Chapter Meeting May 1

     Robert Hazelton, board member of the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association (SGWA), will speak at the May 1 meeting of the San Gorgonio Chapter. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands.

In addition to the SGWA, Robert will discuss several other topics related to wilderness, including the Leave No Trace ethic, public lands, and volunteerism.

     The San Gorgonio Wilderness, nearly 60,000 acres, was created by the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Sierra Club and the Defenders of the San Gorgonio Wilderness (Defenders), which included Joe Momyer, Alice Krueper, and many other Sierra Club leaders, had worked for several years fighting a proposed ski resort in the heart of the wilderness. In 2016 the eastern portion of the wilderness became part of the Sand to Snow National Monument, which joins the San Bernardino Mountains to Joshua Tree National Park.

     The San Gorgonio Volunteer Association grew out of the Defenders. In 2000 it changed its name to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association. Its currently has about 200 volunteers working in and/or for the wilderness. Uniformed members patrol trails, aid hikers in need, do trail maintenance, run the Barton Flats Visitor Center, and help staff the Mill Creek Ranger Station, where wilderness permits are issued.

     Robert describes himself in the words of Edward Abbey as, “a reluctant enthusiast, a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic” when it comes to wilderness, Leave No Trace, and volunteerism. Raised in a family that camped very often, Robert didn’t learn about capital “W”-wilderness until 11 years ago and has since embraced all that the idea of wilderness entails. When he isn’t involved in volunteer efforts Robert spends most of his time manipulating data as a Business Systems Analyst for a software company in Southern California. He is an advocate and master educator for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Robert lives in Redlands.