Dear Neighbors & Friends–We're doing it again…clearing flammable brush growth off the Altadena Foothills Conservancy (now Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy) land along Chaney Trail that many of you helped purchase and protect. Growth has been modest, and progress from prior years has made the job easier, but we still need all your help to make the job go fast, and to make our neighborhood even safer. The oak saplings are growing, some poppies are blooming, and the bird life continues to be unusually dense for such a small area. The native trees and plants are slowly displacing more flammable vegetation.
If you possibly can, please contribute two to four hours to help clear brush off AFC's land. Lunch will be served on-site when we are done, courtesy Big Sunday and their volunteers (see http://www.bigsunday.org.) We are thrilled to be part of their operation over Southern California.
You'll meet new people who also care about our land. We need your help Sunday, May 2, 2010 doing County-mandated brush clearance near the road and the two houses opposite the land preserved by Altadena Foothills Conservancy on the west side of Chaney Trail. The Altadena Crest Trail (ACT) crosses the NW portion of this triangular parcel. Start time is 8:30 AM; however, you can come later, if need be. Meet on Chaney Trail just above Nuccio’s Nursery and the intersection with Alzada Road. You'll see me there, or down on the slope below.
Many hands make for light work! If we have some extra of you volunteers, we'll assign a detachment to reducing fuel load (mustard) along the ACT to the west of Chaney Trail. Thanks to neighbors who have already started careful neighborhood fuel reduction!
Please wear sturdy shoes for work on the slope. Long pants, long sleeves, and garden gloves are highly recommended, and a hat if it is sunny. Bring your own tools, or I’ll have some extra: e.g., loppers, clippers, saw. We’ll take care to avoid any bird nests and poison oak.
If you would prefer not to work, but can make a contribution to support the Conservancy’s land stewardship, that would be most welcome! Thanks to those who've already made a
contribution! Make checks out to: Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy, P.O. Box 3, Altadena, CA 91003-0003 or donate via: http://www.arroyosandfoothills
(As you may know, Altadena Foothills Conservancy expanded is Board and coverage area to include Altadena, Glendale, La Canada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, Pasadena and South Pasadena. As result, we changed our name.)
For those of you who are neighbors, please pardon the dumpster we will have in place for a few days; it will be used to haul away as much of the brush as will fit.
We hope to see you there. And we’ll tell you more about AFC’s progress as Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy. We recently purchased 20 acres at the mouth of Rubio Canyon to protect it forever, in cooperation with the private seller. You can hike it any time, as it includes the old Echo Mountain Railway right-of-way.
Thank you!
Robert Staehle, 153 Jaxine Drive
Chaney Trail Project Area Leader
Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy (AFC)
626 798-3235
