Administration

Southwest Shore Colony Association

The Southwest Shore Colony Association is comprised of all individuals and families that own a cabin on the Southwest Shore and hold a Special Recreation Residence Permit from the Forest Service to use that land. The Association is administered by a volunteer group of cabin owners that serve as the sterring committee. Within this group there is a President and a Secretary/Treasurer. The Annual Meeting of the Association is held once per year, generally in July. Communication with cabin owners is accomplished by means of this Southwest Shore website and by periodic electronic newsletters. Dues are collected as necessary to cover any administrative expenses and to finance any special projects and activities that affect the Southwest Shore Colony as a whole. In recent years such projects include dead tree removal from bark beetle damage, annual brush removal, and support of National Forest Homeowners (NFH) efforts in favor of the Cabin Fee Act. 

Within the Southwest Shore Colony there are various subgroups, such as the Keystone Road Association, the Don Carlos Water Association, and the Spring Road Association. These are subgroups of the total membership that are directly affected by a particular road or water facility within the Southwest Shore. These subgroups finance and administer their own local projects and activities as necessary.

The main administrative activities of the Association are the Annual Meetings and financial reporting. Follow these links for more details on each of those activities:

• Annual Meetings

• Finance

• Keystone Point “Rules of the Road”

San Bernardino National Forest Cabin Coalition (SBNFCC)

The SBNFCC was formed in May 2004 by a group of representatives of the 17 recreational residence tracts that occupy San Bernardino National Forest land in the Big Bear area. The purpose of the organization to act as an interface between the recreation residence permit holders Forest Service management at the Forest and District levels. The coalition agreed to have no officers and no dues. The organization is guided by a steering committee or board. made up of one representative from each SBNF recreation residence tract. There are 3 or 4 scheduled meetings a year, timed to get information out for annual tract meetings on holiday weekends. Forest Service representatives are invited to attend, but it is a cabin-run organization.

Follow this link for more information about the San Bernardino National Forest Cabin Coalition.

USDA-Forest Service Recreation Residence Program

The Big Bear Southwest Shore Colony cabins, which are located in the Big Bear Tract of the San Bernardino National Forest, are part of the 14,000+ cabins located on National Forests nationwide that authorized as part of the USDA-Forest Service Recreation Residence Program. This programs was established by Congress in 1915 to facilitate family recreation experiences on our National Forests.

The cabins themselves are privately owned by individuals, while the land on which they sit is still owned by the American public under Forest Service management. Cabin owners receive a Special Use Permit to occupy forest land for up to a 20-year period. The Special Use Permit governs the rules and restrictions under which the permit holders can use the land and maintain their cabins. Related laws, the most current of which is the Cabin Fee Act of 2015, specify the annual fees charged for a Special Use Permit.

Follow this link for more information about the USDA-Forest Service Recreation Residence Program.