Recreation
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Permits are $5 per cord of wood, with a minimum purchase of four cords for $20. The permits are good through Dec. 31. Use of firewood permits on the Covelo Ranger District is permitted through Nov. 30.
The wood does not have to be cut at the same time. All firewood removed must be dead and down. It is illegal to remove firewood from the National Forest without a valid permit.
Permits must be purchased in person from one of the forest offices.
If a person is unable to cut the wood themselves, they can obtain a third party authorization that will allow someone else to cut or gather the wood. However, the permittee must still purchase the permit in person.
The Mendocino National Forest only accepts cash or check as payment for firewood permits and sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive tags and a map of the forest.
Permit holders should be aware that federal and state quarantines to prevent the spread of sudden oak death (SOD) are in effect for Lake and Mendocino Counties. Any firewood cut in these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.
Firewood permits can be purchased from the following offices:
Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s Office/Grindstone Ranger District Office
825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988; telephone 530-934-3316
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Stonyford Work Center
5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road, Stonyford, CA, 95979; telephone 530-963-3128
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1-4:30 p.m.
Covelo Ranger Station
78150 Covelo Road, Covelo, CA 95428; telephone 707-983-6118
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Upper Lake Ranger Station
10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, CA 95485; telephone 707-275-2361
Hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Gathering firewood is important to many individuals and families surrounding the Mendocino National Forest.
Following are some tips for a safer experience:
Plan your trip – Check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes for spring and fall through winter cutting, water, emergency food, and the appropriate gear for the season when you are gathering firewood. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave and are prepared for changing conditions in the mountains! Also, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.
Keep vehicles on designated roads and be aware of changing weather and road conditions. Wet dirt roads can quickly turn to mud, making it possible to get stuck and causing damage to road, soil and water resources. If there are puddles in the road, mud flipping off the tires or you can see your ruts in the rearview mirror, consider pulling over and taking a hike to look for wood, or turning around and finding a different area to cut your firewood.
As we enter fire season, be aware of fire restrictions or closure order than may be in place restricting where you can go. Make sure you have a spark arrester on chainsaws and any other mechanical equipment being used.
Make sure you are cutting firewood on the Mendocino National Forest and not from other federal, state or private lands.
For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest or visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino.
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- Written by: Editor
COW MOUNTAIN – Closures will be in place at the South Cow Mountain Off- Highway Vehicle area near Ukiah during competitive motorcycle events during two weekends in April.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said the closures are needed for public safety.
From Friday, April 3, through Sunday, April 5, the entire OHV area will be closed to the public during the North Bay Motorcycle Clubs Sawmill and Family enduro events.
On Sunday, April 19, the Benmore and Boundary Ridge trails (numbered 23 and 25) will be closed to the public during the Sonoma County Sport Cycle Associations Outlaw Hare Scramble. Other roads and trails will remain open.
We are expecting up to 400 riders for each of these races, said BLM Ukiah Field Manager Rich Burns. We have to be as certain as we can that no one accidentally gets onto the race course, for the safety of the public and the participants.
For more information, contact the BLM Ukiah Field Office, 707-468-4000.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The weather has cooled and the wind has persisted through the last few days. The coming week looks to be more of the same.
The bass bite on Clear Lake is reasonably good, when the lake is fishable. We’re seeing some crappie in shoreline areas, and the catfish are busy about eating well. Here are the details.
The bass bite has fluctuated almost as much as the weather has. In fact, it would easily be said that the bite has followed the weather right up and down now for a couple weeks.
When the weather is warm and the wind slows down the bite is rather good. On the flip side, when the wind has howled or the temperature has dipped quickly, the bite drops off substantially.
We’ve had anglers out throughout and the results are simply varied depending on what the environment is doing. Mostly, for those catching fish, the pattern hasn’t changed much. We’re still talking about shallow water with nearby access to deeper water. Now, we’re not talking so much about drop-offs and ledges, but moreover staging areas as these fish are getting ready to spawn. Jumbo minnows are working well.
We’re stocking a couple thousand jumbos a week now. I keep edging our orders higher and higher so as to not run out from week to week. So I’ll say this … we’ve got your minnows! Spinner baits, shallow cranks, and crawdad imitators are our top sellers this week. Also moving well are the finesse worms from Maverick and Roboworm. And lastly, one of regulars was night fishing this week and banging big bass on black & blue jigs. Gotta love that night fishing!
For the crappie, the word has it that there are crappie being caught around the lake in shallow water. The numbers aren’t significant, but some nice fish are being taken. Live minnows and small jigs have both been key in the reports. No particular color patterns have emerged for the artificials.
Catfish are cooperative in good numbers and sizes all around the south end of the lake. Jumbo minnows and mackerel have been the top baits. Sure am looking forward to the Catfish Derby coming up in May!
Hope you have a fun and productive weekend on Clear Lake. Please come by and share your catch with us so we can grab a picture or two for our brag board.
Bob Rider is owner of Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, 14913-D Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, telephone 707-994-FISH (3474). Visit the store online at www.994Fish.com.
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LAKE COUNTY – Two young local wrestlers are putting Lake County on the map as they travel to a regional wrestling competition.
Team Punisher Wrestling is proud of Blake Fredrickson, 8 years old and wrestling for three seasons, and Gabriel Freeman, 9 years old and wrestling for his first season, of Clearlake.
This weekend the two youngsters headed to Reno, Nev., for a competition.
This season Blake is 20-0 and Gabriel is 15-4.
The team's coaches are Ronnie Campos Jr. and Daryl Fredrickson, two devoted men who work with more than 30 children in Middletown two to four times a week.
It was not easy for these two young boys to get to their level of competition. They work out every day and practice all the time.
Both boys have taken multiple wins at various places including Ukiah, Middletown, and most recently this Saturday in Grass Valley.
Not only have these two team members have been burning up the mats but the team reports that almost all of the 30 children who participate are doing quite well.
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