City Announces Workshops for Master Plan

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If you have thoughts and/or have the time to attend a Master Planning session, we encourage you to participate! This is a big step towards getting our beloved BTC re-built.

From the City of Berkeley:

Tuolumne Camp Master Development Plan Concept and Online Survey Released; Public Workshop Dates Announced.

Berkeley, California (Thursday, April 9, 2015) – The City is inviting the public to participate in the Berkeley Tuolumne Camp Master Development Plan by completing a new online survey and attending upcoming public workshops and meetings. The Survey and Workshops will provide an opportunity to see initial concept drawings of the camp, to contribute ideas, and to gain a better understanding of the design and planning processes for rebuilding the Camp (including the environmental analysis and subsequent decision making). Additional information is now available on the City of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp Website.

Online Survey: Tuolumne Development Plan Survey  (Available April 9-May 15, 2015)

Tuolumne Camp Master Development Plan Public Workshops

Tuolumne Camp Master Development Plan Public Workshops

Event

Date

Time

Location

Address

Public Workshop #1

Wednesday, April 29th

7pm – 9pm

James Kenney Community Center

1720 Eighth Street, Berkeley, CA

Public Workshop #2

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Saturday, May 9th

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10am–12pm

Frances Albrier Community Center

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2800 Park Street, Berkeley, CA

Public Workshop #3

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TBD

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TBD

TBD

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Groveland, CA

Parks & Waterfront Commission

Wednesday, June 10th

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7pm

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Frances Albrier Community Center

2800 Park Street, Berkeley, CA

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Echo Lake Family Camp Meetings

June 20-28th

To Be Announced

Berkeley Echo Lake Camp

Lot #7, Echo Lakes Rd. Echo Lake, CA 95721

Meetings about the Tuolumne Camp design process will be hosted for registered Family Campers at Echo Lake Camp the week of June 20-28, 2015. Interested in attending Echo Lake Camp? Space is still available! To register for Family Camp at Echo Lake, visit the Echo Lake Camp website or call (510) 981-5140.

Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, in operation since 1922, has been a highly regarded summer tradition for generations of Berkeley residents. More than 4,000 individuals annually enjoyed fun-filled activities and heart-felt traditions at Tuolumne Camp. We encourage campers to explore the new Family Camp at Echo Lake, which takes the best of Echo Lake and Tuolumne Camps to create a wonderful family camping experience for all ages. Whether exploring the new programs available at Echo Lake Camp or participating in the upcoming public process, we thank you for keeping the City of Berkeley Camp Spirit alive. For more information about City of Berkeley Camps, contact:

City of Berkeley Recreation Office 1947 Center St. 1st Floor Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 981-5140 camps@cityofberkeley.info

 

If you are interested, the link to Conceptual Drawings can be found here.page1image62800 page1image62960

Action Needed! Save the trees

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** The deadline has passed. A big THANK YOU to all our campers and supporters who took the time to send letters to the USFS. We will keep you updated as we hear more and can determine what must happen next to preserve what we can of BTC and build back what was lost. **

Alert to all Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp: FOBTC board members have been following the US Forest Services Rim Fire Recovery Project and its effect on our beloved BTC and the entire RIm Fire area. We are very concerned that their approach may be to clear-cut much of camp more indiscriminately than we feel is necessary. The deadline to submit letters to the US Forest Service on this issue is THIS coming Saturday, June 14. Please use this boilerplate letter attached to write to them (either email or paper letter) or else use the talking points within the boilerplate letter to write something more in your own words or style. Remember, the deadline to submit letters to the US Forest Service on this issue is THIS coming Saturday, June 14. We need to keep as many trees standing as possible- please help.

 

Draft text for letter to USFS – please copy the text and send it in, then send it along to all your friends and family!

