Friends of Williamson Rock

USFS Draft Plan for Williamson Rock

Administrator — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:25:47 +0000

US Forest Service Releases Draft Williamson Rock Plan, Temporary Closure Likely to Continue for at Least Three More Years!

The Angeles National Forest recently released a set of alternatives for managing climbing access at Williamson Rock north of Los Angeles (see previous post below). Williamson has been closed since 2005 while the US Forest Service analyzed whether to allow climbing access while also protecting a federally-listed endangered frog species and its critical habitat. The 2009 Station Fire complicated matters further when neighboring portions of the forest were burned (including other critical habitat). This draft plan proposes to extend the existing “temporary” closure at Williamson Rock for an additional three years for species monitoring. According to the Angeles National Forest, this action is needed “while neighboring [mountain yellow-legged frog] population segments are given time to rebound from the effects of wildfire and consequent watershed emergency.”

FoWR is working with our partners at the Access Fund and Allied Climbers of San Diego to assess whether the closure extension is warranted and to analyze and advocate for a management alternative allowing climbing, such as Alternative 3 in the Williamson Rock draft plan under which facilities would be constructed to route use away from critical biological habitat. You can view the US Forest Service’s draft environmental assessment at the previous post, below.

Your comments, which must be submitted by October 1, may be sent to:

Darrell Vance
Attn: Williamson Rock Environmental Assessment
701 N. Santa Anita Ave. Arcadia, CA 91006
Email: dvance@fs.fed.us

USFS Environmental Assessment

Administrator — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:59:10 +0000

The USFS has posted an EA (Environmental Assessment). It can be found here:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/projects/

Direct link to the Environmental Assessment (PDF)

Alpinist Mag Article / Take Action Now

Administrator — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:28:35 +0000

Thanks to Alpinist magazine for spreading the word in an article on Williamson Rock.

If you haven’t already you can help by taking action now!

The Access Fund Action Center has an online form to help you comment.

It will take less than one minute to make your voice heard.

USFS Scoping info

Administrator — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:15:57 +0000

The following is the official USFS proposal (which define the measures which may restore access to Williamson Rock).

These are the documents (.pdf downloads) that the USFS is seeking public comment on:

The Access Fund Action Center has an online form to help you comment.

Your help needed!

Administrator — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:19:47 +0000

The U.S. Forests Service is requesting public comments on a proposal to restore access to Williamson Rock.

Please make your voice heard.

If you are on the Access Fund, FoWR or ACSD mailing list(s) you will also receive an e-mail with instructions next week.

The proposal envisions reopening some areas at Williamson Rock to the public and implementing measures, such as re-routing the approach trail, to protect the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog (MYLF) and its critical habitat. While the London and Stream Walls will remain temporarily closed to allow the MYLF population to recover, we believe that the proposal is a vast improvement over the status quo – total closure.

A hard copy letter, in your own words, is preferred over e-mail.

Please mail your letter to:

Angeles National Forest
Williamson Rock ID Team
ATTN: Darrell Vance
701 N. Santa Anita Ave
Arcadia, CA 91006

As a last resort, if you are unable to drop a letter in the mail, then you can send your comments via e-mail to:

dvance@fs.fed.us

Some general writing points (put into your own words):

You are in support of the proposed actions.
State why climbing at Williamson is important to you, the beauty of the area etc.
Climbers (you) respect and care for the natural areas in which we climb and are committed to access and conservation.
Climbers are good stewards of the area.
Climbers are willing to work with the USFS and other agencies to mitigate the problem.
Williamson is a very valuable resource to climbers (no alternative crag like it).
Include your contact info (include name, address and email)

Thank you all for your attention, time and effort!

Angeles National Forest asking for Public comments

Administrator — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:39:34 +0000

The Angeles National Forest is asking for Public comments on a proposal to resolve the existing temporary closure in the Williamson Rock vicinity.

