The Spring Mountains ECHO

GOODBYE TO FRIENDS OF THE SPRING MOUNTAINS

By Charles Washington

In June, the Spring Mountains lost good friends when the Hawkes' family moved to Grangeville, Idaho. Danny Hawkes, a Forest Service law enforcement officer assigned to the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA), transferred to the Nez Perce National Forest. The transfer was a well deserved promotion for Danny; he will be the Supervisory Law Enforcement Officer for the Central Idaho Law Enforcement Zone. He will have a staff of six law enforcement officers to cover three major wilderness areas, covering half the state of Idaho. It sounds like a tough assignment, but I know that Danny will do well, especially with the support of his wonderful family. Idaho, you're getting a hell of a good man. Going with Danny were his dedicated wife Carmel, and his sweet girls, Christina and Miranda. These four truly were friends of the Spring Mountains, and their friendship is missed. The Spring Mountains Association awarded Danny a framed "Special Award for Being a True Friend of the SMNRA" in recognition of his hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm. For her overly generous volunteer work in the SMNRA, Carmel was given several "house warming" gifts for their new home in Idaho. Christina and Miranda were given "Sweetest Girl on the Mountain" awards.

Over many evenings my wife, Barbara, and I had long discussions with Danny and Carmel, about the conflicts that exist when you have a 318,000 acre National Recreation Area with an estimated 2.5 million visitors annually, located within 45 minutes from the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, and have a shrinking budget for both recreation and law enforcement. Danny was convinced that the only way to protect and conserve the SMNRA was to educate the public on how to properly use the resources, and provide more developed recreational opportunities in areas that can be supervised. He regarded the public as the "customers of the Forest Service" and saw the role of the Forest Service as a provider of services, with the services being information, education, and recreational opportunities. Law enforcement is what you do when those things fail. I think he has a rather unusual view for a law enforcement officer, but Danny is an unusual guy. Even though he has constantly dealt with the worst that mankind has to offer, he has remained optimistic and hopeful, still seeing the possibilities of what can be. Knowing that it is impossible to effectively "police" 318,000 acres with the dwindling Forest Service resources (only one Law Enforcement Officer), Danny saw Community Policing, or Networking for Resource Protection, as the best solution.

Networking for Resource Protection is not a new concept, but it is not widely known or practiced. The idea is to form a partnership of interested not-for-profit organizations, like the Spring Mountain Association and the Sierra Club, with the Forest Service, having a goal of management and protection of the resources of the SMNRA. The partnership helps identify the resources to be protected, determines methods of protection, assists in the protection process, and monitors the result. This is a bit like returning the responsibility of managing public lands back to the public: What a concept!

In addition to the Networking for Resource Protection, more recreational opportunities must be developed, and there has to be an increased presence of the Forest Service on the Mountain. During the period of time that Las Vegas has grown from 200,000 to 1,200,000 people, the number of campsites has not increased, there are no new recreation areas, no new parking spaces, and the presence of the Forest Service on the Mountain has actually decreased. With an estimated 2.5 million visitors, the SMNRA and the people of Southern Nevada deserves better!

Danny wanted to do something to alleviate the problems discussed above, and he started by talking to anyone who would listen about solutions. He is gone now, so it is up to us to pick up the torch he carried and make it happen. If you are interested in being part of the solution, please call me and join the team. (e-mail: NVExplorer@aol.com or call 896-7213).