Sedona’s Friends of the Forest make a Difference in Sedona

On Saturday, October 22, 2005, Sedona’s Friends of the Forest held their annual meeting prior to the Red Rock Ranger District Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at the old Beaver Creek Ranger Station.

In keeping with the organization’s mission to help fill the gap between the needs and resources of the Coconino National Forest within the Sedona area, Bill Kusner announced that in the past fiscal year, members of the Friends had volunteered 21,0075 hours serving the Red Rock Ranger District.

In addition to hours volunteered for many smaller projects requested by Forest Service staff, the Friends provided:

• 3763 hours interpreting for visitors the V-bar-V and Palatki archeological sites,
• 6,641 hours patrolling Forest Service trails contacting visitors, picking up trash and doing minor maintenance,
• 1,181 hours building and maintaining Forest Service trails,
• 4,426 hours advising visitors to Sedona at the visitor centers,
• 267 hours monitoring Sedona’s peregrine falcon sites
• 273 hours restoring the orchards at West Fork
• 268 hours relieving Forest Service seasonal employees at fire towers
• 1,889 hours conducting the required quadrennial National Forest Visitor survey upon which local federal funding is based
• 310 hours sampling the water in Oak Creek for biological contaminates
• 85 hours controlling noxious weeds at V-bar-V and Palatki

In previous years, the Friend’s had volunteered over 14,000 hours in 2003 and in 2004 members volunteered nearly 18,000 hours of service.

In his Treasurer’s Report, Dean Campbell stated that for the past year, The Board of Directors of the Friends had voted to expend a total of $14,995 for supplies and materials in support of 15 local National Forest projects requested by staff members of the Red Rock Ranger District.

In the election of the Friend’s Board of Directors, ten serving Directors were reelected and four new Directors were elected to fill the seats of retiring members of the Board. Reelected were Ruth Cornell, Suzie Dunn, Dick Eibeck, Norm Herkenham, Justine Kusner, Sonnya Landholm, Rubin Martinez, Vilma Martinez, Barbara Saul, and John Sturgis. Newly elected to the Board were Roy Julian, Susan Vitek, Carol Wirkus, and Rick Zabor.

In the presentation of special awards, Justine Kusner received the Vice President’s award for her continued exceptional service and Helen Cambell received the President’s award for her tireless work traveling the country at the request of the Forest Service explaining how other National Forest Districts can implement volunteerism as demonstrated in Sedona to help with the accomplishment of their local missions. Named as the New Member Volunteer of the Year was Ken Zoll who revamped the Friend’s web site and developed the V-bar-V Visitors Guidebook. Mike and Susan Vitek shared the Volunteer of the Year award for their work in a large number of diverse activities supporting the Forest Service, and Bill Kusner was honored with the Distinguished Volunteer Award for his many years of notable service to the Friends.

Before the meeting was adjourned, Red Rock District Ranger, Ken Anderson expressed his personal gratitude and that of his entire staff for all of the efforts gladly given by the members of the Friends of the Forest in helping to maintain the beautiful environment around Sedona and in enhancing the forest experience for Sedona’s visitors and residents alike.

If you are interested in becoming involved the Friends or for more information about the Friends of the Forest, you are invited to contact the Red Rock Ranger Station at (928) 282-4119 and also visit our website at www.friendsoftheforestsedona.org.

Bill Kusner accepts the Distinguished Volunteer Award from Friends of the Forest President Chuck Jenkins
Photo by Barbara Saul

Ken Zoll accepts the New Member Volunteer Award for 2005 from Friends of the Forest President, Chuck Jenkins
Photo by Bill Kusner