Los Angeles Times - 09.11.2019

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oping water systems and
sewers, roads, campground
services, restrooms, trails
and signage in some of the
Sierra’s most heavily visited
corners.
The idea is popular in
mountain towns that have
struggled with economic de-
velopment, but it worries
some conservationists and
local officials who want the
region to retain its wild
spaces and rustic person-
ality.
“This big idea seems to be
driven by commerce rather
than science,” said Sam
Roberts, president of the
nonprofit Friends of the
Inyo and a lifelong wildlife
photographer and rock
climber in the Sierra.
“At stake is the character
of the wilderness experi-
ence.”
Chris Lizza, a Mono
County planning commis-
sioner and owner of a gro-
cery store in the Mono Basin
community of Lee Vining,
contends the proposal
“would empower the Forest
Service to continue neglect-
ing its responsibility to
maintain our national
forests.”
Other critics shun the
idea of local communities
sharing management deci-
sions on the public lands.
In response, Wentworth
said the proposed partner-
ship is all about trying to
preserve the Eastern Sierra
for future generations. “The
forces that will compromise
the great wilderness legacy
of John Muir are already at
work,” he said.
The Mammoth Lakes
councilman said he adheres
to a philosophy of Sierra
capitalism: Recreational op-
portunities can be improved
and ecosystems restored
when people understand the
monetary value of the re-
gion’s marketable re-
sources.
To that end, he is using a
portion of a $618,750 state
grant to hire an analytical
firm that will calculate a dol-
lar value for Muir’s majestic
landscape, which includes
the world’s oldest trees and
Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak
in the lower 48 states.
“Putting a price tag on
the Eastern Sierra may
sound crass,” he said of the
grant, which comes from
Proposition 68 funds that
the state Sierra Nevada
Conservancy recently
awarded to Mammoth
Lakes. “But it’s an impor-
tant step toward developing
well-managed, sustainable
recreation and tourism op-
portunities.”
Tami Randall-Parker, su-
perintendent of the nearly 2-
million-acre Inyo National
Forest, would not argue with
any of that.
A few more rangers, a
parking area and a camp-
ground would help in heavily
used areas, she said, but
budget constraints have
made that all but impos-
sible.
Over the last decade, the
Forest Service has been

shrinking recreation and

maintenance programs to

pay for the rising costs of

fighting fires and reducing

wildfire threats to communi-

ties.

At the same time, Con-

gress has been reducing the

agency’s resources. The 2019

Forest Service budget is

$4.77 billion, a decrease of

$486 million from the fiscal

year 2018 amount.

It includes $1.72 billion for

the management of national

forest lands and $2.5 billion

for wildland fire manage-

ment, according to federal

documents.

“We need your help,” said

Randall-Parker, speaking to

more than 100 retirees, con-

servationists, business own-

ers and government officials

at a fairgrounds hall in

Bishop on a recent week-

night.

Randall-Parker ticked off

the assets of the Inyo Na-

tional Forest, which include

“70 campgrounds, 38 recre-

ational resorts, seven mar-

inas, five visitor centers, 32

water systems, seven waste-

water treatment facilities,

1,200 miles of trails, 3,

miles of roads and 600 toi-

lets.”

“And most of what we

have was built in the 1950s,”

she added.

With a population of

18,000, Inyo County had a

median income of $51,500 in

2017, compared with a state-

wide average of $67,169, ac-

cording to the U.S. Census.

Some hope tourism will help

the county transition from

its past dependence on re-

source extraction and the

region’s largest landowner

and employer, the Los Ange-

les Department of Water

and Power.

“Not so long ago, we were

just a pit stop for people go-

ing to Lake Tahoe and the

Mammoth Mountain ski re-

sort,” said Tawni Thomson

of the Bishop Area Chamber

of Commerce. “But mining is

no longer paying the bills.

Tourism is, and we need in-

frastructure to make the

most of it.”

“We’ve become a wonder-

land of recreation,” she said.

“But we don’t have places for

boulderers to camp or great

trails for mountain bikers, so

people are throwing sleeping

bags down on the dirt wher-

ever they want and cutting

their own trails.”

Some environmentalists

cringe over proposals to

open up more public lands to

mountain bikes.

With their knobby tires,

mountain bikes can carve

ruts into trails, trample veg-

etation, widen paths and ac-

celerate erosion, especially

after rains. Their downhill

speeds can also startle other

trail users.