Please send this to:

Postal address: Stanislaus National Forest, Attn: Rim Recovery,  19777 Greenley Road,  Sonora, CA 95370

Or email to: comments-pacificsouthwest-stanislaus@fs.fed.us  Subject: Rim Recovery

 

To the U.S. Forest Service:

As a Berkeley Tuolumne Camper I have been visiting the Stanislaus National Forest for _________ years. Each summer, our family spends many sunny days on the South Fork Tuolumne seeing old friends, hiking, enjoying camp traditions, __________, ___________. Like thousands of other Tuolumne Campers around the U.S. we were devastated by the loss of one of our favorite places in the world in the 2013 Rim Fire.

I am hopeful that we will one day return to a rebuilt camp, and I am encouraged by all the hard work the Forest Service is doing to restore the forest and improve recreation access.

There are a few points in the proposed Rim Fire Recovery Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement that I hope the Forest Service will emphasize in its decision:

1) Recreational Values: At Berkeley Tuolumne Camp in particular, salvage logging can improve fire safety but must also balance the need for recreation experiences and traditions. Since it is just a 14.5 acre site, I hope you’ll develop a “Special Treatment Prescription” that considers the recreational needs in this high-use area. I urge the Forest Service to work with the City of Berkeley, Tuolumne River Trust, and the Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp to plan safe, recreation-appropriate, and science-based salvage logging operations along the South Fork Tuolumne and other developed recreation sites. Berkeley Camp has a rich 91-year history and brought thousands of people into the Stanislaus National Forest each summer, supporting the USFS recreation goals. While there are many hazard and damaged trees that must come down, there are also some trees with only moderate or light burn damage, some that are recommended for monitoring, and some that were unharmed. With a “Special Treatment Prescription” we hope that the Forest Service will leave as many trees standing as possible. Since reconstruction is several years off, access to the camp can be restricted, reducing the hazard which burned trees might pose while allowing time for those that might recover.

2) Wildlife habitat: In the South Fork Tuolumne canyon, and the Stanislaus National Forest as a whole, USFS should provide much greater consideration to the at-risk, snag dependent wildlife. The means to do this is to adopt a modified version of Alternative Four by reducing the number of trees cut and leaving more snags in place. Spotted Owls and Northern Goshawks have been seen at Berkeley Tuolumne Camp, and we would like the Forest Service to protect this vital habitat.

As a longtime camper, hiker, ____________, _____________ in the Stanislaus National Forest, it is important to me that the salvage logging operations in the Rim Fire do not have negative impacts on critical wildlife habitat, and that the unique recreational values and traditions of the Berkeley Tuolumne Camp special-use permit area are taken into consideration. I support salvage logging in the Rim Fire Area, but only if balanced with habitat protection and recreational needs of National Forest visitors. Thank you for all of your hard work since the Rim Fire in helping our National Forest recover, and thank you for inviting public comment on this very important project.

Sincerely,

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/05/28/four-years-at-least-until-berkeley-tuolumne-camp-is-rebuilt/

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After last August’s Rim Fire wiped out Berkeley’s Tuolumne Camp in the Sierra, that announcement at a recent gathering for campers drew a round of applause. As did the declaration by Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates that, “We’re going to do everything we can do, humanly possible… and beyond humanly possible, to rebuild that camp.”

But, despite the hopeful signs of spring in the fire zone, and the commitment of local officials, it will be 2018 at least before Berkeley’s much-loved family summer camp can be rebuilt.

Scott Ferris, director of Berkeley’s parks department, updated the Tuolumne camper community at a gathering at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse last month. (A 1.5-hour video of the evening, with a mix of information and performances, can be seen on the Friends of Berkeley Tuolumne Camp Facebook page.)

Read on for a summary of the state of the camp and its surroundings, as reported at the gathering.

Patrick Koepele, director of the Tuolumne River Trust, shared photos of the Rim Fire region. While one looked like a lava field and another showed black columns of tree trunks, other photos captured incredible displays of spring wildflowers, typical after a forest fire.

“We’ve seen wildflower blooms like we hadn’t seen in years, followed by hummingbirds and other pollinators,” Koepele said.