Williamson Rock is located on National Forest System lands within the Santa Clara-Mojave Rivers Ranger District, in upper Little Rock Canyon, Los Angeles County, California. The proposed action involves portions of T. 3N, R. 9W, Section 7, and T. 3N, R. 10W, Sections 11, 12, 13, and 14, SBM. The proposed action would reopen the area to dispersed recreation while providing required protection for Federally-listed biological species. The Forest is soliciting public input for the issues to be addressed in the environmental analysis.

Comments must be received within 45 days from the publication date of this notice (09/12). This comment period provides interested parties, including those affected by the proposal, an opportunity to make their concerns known. Comments may be mailed to Williamson Rock ID Team, ATTN: Darrell Vance, Angeles National Forest, 701 N. Santa Anita Ave, Arcadia, CA 91006, or electronically at dvance@fs.fed.us.

Appears fire did not reach Williamson Rock

Administrator — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:03:19 +0000

Sources indicate that the Angeles National Forest “Station Fire” did not reach Williamson Rock.
The USFS have obviously been working on the fire and related issues. It is unclear how the fire tragedy will affect the scoping process or the issue in general. There is certainly collateral damage (see below). We will be in communication with the USFS soon and let you know what we learn.
Fire boundary map can be see here.

Other noteworthy fire related news:
Angeles Crest Hwy (Hwy 2) closed indefinitely.

FoWR Update

Administrator — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:43:20 +0000

Last month FoWR board member Kai Zinn attended another field trip to Williamson Rock with the USFS, confirming the possible solutions that were discussed during the prior trip (see post below).

FoWR is currently waiting for the USFS to complete the proposed actions document. We are hoping to have this information soon. When we receive this we will advise any action that is needed from the climbing community.

Thanks for your ongoing patience, support and cooperation.

FoWR Field Trip with USFS to Williamson

Administrator — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:33:48 +0000

Important Note: None of this is official until the required NEPA documents are finalized and scoping process etc. is completed.
Public scoping will be relatively soon and we will need your help with another letter writing campaign.
FoWR will provide more specific details when available.

On May 20th 2009 Troy Mayr and Brent Ware (FoWR) with Darrell Vance and Yonni Schwartz (USFS) went on a field trip to Williamson Rock.
The purpose of this field trip was to discuss “on the ground” the USFS proposed measures including; the actual ‘new’ Long Trail approach, the critical habitat boundary, to give the USFS a tour of the the crag from a climber perspective and to show the USFS which crags were which (so they could reference the guidebook). On that note they were surprised at the level of “organization” at the crag, which they viewed positively, in that it made defining access much more precise.

We met at the Long Trail (East) parking lot.
Yonni and Darrell told us that the Short Trail will not work, primarily because it goes down right into the water / MYLF critical habitat (see previous post below). As a consequence the USFS indicated that the short trail and parking lot(s) will be completely closed and rehabbed.

The Long Trail parking lot will be improved and made the only option for approaching the crag. The USFS would also install a toilet at the trail head at the parking lot. The long trail is less than a mile long and will be a pleasant hike after the trail work is completed. We discussed signage requirements, potential locations and where the trail would access the crag (near the Ramblin Wall / Pyramid portion of the crag, far away from the stream). It will be essential for climbers to stay on the designated trail(s). The Long Trail would have to be modified in minor ways, the most significant of which is closing off all the alternatives such as the segment of the trail runs right above the pools.
There will be no access to the stream corridor period. Also, no dogs will be allowed in the area.

Darrell and Yonni think that it should be possible to maintain access to all the upper crags, the Generation Wall, Secret Garden, etc. and mostly likely the lower area’s including the Waterfall Wall / Upper Head Wall and vicinity. We also discussed maintaining access to all the upper front side crags, including Voices Wall, Eagles Roost Buttress, Freezer Burn Wall etc., this would be achieved by “fencing off” the stream corridor (with some sort of barrier rustic / natural in appearance) to prevent people from going down to the stream in the area below the Waterfall Wall to the Voices Wall at the Mushroom Boulder. The bad news is that we would lose the London Wall, the Stream Wall, and all the climbs downstream of those as well as the Mushroom Boulder. Unfortunately a couple of the best crag in the area would be lost but that seems a small price to pay to protect the MYLF critical habitat and to gain access to the greater part of the crag.

