Exciting New Cabin Cam!

Ed Leonhardt (Cabin 39), our cabin cam-master has made some wonderful changes and additions to the Cabin Cam site. Rather than try to describe it here, we encourage to simply click on the image above, or click on this Cabin Cam link to visit the new site and experience it for yourself. Check out all of the new weather data, photos, and other informative links that are available there. Thanks, Ed, for all of your time and effort over the past many years since you first set up the Cabin Cam in 2004!

To help him decide what other changes and additions to consider in the future, Ed would like to know which aspects of the Cabin Cam site you use and enjoy the most, and what suggestions you have for additional features and capabilities for the site. Please make your comments below on this blog post, or send your comments, suggestions, and thank-you notes to Ed using our website Contact Form. Let's all tell Ed how much we support and appreciate the wonderful resource he is providing to us with his Cabin Cam.

If you would like see the old Cabin Cam site for comparison, it is still available for a limited time at the following link: Old Cabin Cam. Take a look at the old site to really appreciate all the wonderful changes Ed has made!

Fast, Reliable Internet Service?

An ongoing dilemma at the Southwest Shore seems to be the lack of fast, reliable internet service. Once again we would like to start a group discussion about the internet service alternatives that work best in the Southwest Shore. Please take a few minutes to leave a comment below, and tell us how you get your internet service in the Southwest Shore. Is your cell phone reception strong enough to use your phone as a "hot spot" to provide internet access to computers and tablets? Do you have some type of amplifier to boost your cell phone signal? Do you get internet service via Dish Network or Direct TV? Do you have some form of DSL service through your landline phone? Please let us know what you are using, how satisfied you are, some idea of the installation and monthly costs, and any other information you think might be helpful. Thanks in advance for your willingness to share your experiences and insights.

USDA Forest Service Annual Permit Fees

By now all cabin owners should have received and paid the 2017 Forest Service Annual Permit invoices. If you did not receive an invoice from USDA Forest Service, we suggest you immediately contact  Scott Evans, our Forest Service Special Uses Coordinator (909-382-2802 or saevans@fs.fed.us). If you have not yet paid your annual Forest Service Annual Permit fee, we suggest that you pay it as soon as possible, to avoid issues and additional charges. The Cabin Fee Act is now in effect and stabilized, so there appear to be no outstanding unresolved issues. At this point the only future fee increase allowed under the CFA is an annual adjustment for inflation. There are no more time-consuming, costly, and controversial appraisals involved in the fee determination process. For more information please follow this link to read "Cabin Fee Act - 2017 Update" on the National Forest Homeowners (NFH) website.

Speaking of National Forest Homeowners, the NFH organization continues to do excellent work on behalf of the owners, families, and friends of the almost 14,000 cabins that are part of the federal Recreation Residence Program on National Forest System land across the country. We encourage you to visit the NFH website (NationalForestHomeowners.org) for current information on the implementation of the Cabin Fee Act, as well as other issues that are important to Forest Service cabin owners. You might also consider becoming a member of NFH, as a way to offer your financial support the organization.

2016 Brush Clearance Project

During the summer our Association once again sponsored the annual Brush Clearance Project to gather and remove brush, shrubbery, tree limbs, slash, and other forest debris that constitute a fire hazard. The project was completed and the brush piles hauled away in October 2016 after many of you had already closed your cabins for the season. Dennis Moran (Cabin 84) and Rick Krugh (Cabin 38) organized the project, and through their efforts we were able to take advantage of a USFS grant that provides funds for projects to maintain healthy forests and reduce fire fuels. The Brush Clearance Project was completed at no cost to our Southwest Shore Association or its members. Thanks, Dennis and Rick, for your excellent work on behalf of all the Southwest Shore families and friends. Thanks, also, to all the cabin owners, families and friends who did their part to clear brush and debris from their cabin areas to help keep our local forest healthy and safe. 

About Them Bears...

As you have probably heard, there has been at least one black bear (they actually may be red, brown or black in color) foraging around our cabins this summer, and the drought may attract others from the high country down to the lake. The recent bear representative visiting the area is probably a juvenile (only about 150-170 lbs), who has not yet established a territory.  Our quick research reveals the following information:

The San Bernardino Mountains were California grizzly bear territory until that species was exterminated by man in the early 1900's. Black bears were first introduced to these mountains in the 1930's when "problem bears" from Yosemite Park were relocated here. There is now a stable, permanent population of descendants of those Yosemite bears, living in the forests of Big Bear. These bears become quite large (500 lbs.), are a protected species, have great predatory powers and speed, and like to eat meat as well as plants -- but they do not, we are pleased to report, hunt human prey or normally pose a threat to humans. Very shy of humans, they enter settled areas to find garbage and other food that they associate with human habitation. They can be very dangerous, however, particularly in the following circumstances:

• If the bear loses its natural shyness by too much human contact and by being fed by humans, it is likely to associate cabins with food, and may break into cabins or otherwise become aggressive with humans. This human-induced bear misbehavior will result in Fish and Game wardens eventually killing the nuisance bear to protect the offending humans – an unfair but common result;
• If the bear, based on its extraordinarily keen sense of smell (which can extend for miles), mistakes you for prepared food because of food odors on you or your clothing (e.g., some campers have been mauled while sleeping outside after handling food and/or wearing clothing which was worn while cooking);
• If the bear and your dog have a hostile confrontation, the bear easily may kill the dog, or may chase the dog, and the dog may thus lead the angry bear back to your cabin, at which time your animal-management skills will be severely tested. Best not to permit your dog to wander;
• If the bear is surprised or scared by your unexpected presence, particularly if it feels cornered. You should make noises when you are hiking, so that bears can avoid you;
• If a mother bear thinks that you may be bothering her cub in any way, or coming between her and her cub, she will become aroused and aggressive. Young bears, cute as they may be, therefore pose a special danger to humans and are to be avoided, because there is usually a cranky and protective mother bear nearby; and
• If, upon encountering a bear, you make sudden movements or turn and run, you may trigger an aggressive “chase” response by the bear. If possible, back away slowly, at the same time taking care not to come nearer to a cub or between a bear and its cub. Depending on the circumstances, making loud noises such as clanging metal plates may scare off the bear.