“Mountain bikes turn

trails into dust bins,” said

Lynn Boulton, president of

the Sierra Club Range of

Light Group in Mammoth

Lakes.

“To me, the Sierra is

priceless,” she added. “But

Wentworth must be reading

different books than I am.”

Wentworth, who grew up

in Medford, Ore., and moved

to the ski resort of Mam-

moth Lakes in 2000, previ-

ously worked in the enter-

tainment industry, includ-

ing with filmmaker David

Lynch on the acclaimed

movies “Blue Velvet” and

“Mulholland Drive.”

No stranger to contro-

versy, he helped lead a cam-

paign in Mammoth Lakes in

2015 to let more homeowners

transform their homes

into lucrative nightly rent-

als.

Residents rebelled

strongly and forced the issue

to a vote. Fearing that Went-

worth and other council

members were going to ex-

pand nightly rentals into

residential zones, 70% of vot-

ers in the town of 8,000 ap-

proved a measure barring

the council from acting on

the issue.

Some now suspect the

recreation partnership is

aimed at delivering the best

projects to Wentworth’s

hometown.

Wentworth didn’t shoot

down that assertion in an in-

terview.

“People should think of

Mammoth Lakes as a labo-

ratory,” he said, “for testing

the best pilot projects we

can come up with.”

Leaders of the effort say

it will take at least two years

to decide on a formal list of

projects and secure funds

for them, through grants

and possibly even local tax

measures.

Dozens of projects are

under consideration in com-

munities across a 160-mile

stretch from Bridgeport

down to Olancha.

They include new rest-

rooms at Horseshoe Lake, a

scenic area cradled by gran-

ite peaks near Mammoth

Lakes; maintaining and

staffing visitor centers; and

hiring people to patrol rock-

climbing hot spots such as

the Alabama Hills west of

Lone Pine, a community of

about 7,000 people at the

southern end of the Owens

Valley.

In rustic Alpine County,

where about one-fifth of the

population of 1,200 people

live below the poverty line,

officials want to launch a

mountain bike trail like no

other.

“It would take two weeks

to traverse and include

campgrounds along the

way,” Alpine County Super-

visor David Griffith said. “It

would be an experience to

tell people around the world

about.”

But Roberts, the head of

Friends of the Inyo, fears lo-

cal officials are pushing a

slew of well-intentioned rec-

reation projects without a

full appreciation of what

makes the Eastern Sierra

special.

“John Muir,” he said, “is

spinning in his grave.”

Plan has some conservationists wary

[Recreation,from A1]

JOGGERShit the trail in Mammoth Lakes. Local government agencies would partner with the U.S. Forest Service under a new proposal.

Photographs by Brian van der BrugLos Angeles Times

JOHN WENTWORTHis leading the proposal, which would allow Eastern Sierra

cities and counties to fund, staff and maintain tourism and recreation projects.

■■■ ELECTION 2020■■■

The sixth Democratic

presidential debate will take

place at Loyola Marymount

University on Dec. 19, organ-

izers announced Friday af-

ter scrapping plans to hold it

at UCLA because of a labor

dispute.

The event had originally

been scheduled to take place

at UCLA’s Luskin School of

Public Affairs. But on Tues-

day, the American Federa-

tion of State, County and

Municipal Employees asked

Democratic candidates to

honor its three-year boycott

on events at the University of

California. The powerful

union’s members include

patient care workers who

are in protracted negotia-

tions with the UC system.

The following day, the

Democratic National Com-

mittee announced the de-

bate location would be

moved.

The debate, hosted by

“PBS NewsHour” and Poli-

tico, features heightened

qualification requirements.

So far, former Vice President

Joe Biden; Sens. Bernie

Sanders of Vermont, Eliza-

beth Warren of Massachu-

setts, Kamala Harris of Cali-

fornia and Amy Klobuchar

of Minnesota; and South

Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete

Buttigieg have met the

polling and fundraising

thresholds.

To get on the debate

stage at the private uni-

versity north of Los Angeles

International Airport, can-

didates must have at least

200,000 unique donors and

at least 800 donors each in at

least 20 states. They must

also get 4% support in four

national or early state polls

or 6% in two single-state

polls in states that hold early

primary contests.

Democratic debate

finds a new venue

Loyola Marymount

University will host

the Dec. 19 event after

UCLA is dropped

over a labor dispute.

By Seema Mehta

twitter.com/latimes

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