The USFS would monitor activity at the crag, especially during peak times (weekends). It was also discussed that limited access would be granted initially, allowing for more as it was determined that the measures were effective. How this would be monitored is unclear at this point.

All in all the trip was a success and we hope that the resolution evolves more quickly as a result.

The view from the proposed long trail approach.

USFS field trip to Williamson Rock.

Administrator — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:35:20 +0000

Recently, the USFS ID Team made a field visit to Williamson rock.
FoWR discussed this with them and learned the following.
The USFS looked at the short trail(s), and concluded that those will not work.
They feel that there is too much risk from a safety standpoint if they develop that trail.
The USFS botanist identified another sensitive plant in that vicinity as well, so that option becomes even more problematic.
They also examined the long trail and although there are 2 stream crossings, they believe that this may be the most realistic solution for access.
They used a GPS to chart the existing trail, which they will be proposing to develop for access to the northeast side of the rock.
They also have interest from the biological community from people who want to help with falcon monitoring.

We will post news as it presents itself.

Troy Mayr

National Geographic Story “The Vanishing” on Frogs

Administrator — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:20:57 +0000

To learn more about the plight of frogs in general, including the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog (MYLF), pick up an issue of this months (April 2009) edition of National Geographic magazine. The story, The Vanishing, can also be found on their website.

The photo gallery for this story can be seen here

Recent meeting with USFS

Administrator — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:13:47 +0000

FoWR recently attended a meeting with the USFS.
The USFS is continuing to work on developing the ‘best options’ that will allow access to Williams Rock, while enhancing the protection of the Mountain Yellow Legged Frog (MYLF).
While there was nothing definitive to report from this meeting, be assured that there is ongoing work being done on the Williamson Rock issue. We will provide more details as they become available and notify you directly when action is needed.
Thanks!

Meeting at Congressman McKeon’s Office

Administrator — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:13:02 +0000

FoWR / AF recently attended a meeting at Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon’s office with his Senior Field Representative Conor McGee (the congressman himself was not present). The meeting also included representatives from the USFS ID team and Acting Forest Supervisor. This meeting was initiated by Wayne Burnes a local climber in McKeon’s district.
While there were no new developments at this meeting (for a listing of the topics discussed, see the previous post) it is noteworthy that the process is underway, we are involved and were invited to attend.
Suffice it to say, McKeon’s office understands that there are dedicated, informed groups representing the climbing community who want Williamson Rock access restored while protecting the MYLF habitat. Thank you for your participation in the recent email writing campaign, your e-mails were delivered to McKeon’s office. Also thanks again to all who have written letters to your elected officials.
We have recently been contacted regarding another meeting at the USFS headquarters.
There is a lot of movement currently we will present news as it becomes available.

USFS to Implement Strategy

Administrator — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 07:50:35 +0000

The USFS to implement strategy (to be determined) by Oct. 2009
The NEPA process will be initiated, including: Proposed actions, Possible climbing management plan and required documents. An E.A. (Environmental Assessment) is what we are hoping will be the required document. This is currently what FoWR / AF preferred vs. an E.I.S. (Environmental Impact Study).
The USFS is currently evaluating nearby recreation issues, which at the core may be unassociated with the use of the Rock. These are being analyzed to determine which can be unlinked from the Williamson Rock issue. These will hopefully be separately ‘categorically excluded’ under NEPA, in an attempt to lessen the perceived ‘cumulative effect’ to the biological resources.
The USFS is currently evaluating the approach trails used to access Williamson Rock. There is the possibility that one of the proposed actions may include exclusive use of ‘the Long Trail’ as a climbers trail. The USFS currently thinks that alternative would be best to avoid the MYLF habitat all together.
FoWR will learn more by April, when the ‘best alternatives’ are further defined. We will provide more details as they become available.

Williamson Rock Access and Conservation Project Document

Administrator — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:27:57 +0000

The following document was prepared by FoWR (with help from several science professionals) to provide mitigation measures as well as other requisite information. A copy of the Williamson Rock Access and Conservation Project document can be found here (4.6MB PDF).