Sierra Club, Santa Margarita Group
Michael H. Momeni
Our Nomination/Election Committee for 2017 was Michael Momeni, George McMackin, and Robert Audibert. Our 2018 Committee members are Pam Nelson, Elena Garcia, and Scott Smith.
Elected Executive Committee (Ex-Com) members for the years 2018-2019 are Pam Nelson, Teri Biancardi, Elena Garcia, and Margaret Meyncke. Except for Margaret, the others were incumbents. George McMackin, Bob Audibert, and Michael Momeni were elected for a two-year term in 2017 Ex-Com Election.
Ex-Com re-appointed Pam Nelson and Teri Biancardi as the Chair and the Vice-Chair for the Santa Margarita Group. The Treasurer is George McMackin and Robert Audibert is the Hike Coordinator and the hike leader. Elena Garcia is the Secretary.
Committees Reports:
Outreach Committee (Pam Nelson, Margaret Meyncke, Caren Hanson, Elena Garcia)
--Earth Day Celebration (Caren Hanson, organizer)
Saturday, April 21, 2018, from 11 AM to 4 pm, to be held at Vail Headquarters, 32115 Temecula Parkway in Temecula. This location is between Walmart and Kohl's, Temecula, in a busy shopping center.
For this event, we are teaming up with Murrieta Arts Council. We will have 34 different vendors from the two organizations, plus musical performances throughout the day. There will be speakers discussing various topics related to conservation and nature and activities geared for kids of varying ages.
-- Picnic+ field day: Live Oak Park (Elena Garcia, organizer) on June 24th.
--4th of July Celebration (Margaret Meyncke)
Conservation Committee (Pam/ Nelson, Teri Biancardi, Michael Momeni, Laurie Webster, Margaret Meyncke):
1. Wildlife crossings: Pechanga purchased the Temecula Creek Inn—305 acres, Golf Course, Temecula Creek Inn, and Restaurant. This action will allow continued wildlife passage through the Interstate 15 underpass. Previously a proposal to subdivide the Golf Course for development would have completely removed the wildlife passage in this region.
2. Altair update: March 8th was the first CEQA settlement meeting and a court date will be set soon. Pam Nelson is offering tours of the areas impacted by the project. We've appreciated donations from our members. These donations are being used for future wildlife crossing activities and projects and lawsuit expenses.
3. Trails (Pam Nelson and Teri Biancardi): Murrieta Creek Regional Trail signs are being constructed, thanks to donations from our Group, New Day Solar, Subaru and the Temecula Valley Woman’s Club.
4. Tree City project: (Margaret Meyncke and Chris Rios).
5. Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumping System is back! Nevada Hydro has proposed this silly scheme to use the problematic waters of Lake Elsinore and deface a large section of the lakefront as well as pristine canyon areas in the Santa Ana Mountains.
Education Committee (Pam Nelson and Teri Biancardi):
1. Science Day at SMER will be on April 29th, 2018; Teri Biancardi is the coordinator of this activity. High School and college students will learn about our watershed and how to measure water quality.
2. Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER) tours are occurring. Pam has led one group of over 35 people with the help of Beth Cobb and Diane (docents at SMER) on the new View Loop trail and some added a trip down to the gorge. Another group will go on the tour on April 14th. We will offer more in May.
Political Action (Elena Garcia):
The Political Committee of the Santa Margarita Group has been raising awareness at its monthly meetings that there are elections coming up! The California primaries are on June 5 and the national mid-term elections are on November 6. We need qualified candidates to run for office and then to seek the official endorsement of the Sierra Club. As part of the San Gorgonio Chapter’s Political Committee, we are taking an active part in the process of vetting and endorsing candidates for local, state and federal offices. There is nothing better than we can do as Sierra Club members and environmentally conscious citizens than to VOTE FOR CANDIDATES THAT SUPPORT OUR CREDO AND IDEALS.
Transportation (Michael Momeni):
The proceedings of the Transportation Workshop in October 2017, Temecula California was published in Regional Commuter Electric Train Connecting Riverside and San Diego through the Temecula Valley Corridor.
The second Transportation Workshop has been proposed for September 2018 in Temecula, California.
The second Transportation Workshop has been proposed for September 2018 in Temecula, California.
General Monthly Speaker Meeting (Pam Nelson):
Our general meetings have been lots of fun and informative. We've had over-flow crowds at our meetings due to our teacher network (SEED) encouraging students and parents to attend. We've had all ages and great subjects. Our upcoming meetings Molly Clemens, a UC Davis graduate student working on a project at SMER (April), are Diana Lindsay a local author (May) speaking about her books on local area trails and Anza Borrego, and a rain-catchment presentation at our June meeting.
Past presentations:
February: Speaker, John Garrett, provided insight into the 2018 Astronomical events for this year.
March: Speaker, Alex Tardy provided insight into “What's up with our Crazy Weather?” Alex has been working for the National Weather Service part of NOAA, for the last 24 years.
Hiking (Robert Audibert):
January 27, Calcite mine Hike:
We traveled through an amazing slot canyon at the mine area, which is a plateau with spectacular rock formations and great views of the Salton Sea, hikers had time to explore the area.
February 24, Sitton Peak Hike
This was a 10-mile out and back, moderate to difficult hike, to Sitton Peak. Although the peak stands only 3,273', it has a commanding 360-degree view which also includes views of the ocean.
This was a 10-mile out and back, moderate to difficult hike, to Sitton Peak. Although the peak stands only 3,273', it has a commanding 360-degree view which also includes views of the ocean.