The paramount rule for peaceful co-existence with bears is "do not to feed them in any way." Do not leave food (including bird seed) or garbage in a place where it may attract bear attention or entry. Do not throw or bury garbage outside the cabin, and do not store it outside, even in closed trash cans. And do not rely upon screen doors to deter bear entry to garbage or exposed food.

Considerations similar to the above also apply to bobcats and other large predators, who may also occasionally visit the SW Shore Colony in search of water and food.

Submitted by Dick Fisher, based on a previous Southwest Shore advisory notice dated September 10, 1996.

2016 Annual Meeting Agenda

Please join us for the 2016 Southwest Shore Annual Meeting on Saturday, July 2, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at our usual spot on Keystone Point. Please bring your own chairs, hats, sun screen, and beverages. We will provide updates on the latest news and activities at the Southwest Shore. In particular, Betsy Curley and Laurie Large will give us the latest details on the upcoming SWS Summer Celebration on July 30. If you have questions, or would like to help with the party, this is your chance to join in. Here is the preliminary agenda of topics to be discussed at the meeting:

• Update from National Forest Homeowners (NFH) Association
• Review of current "SWS Operating Plan and Architectural Standards"
• Forest Service Approval for Cabin Improvements
• New Forest Service Personnel
• Annual Brush Removal Project
• BBMWD Lake Permit Procedures for Kayaks, Canoes, and other small craft
• Update on Emergency Services contact information
• SWS Financial Report
• Update on Summer Celebration Party

 
If you would like to refresh your memory about last year's Annual Meeting, the Minutes of the 2015 meeting are available on our SWS website. Please join us in person for this year's Annual Meeting.

2015 Annual Dues Suspended

Centennial Picnic -- kids' water relay

The Southwest Shore steering committee has determined that there are sufficient funds in the SWS General Fund to cover our anticipated expenses for at least the next few years, as well as to provide a reserve for unanticipated situations. Therefore, we are suspending the collection of the $100 annual dues payment, effective immediately. Please do NOT send any dues payments this year.

Some people have proposed that we use some of our surplus funds to have another Southwest Shore family picnic, subsidized by the SWS General Fund. It may be too late to organize an event for the current summer, but if you are interested and willing to work on planning a future family event, please send us you name, ideas, and comments using our SWS Contact Form.

Searching for Rocky

The Forest Service is looking for Flying Squirrels

Hello, Big Bear Tract Cabin Owners,

The Forest Service has asked us to communicate to you the following appeal for information about flying squirrels in our local forest. Please read their message and news release, and then reply with your feedback to the email or telephone number shown below. Thanks very much. ____________________________________________________

Dear Recreation Residence Tract Residents,

If cabin owners have seen any flying squirrels at their tracts, we would like to hear from them. We are particularly interested in the following information:

• Name/address of site
• Approximate dates/years of observations
• What was the flying squirrel doing?
• Do you see them regularly?

Please share this email with as many cabin owners and users as possible.  If anyone has sightings to report, please contact our District Wildlife Biologist, Robin Eliason. Her contact information is below. Thank you. We appreciate your help.

Robin Eliason District Wildlife Biologist Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest Mountaintop Ranger District Phone: 909-382-2832 Fax:  909-866-2867 reliason@fs.fed.us

P.O. Box 290 41374 North Shore Drive Fawnskin, CA 92333-0290

____________________________________________________

NEWS RELEASE

U.S. Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest For Immediate Release Contact: John Miller at (909) 382-2788 Twitter: @sanbernardinonf

In Search of the San Bernardino Flying Squirrel – Have You Seen One?

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., April 21, 2015 – If you have seen a flying squirrel, the US Forest Service would like to hear from you. The San Bernardino flying squirrel is a subspecies of the northern flying squirrel. It is only known from the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains although it has not been seen in the San Jacinto Mountains for about twenty years.

Flying squirrels are closer in size to chipmunks than our larger native gray squirrels. They are nocturnal and have large flaps of skin that connect their front and hind feet. These flaps of skin allow them to glide from tree to tree. They do not fly in the same way that birds do – no flapping is involved. Their flat tail is used as a rudder to steer as they glide.

US Forest Service biologists have been studying flying squirrels on the Mountaintop District of the San Bernardino National Forest since the early 1990’s. Research is needed to have a better understanding of the current distribution, their habitat requirements, and the status of the population. Much of what we know about the distribution is based on reports from residents who see flying squirrels at their bird feeders at night or those who have found dead flying squirrels.

If you have seen flying squirrels in our local mountains, please report the sighting information to Robin Eliason (reliason@fs.fed.us 909-382-2832). Photographs would also be appreciated.