Cleveland National Forest Conditions Blackout

[mtnbikej]

I got a further response from the FS via Rep. Porter’s office. If I read it one way, it was very dismissive. But if I read it another way, it was an invitation.

dismissive: the FS made a big deal about me not being one of their registered volunteers. And lots of words about the lack of funding due to the fires up north.

invitational: they let the congresswoman’s office know how much they expected the work to cost: $200k. That’s a really good piece of data. If the Warriors show up to Porter’s office with a plan to raise, say, 1/3 of that, and to pledge labor hours equivalent to, say, another 1/3, there are ways to find the rest. Better yet, show up with a plan that meets all the requirements for less money.

If this is a worthwhile project, there are ways to get it done now. $200k is mattress money for the OC MTB community/bike industry.

Except that the money to do the work, is to pay people to do it. Volunteers are free. We’ve never charged the CNF for any of our trail works.

 

[tick]

Except that the money to do the work, is to pay people to do it. Volunteers are free. We’ve never charged the CNF for any of our trail works.

Right, but rather than putting the bureaucrats on blast, how about engaging the cost number? How much of that number is labor hours that could be offset with volunteers, how much is equipment rental, did they throw in $50k in case they need a helo? I don’t know.

Regarding their use of paid labor: If they’ve got a policy directive to go use FS funds to support disadvantaged kids, no amount of internet abuse of the local paper pusher will make a difference, Congress is the place to direct the attention.

As it is, the Warriors are burnishing their reputation for being a little kooky and tough to work with. Is it possible that the FS has determined that the Warriors aren’t a reliable partner? I don’t know. But yelling into cyberspace won’t get the Warriors’ seat at the table back.

 

[Runs with Scissors]

The new trail closure update from the Warrior's Society answers the big question- What is the cost to repair the trails ?

View attachment 78760

Many agencies require the use of the CCC on projects that don't require anything other than supervision and direction of the work. It creates opportunities for the CCC members, so the legislature has decided to use them. Nothing more than that.

Every project using LA County Open Space funds, Prop 12, Prop 40, etc, requires the use of CCC wherever feasible. If the grantee uses volunteers instead they won't reimburse the grantee. Big stick in use.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Right, but rather than putting the bureaucrats on blast, how about engaging the cost number?

There is no cost number. The work is free, because there is a qualified group of people willing to do it for free, who have the experience and the know-how. So the last thing you want to do is reinforce the misconception that they need funding to get the work done. They don't, so don't support the lie.

Of course, we're dealing with the government here. Why do something for free when you can waste money doing it - whether $30,000 or $200,000. How many kids could you send to school for $200,000? How many hungry people could you feed? How much emergency medical care?

But no. Because it's the government they are going to pay inexperienced people with no knowledge of trailwork to go monkey around in the forest for a while. When done, if we are LUCKY we'll end up with the trainwreck of trail work that was the Motorway after they reopened it following the fire that closed that area. If we are unlucky, we as the public will be $200,000 poorer, while they have to send the Warrior's Society in to fix what hadn't been broken in the first place.

 

[tick]

There is no cost number. The work is free, because there is a qualified group of people willing to do it for free, who have the experience and the know-how. So the last thing you want to do is reinforce the misconception that they need funding to get the work done. They don't, so don't support the lie.

Of course, we're dealing with the government here. Why do something for free when you can waste money doing it - whether $30,000 or $200,000. How many kids could you send to school for $200,000? How many hungry people could you feed? How much emergency medical care?

But no. Because it's the government they are going to pay inexperienced people with no knowledge of trailwork to go monkey around in the forest for a while. When done, if we are LUCKY we'll end up with the trainwreck of trail work that was the Motorway after they reopened it following the fire that closed that area. If we are unlucky, we as the public will be $200,000 poorer, while they have to send the Warrior's Society in to fix what hadn't been broken in the first place.

I’m not going to disagree with any of the ideals you’re espousing. But the FS just sent a dollar figure to a member of the House committee that appropriates money to the FS. This is what’s called a negotiation.

The Warriors’ next move is to shut up about the rangers, and put a volunteer-based plan into Michelle Nguyen’s inbox over at Rep Porter’s office. But if they keep acting like they can’t be good-faith partners with the civil servants, the elected officials aren’t going to give the Warriors the time of day.

If the elected officials don’t respond, they are fair game for all the rants. The rangers have one of the safest jobs on the planet, pissing them off is pointless at best, counterproductive at worst.

When I ask myself why the FS would decline such valuable volunteer labor, the only answer that makes sense to me is that the FS doesn’t see the value. Yelling at your customer is a terrible way to win repeat business.

 

[tick]

Dr Wertz at USC had a saying: “a one star general doesn’t become a two star by turning a $200M program into a $20M program, but by turning it into a $2B program.” His point was that the bureaucrats will see your cost reduction ideas as a bug. So you have to be patient and get through to the appropriators.

One of his favorite students now runs SpaceX, BTW.