good for me. I know that it is a miserable drive but that is why I own a Dodge.

Tim

[pacerpilot offline]

GREAT NEWS

I just talked with Brent Pennington (8:34AM Calif. Time) and he has gotten the “OK” to allow RAF people to go in and cleanup the strip. He and Sara were on this most of yesterday and late yesterday afternoon they got verbal approval from legal to allow repairs while the new paperwork is being processed. Brent will be calling John McKenna, Pres. of RAF, and John Kounis RAFs California Liaison this morning and telling them it’s OK to repair the strip at any time they wish. So now all we need is some one to take lead and set a date to do the repairs.

Rick

[58Skylane offline]

GREAT NEWS

I just talked with Brent Pennington (8:34AM Calif. Time) and he has gotten the “OK” to allow RAF people to go in and cleanup the strip. He and Sara were on this most of yesterday and late yesterday afternoon they got verbal approval from legal to allow repairs while the new paperwork is being processed. Brent will be calling John McKenna, Pres. of RAF, and John Kounis RAFs California Liaison this morning and telling them it’s OK to repair the strip at any time they wish. So now all we need is some one to take lead and set a date to do the repairs.

Rick

Thanks for all the efforts by you, Brent and Sara and of course all the others involved in this matter!! I'm sure I'll make it into C.S. someday with my plane. But very happy that my fellow aviators will have continued use of Chicken Strip. Thanks again!

[58Skylane offline]

As of right now, any of those weekends will work for me. I'll be working in the office in SoCal most all of fall and winter as of right now.

Looking forward to helping out in a positive way!!

[mountainmatt offline]

Great work!

[qmdv offline]

As of right now, any of those weekends will work for me. I'll be working in the office in SoCal most all of fall and winter as of right now.

Looking forward to helping out in a positive way!!

I am looking forward to seeing Pat give a big hug to Lizard Lee

The first and last two weekends in the poll are when I can go. If you want Crepes for breakfast then vote for those weekends. Nah on second though, vote for what is best for you.

A big thankyou to Desert Rat also.

Tim

[172heavy offline]

Report this postReply with quoteRe: Chicken Strip
by FLHusky » Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:17 pm

Since John Kounis is the RAF California Liaison, it would be best to have John work with Rick. John will be available after 4 PM today and we can get started on planning the work party. He has Brent's contact info.

Regarding the forms, thanks for the reminder, I do not recall the wording on our agreement, but will make sure that all "t's" are crossed and "i's" dotted. We sure don't need an administrative issue to delay this now.

My thought is the sooner we do this the better!

[172heavy offline]

Report this postReply with quoteRe: Chicken Strip
by FLHusky » Tue Sep 27, 2011 12:17 pm

Since John Kounis is the RAF California Liaison, it would be best to have John work with Rick. John will be available after 4 PM today and we can get started on planning the work party. He has Brent's contact info.

Regarding the forms, thanks for the reminder, I do not recall the wording on our agreement, but will make sure that all "t's" are crossed and "i's" dotted. We sure don't need an administrative issue to delay this now.

My thought is the sooner we do this the better!

Hay guys, the RAF needs to coordinate the repairs with the NPS, it’s in the works and I don’t know the date yet, the best thing is to leave your contact information with the Kernville airport manager Rick Lach @ 760-378-3870 Rick will be coordinating with the RAF and the NPS for the work party dates, it’s my understanding that there may be some volunteer forms that may have to be filled out prior to repairing the strip. Please do not attempt to repair the strip without approval from the NPS an effort to do so would ruin it for us all. Thanks Joe

[mountainmatt offline]

Ok guys/gals.

I'm pretty amped at this opportunity to reopen Chicken Airstrip. This opportunity doesn't come up very often, and I feel we need to make the most of it! Just imagine when the RAF reports back to the NPS with pictures of dozens of people at the work party. Image what their impression of the backcountry flying community will be. To them it's really nothing, more of a pain than anything, to us it's everything. Now imagine if only 2 people show up to the work party....

Invite your sons and daughters, wives and mothers. Get the word out folks, this is a big victory, let's make the most of it! Some people have worked very hard to get to this point, let's continue and get this ball really moving. Now is the time to make a statement!!

I will do what I can from afar. Let me know how BCP.org can help, and I will do my best to make it happen. This is the real beauty of a web based organization like this.

For now, I'm making this a sticky so it will stay on top. Lets use this thread as the official work party thread. I will update Tim's post with the important info.

