We are proud to announce the winner of the 2007 Double Diamond Award
Shasta-Trinity Unit of Back Country Horsemen of California
Wow, was it a tough decision picking a winner this year. There were fourteen total entries from nine states; Oregon, California, Washington, Missouri, Utah, Florida, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. All of you are deserving of an award. We commend you on the projects you accomplished throughout the year. Your devotion to our mission is outstanding!
The deciding factor in selecting the Shasta-Trinity Unit was their extensive involvement with the California Conservation Corp (CCC.) The CCC is a workforce development program that offers hundreds of young men and women, 18-23 years of age, the chance to serve their state and become employable citizens through life skills training and hard work in environmental conservation, fire protection, and emergency response. In the process the ecology of California’s lands, rivers, and trails are improved.
Camps are set up at various locations to accomplish the work. Shasta-Trinity Unit (in partnership with the Forest Service) moves the CCC crews into their camps and re-supplies them on a regular basis. A typical camp move is twelve to twenty five mule loads. Weekly re-supplying the camps usually takes four to six loads. Re-supplying continues throughout the season. By seasons end, crewmembers that have never been around large animals have overcome their hesitancies and participate in the loading and unloading of the stock. Young people are the future of the community and BCHA. The Shasta-Trinity unit is proud to make an investment in that future and have the satisfaction of seeing the personal success experienced by the young people.
During the season, the young people learn to live and work together to accomplish their goals. Shasta-Trinity told BCHA that the personal growth they have seen is beyond comprehension and they are gratified to be a vital part of the program. In support of their work with the CCC, Shasta-Trinity conducted two clinics. One clinic was with the CCC and the other was with Lassen National Park. Participants in the CCC clinic learned how to pack loads for the mules.
The Lassen clinic was to train BCH members to become better at managing and coordinating all the complex logistics of 30-35 head of stock and 5-7 packers and the needs of setting up a new camp. To fund this work, Shasta-Trinity seeks and receives various grants. A VIP gathering is hosted annually by Shasta-Trinity in the Trinity Alps.
Representatives from many government agencies and user groups are invited to attend. This gathering helps reinforce the value of working relationships between BCH and the land management agencies. It also provides the opportunity to present and reflect on the importance of traditional use of pack and saddle stock to the agencies representatives. We already have one entry for 2008!!
Start gathering your materials and let’s see if we can have all states represented in 2008! Keep up the good work, you can make a difference!!
