Volunteers Make the Forest Go ’Round
Gustavo Bahena, San Bernardino National Forest
June 1, 2023
Carol Kinzel, a volunteer at the San Bernardino National Forest, points to literature about Heaps Peak Arboretum. Kinzel shared more about the butterfly garden, meadow garden, and a .8-mile trail that takes visitors to a grove of Sequoia trees. She also praised the volunteers who make it all possible. (USDA Forest Service photo by Gustavo Bahena)
Somehow volunteers shake themselves out of bed on weekends off or even during the week to share their skills at local national forests. They find the hidden minutes in a day to give back when they can. And their numbers on the San Bernardino National Forest are not small or unnoticed.
Alexandria Sabido, a Recreation Management Specialist for the Sand to Snow National Monument, has been keeping track of these tenacious folks. During the past fiscal year, the San Bernardino National Forest has benefitted from 500 regular volunteers and 2,000+ participants.
“A lot of our volunteers are very dedicated to this program and are willing to come out and do the work regardless of how much time it takes or where it may be,” Sabido said.
Volunteers in the San Bernardino National Forest are crucial for keeping the forest open for recreation. They help maintain facilities including campgrounds, off-highway routes, and hiking trails. Sometimes they’re the ones at visitor centers educating the public on the beauty around them with interpretive services. Or maybe you’ll find them working with forests on preservation and restoration projects.
Recently James Billups, National Volunteer Assistant Program Manager with the USDA Forest Service, visited with staff and volunteers at the San Bernardino to learn firsthand the successes and challenges of their volunteer program. Feedback helps determine additional support, resources and funding.
James Billups, National Volunteer Assistant Program Manager with the USDA Forest Service, talks with Alexandria Sabido, a Recreation Management Specialist for the Sand to Snow National Monument, San Bernardino National Forest on May 2. Sabido shares that the forest has benefitted from 500 regular volunteers and 2,000+ participants in the past fiscal year. (USDA Forest Service photo by Gustavo Bahena)
Billups described his tour of several national forests as part of a relationship-building exercise.
“It’s very important to me to get work done through collaboration,” Billups said. “This was an opportunity to build on all of that, to really be in touch with the issues that people in the field and our partners are dealing with — to enhance my ability to help out and be of value.”
Billups’ first stop in the field took place at Heaps Peak Arboretum on Highway 18, south of Lake Arrowhead. Carol Kinzel, a volunteer at the Arboretum, shared what makes this site so special — a butterfly garden, meadow garden, and a .8-mile trail that takes visitors to a grove of Sequoia trees.
Joe Gutierrez, the volunteer lead maintenance at the Arboretum, has donated his time and energy for two years along with five others to maintain fencing, remove dead tree limbs, and fix signs. Volunteering helps him gain a larger appreciation towards the forest and what it means to people.
“It’s beautiful being out here in the daytime, especially on nice spring and summer days,” Gutierrez said. “A lot of people come up here for that reason.”
The final stop for the visiting group — the Big Bear Discovery Center in Fawnskin, on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. Inside the visitor center, volunteers from several groups introduced themselves… San Gorgonio Wilderness Association, Southern California Mountains Foundation, Green Thumbs, Adopt-A-Trail, Fisheries Resource Volunteer Corps, and Forest Service Volunteer Association. That’s a lot of partners caring about a forest!
Shane Harris, volunteer fire lookout manager for the Southern California Mountains Foundation, oversees 180 volunteers at four fire lookout towers. The volunteers provide fixed-point fire detection by scanning the forest for smoke and radioing in a report to the forest’s dispatch center.
They also offer visitors who make the trek up there more information on what they’re doing. Harris explains fire-spotting work is low-tech, but for a trained volunteer with a pair of binoculars, detection is vital and efficient. Plus, Harris is quite proud to wear the Forest Service logo on his partner uniform.
Val Rosario, a volunteer on the San Bernardino National Forest and member of the Drifters Jeep Club, speaks with James Billups, National Volunteer Assistant Program Manager with the Forest Service at the Big Bear Discovery Center on May 2. At the visitor center, Billups met volunteers from several groups, to learn how the forest can support volunteers and all their work. (USDA Forest Service photo by Gustavo Bahena)
“The Southern California Mountains Foundation volunteers wear a uniform, and along with the foundation logo, it has the forest service shield,” Harris shared. “Volunteers take a lot of pride in wearing that shield on their uniform.”
As he wrapped up his visit on the San Bernardino, Billups stressed the importance of volunteers helping the Forest Service in preserving and protecting the nation’s forests now and for future generations.
“We’re 30,000 employees managing hundreds of millions of acres of national forest, and we can’t do that job without volunteers,” Billups said.
Forest Supervisor Danelle Harrison also expressed appreciation for the visit from the Washington office to listen to all the volunteers. She considers volunteers the backbone for many projects completed in such a large Southern California forest.
“To our current volunteers, you’re our forest service family,” Harrison said. “You help us provide those ecosystem services and help us keep an eye on our resources, developed sites, and facilities. I’m exceedingly thankful for that.”
Harrison added, “Come on down and sign up.”