He also showed Rainbow Pool, 6 miles west of camp and downstream, the white water of the waterfall blackened by soil runoff from the fire zone. As bad as that sounds, Koepele pointed out that this year’s drought had spared the region the big landslides that could have occurred.

Hardin Flat Road, which leads from Highway 120 to the camp, is closed a half-mile before the camp’s entrance, coming from the west, Ferris said. The bridge on Hardin Flat that crosses the Tuolumne River just outside the camp’s dirt parking lot was damaged in the fire, he added. Beams under the bridge, as well as the pedestrian walkway, burned.

Tuolumne County is planning to rebuild the bridge in 2016, said Duke York, the county’s deputy director of roads. The new bridge will be wider and “not a wooden bridge,” he said. The old bridge is still open to limited traffic but, since the road is closed, it’s effectively off limits.

Camp itself, and the forest around it, remains closed to visitors through at least November by the U.S. Forest Service, which owns the land. (The huge number of dead trees could fall and injure people, authorities said.) Fines for trespassing are as high as $5,000 per person. See the Forest Service website for more on the closure

for more of the story, or the original version, click on the title of this post….

Family Camp at Echo Lake

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Keep Family Camp Alive!
from the City of Berkeley:
[Campers & Friends – This information is being sent to you by FOBTC regarding the 2014 Camp season. Camp spots are still open, and we encourage everyone to support this effort to keep the BTC camp fire spirit burning until a new camp can be built.]

We are excited to have a place to gather for family camp this summer–Berkeley Sierra Family Camp at Echo Lake Camp! We are going to continue important Tuolumne traditions while highlighting all the wonderful opportunities Echo Lake Camp has to offer. The green chair circle, quiet hours, the staff show, table night, theme days, tie-dye, campfires, and excellent swimming and hiking will all be a part of Berkeley Sierra Family Camp. Of course, people make up the heart and soul of camp, and some of your favorite BTC staff– full of Tuolumne Spirit — will be there to greet you. And you—the campers—will help keep the traditions, customs, and fun alive for generations of Berkeley campers to come. We are excited to have a place to gather for family camp this summer–Berkeley Sierra Family Camp at Echo Lake Camp! We are going to continue important Tuolumne traditions while highlighting all the wonderful opportunities Echo Lake Camp has to offer. The green chair circle, quiet hours, the staff show, table night, theme days, tie-dye, campfires, and excellent swimming and hiking will all be a part of Berkeley Sierra Family Camp. Of course, people make up the heart and soul of camp, and some of your favorite BTC staff– full of Tuolumne Spirit — will be there to greet you. And you—the campers—will help keep the traditions, customs, and fun alive for generations of Berkeley campers to come.
Update – February 14, 2014 – We are pleased to report that we’ve had an excellent turnout for Berkeley Sierra Family Camp registration, which began on Wednesday, February 12 for City of Berkeley residents. The atmosphere at registration has been very positive, and we are happy to see so many familiar faces registering for camp.

We still have several openings the weeks of June 21-July 7, and July 12-July 20. The weeks of July 25 – August 4 is filling fast, and we still have a few openings. Beginning next week, campers will be able to use our online availability calendar, which will be available on this webpage.

Registration for residents for Berkeley Sierra Family Camp will continue through Tuesday, February 18. Beginning Wednesday, February 19 at 9:00 AM, registration is open to the general public. Please note that Monday, February 17, is a City Holiday.

Registration for Echo Lake 50+ Camp Sessions will begin Monday, February 24. Echo Lake Youth Camp and Counselor-In-Training Program registration is currently open.

Family Camp Dates:
Saturday, June 21 (first meal is lunch) – Monday, July 7 (last meal is breakfast)
Friday, July 11 (first meal is lunch) – Sunday, July 20 (last meal is breakfast)
Friday, July 25 (first meal is lunch) – Monday, August 4 (last meal is breakfast)

for more information and registration forms:
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Parks_Rec_Waterfront/Recreation/Berkeley_Sierra_Family_Camp.aspx