Thanks everyone, good work!

[Desert Rat offline]

I vote that we get in / get it done / get out. ASAP.

[Desert Rat offline]

My best window of opportunity and I suspect others are going to be on the weekends (except for you old retired geezers) . I would rather see an October weekend(s) Given that bear in mind that some research is bringing to light that driving in is quite a trip and might best be done with 4 wheel drive. The link below is a good source of knowledge but has plenty of rants. I'm seeing reports of up to 4-5 hrs driving from the last pavement to the Chicken Strip. I think there's only 3 ways in on the surface.

http://forum.salinepreservation.org/

LOL It ain't 4-5 hours. Mt. bike ?? Its 50 miles from Big Pine the first 15 are paved. 30 down to the turnoff to the springs the first 15 are excellent.
So about 15 miles of rocky road. The last 5 over to the springs are good. did that total 50?

Ok this is the deal: For $1,000. I will walk/run from the pavement to the springs in 5 hours. Make it 10 hours.

[qmdv offline]

So why was the poll ended so soon. It ran for less than a day. Are we not supposed let RAF pick the date so we can get approved as Park Volunteers and that way have the same protection as the Lizard. Do we get a patch.

Tim

[mountainmatt offline]

I ended the poll because the date was picked by the RAF. I think John will chime in soon.

I'll make you a patch Tim.

[Blu offline]

This may be a silly question but can we fly in to the work day?

[58Skylane offline]

Well bummer!! I was hoping later in the month would work best for everyone. But, I know it's hard to please everybody. So, If I can make it that weekend I would really like to help out.

[pilotgetaways offline]

This is John Kounis here, RAF Southern California Liaison.

As has already been posted on the forum, the NPS approved a work party to repair and re-open the Chicken Strip based on an MOU that was signed by the RAF and the NPS in 2008. Chief Ranger Brent Pennington informed me that the RAF MOU was specifically the reason why he could authorize the work. Had the MOU not been signed, it may have taken months or even years to reopen the strip.

I agreed to inform Ranger Pennington of the work party date soon. Then he needs a few days to assign a ranger on his staff as a project manager who will be with us at the site and assure we don't do anything outside of the scope of the MOU, like extend the runway beyond its original footprint, destroy native plants, plant non-native plants, chop down trees, bury nuclear waste, etc. Prior to commencing work, each volunteer will need to sign a "VIP" (Volunteer-in-Park) agreement that authorizes us to do the work.

VIP agreements are not a standard, boiler-plate form. A different VIP agreement is drafted for each work project, so Ranger Pennington will provide me a copy prior to the party and I will forward it to each volunteer who registered.

RIck Lach, the airport manager at Kern Valley Airport, has agreed to collect the names of volunteers and coordinate with them. You can reach him at his office: 760-378-3870 or cell: 661-345-7755.

As far as dates go, it seems that the poll had several options extending well into November. I believe it is in our best interests to reopen the strip ASAP. The longer we wait, the more opportunity we have for a bureaucratic snafu to create a roadblock. Furthermore, the Saline Valley Management Process will begin soon, and it is very important that the Chicken Strip be an open and operating strip when the process begins.

Ranger Pennington needs a week or so to get the paperwork ready and assign a project manager, so we tentatively scheduled the work party for October 15. I will post here after Pennington confirms that the date works for his personnel as well.

Please contact Rick if you can make it, and we'll add you to the list. In the meantime, if anybody has access to a roller that we can use to pack the strip down, it would be appreciated.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to contact Rick or me at the number below:

John Kounis
Southern California Liaison
Recreational Aviation Foundation
818-241-1890

[pilotgetaways offline]

This may be a silly question but can we fly in to the work day?

The Chicken Strip is still officially closed until the RAF rep (most likely me) and the NPS rep (assigned by Ranger Pennington) agree that it is safe to be open. I anticipate that will occur onsite once the work has been completed. So you might be able to fly in later in the day, but without a sat phone, we won't be able to tell you when the strip has been officially opened.

Rick Lach is collecting names of volunteers. Once we determine the closest airport with road access, we can arrange rides for those who want to fly in to a nearby airport (nearby being relative of course, since nothing is really close to the Chicken Strip). Lone Pine (O26) is the closest airport to the Chicken Strip, but I haven't figured out if it is closest by road, or maybe Bishop (BIH) is more convenient.