campfire

The number one cause of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans, often from unmonitored and poorly extinguished campfires.

Starting a campfire is simple enough for many people. What seems to be a problem is how to effectively and completely put one out. And while campfires are often thought of as a necessary part of the camping experience, with friends and family gathering around the campfire, it can also become very dangerous, very quickly, especially with the common wind events that occur in our local mountains.

The horrendous wildfires last year destroyed lives, homes, wilderness and wildlife. To prevent it from happening this year, Mono County is  proactively looking for ways to work with visitors to prevent what is, for many, a beautiful experience, from becoming a nightmare of scorched forest lands and broken dreams.

There were many mistakes made last year during the Covid-19 restrictions imposed on the public which cut off access to safe, established campgrounds, which only forced those wanting to camp into areas they would normally have otherwise avoided, i.e. into dispersed campsites. The campground closures did little to stop visitors from coming to the Eastern Sierra. The authorities appear to realize that a repeat of those poorly thought-out decisions should not be repeated again this year.

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Mono County taking a proactive and visitor-friendly approach to controlling disperesed camping

Learn About Efforts to Educate Visitors and Improve Management

MONO COUNTY, Calif. (MAY 17, 2021) – Mono County is hosting a virtual Dispersed Camping Town Hall to address community concerns about camping and campfires outside of developed recreation areas. At the meeting, there will be a presentation of the Eastern Sierra Dispersed Camping Collaboration’s (ESDCC) five-point campaign to improve management of dispersed camping this summer. Convened by Mono County Supervisor Bob Gardner, the ESDCC worked through this winter to develop near-term solutions to address negative impacts of dispersed camping. The Town Hall will be held Tuesday, May 25 at 5:30PM via Zoom and Facebook Live.

Following a dramatic increase in dispersed camping in the Summer of 2020, the group of agencies, organizations, and individuals met to address growing community concern with the impacts of recreation in the Eastern Sierra. The ESDCC began with a survey to identify the main problems – wildfire threat, human waste, trash, community disturbance, damage to wildlife habitat, impacts to cultural resources, and a lack of agency resources.

“Through our collaborative efforts, we have identified real actions to implement this summer to protect our communities and public lands, while preserving our forests, water, and way of life here in the Eastern Sierra,” stated Supervisor Gardner.

The ESDCC will present its five-point campaign and will answer questions and listen to community feedback during the Town Hall. Spanish translation services are available during the meeting.

Date: May 25, 2021 (Tuesday)
Time: 5:30PM – 7:00PM
Zoom: https://monocounty.zoom.us/j/99938589625
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/countyofmono

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