Come stay a night at the historic Mendocino Woodlands Camp in the redwoods and help with restoration projects at Big River or join us for either day.

Complimentary lodging will be provided to volunteers in rustic private cabins nestled in the redwoods at the Mendocino Woodlands Camp, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

Lodging is limited to 25 participants. Funding for this event has been provided by the California State Parks Foundation.

On Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will remove Ammophila (or European Beach Grass) and other invasive plants from scenic Big River Beach located between the Big River estuary and the historic village of Mendocino.

On Saturday night, a complimentary dinner will be served in the Woodlands historic Camp One dining hall.

On Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., volunteers will work to remove invasive English Ivy from mature stands of redwoods bordering Big River.

For more information, or to RSVP, contact Stewards Coordinator Matt Coleman at 707-962-0470 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

In 2002, Mendocino Land Trust acquired the 7,334-acre former industrial logging property and turned it over to California State Parks. Big River, home to endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout, is also one of the longest undeveloped estuaries in Northern California.

Since 2004, Mendocino Land Trust’s Big River Stewards have been working to remove invasive plants, control erosion and monitor avian and aquatic resources.

For more information about the Big River Stewards program, visit the group's Web site at www.mendocinolandtrust.org.

Community members take part in a recent Lake County 2030 planning meeting. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY – “It was nice to have a say and actually be listened to!” was the remark of one enthusiastic participant following a community workshop in Kelseyville as part of the ongoing Lake County 2030 process.

During March, more than 140 area residents gathered in a series of five interactive workshops sponsored by the Lake County/City Area Planning Council (the Lake APC).

The Lake County 2030 process is intended to establish an integrated vision and plan for growth in the County, which is projected to increase by as much as 56 percent more residents by 2030.

During the workshops – held in Kelseyville, Lakeport, Clearlake, Lucerne and Middletown – small groups of eight to 10 participants were led by facilitators in a series of exercises.

One exercise was an innovative policy card game designed to spur discussion about the interaction of such issues as land use, housing, transportation, economic development and water.

For those who didn’t have a chance to attend a workshop, a questionnaire that duplicates the workshop exercises can be found at http://migshare.migcom.com/Content/10009/Lake_County_2030_Questionnaire.html, under the link for Lake County 2030.

All Lake County residents are encouraged to fill out this questionnaire online, which will be available through April 30. County libraries and senior centers feature free Internet access, for those who don’t have their own Internet. The questionnaire also is available in Spanish.

The Lake APC will be holding two follow-up workshops during April:

• April 21, Highland Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., Clearlake;

• April 22, Senior Center, 527 Konocti Ave., Lakeport.

Each workshop will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with registration open at 5:45 p.m.

At these workshops, participants will be given a summary of the results of the first five workshops as well as the opportunity to weigh in on a preliminary draft 2030 vision for Lake County and preliminary draft principles for growth.

Later in 2010, the Lake APC will sponsor another set of workshops around the county that will invite participants to comment on the final draft vision and principles as well as a series of alternative growth scenarios for 2030.

Ultimately, there will be a final vision, growth principles and a preferred growth scenario that will be offered as guidance as the cities and the county develop into the future.

For more information, please see www.lakeapc.org, and click on the link for Lake County 2030. A summary of each of the five community workshops is available on this Web page, in addition to the Lake 2030 questionnaire.

For more information call Terri Persons, Lake County/City Area Planning Council, at 707-263-7799 or e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Lucerne Alpine Senior Center is located at 3985 Country Club Drive (corner of 10^th and Country Club) in Lucerne.

The senior center serves breakfast from 9 a.m. until noon.

The public is invited. Membership in the Lake County Democratic Club is open to registered members of the Democratic Party.

For more information contact the Lake County Democratic Club at telephone 707-263-4529 or via e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

KELSEYVILLE – The Lake County Community Co-op's April 11 general meeting will include an informative talk at Barber's Country Farm, 4680 Clark Drive in Kelseyville.

Rick Barber, owner, is generously contributing his time to show participants his organic plant nursery where we'll tour his prolific greenhouses and talk about building a good soil for gardens and planters.

This is a great no-cost opportunity to become more knowledgeable on how to build up soil for your own garden that could provide for a more productive local and sustainable harvest. The public is welcome.

Carpooling is available by meeting at the regular co-op location at 14773 Lakeshore Drive at 9:15 am.

For more information, contact Lori Patotzka at 707-994-1618.

Celebrating over one year in community, the Lake County Community Cooperative envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility.

The co-op wishes to support our local farmers and producers and provide a forum for community activities. For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.

The Wild West Shoot Out promises an evening filled with Old West-style fun. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – It's time to saddle up and get ready for the seventh annual Wild West Shoot Out.

The Rotary Club of Kelseyville Sunrise will present the event beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Mt. Konocti Growers, 2550 Big Valley Road, in Kelseyville. The shootout raises money for the Rotary Educational Fund.

The annual celebration promises good food and Old West-style fun.

The Kelseyville FFA will serve up a chuck wagon-style barbecue dinner to hungry cowboys and cowgirls. For those who like to cut a rug, the California Cowboys will provide the dancing music.

There also will be a casino, full bar, a general store to spend your casino winnings in. Then there will be the jail, which more than a few attendees may spend a little time before buying themselves out.

The fun also will include a best-dressed cowboy and cowgirl contest, door prizes and much more.

Tickets for this shoot ‘um good time are $75 each and can be purchased at the Saw Shop Bistro in Kelseyville or from any Kelseyville Rotary member.

The event also will feature a costume contest. Courtesy photo.

Lucky winner of the first place door prize at the Lake County Scout Carnival is grandpa Ed Quinnan (right) shown here with owner Guy Strohmeier, Hannah Stein (8), Torin Stein (10) and the prize, a 2002 Chevy Tracker donated by Guy Strohmeier's Auto Center. Photo by Mike Stempe.

LAKE COUNTY – Torin Stein, a Webelo 2 Cub Scout from Pack 315 in Hidden Valley Lake, worked very hard along with his fellow scouts to sell tickets to support the annual Lake County Scout Carnival held on March 14.

They braved the rain and wind spending hours at a time to help raise money for the Scouts.

Sure enough, all of his efforts paid off when he sold the winning ticket to none other than his grandfather!

Ed Quinnan of Orinda won a used car, a 2002 Chevrolet Tracker, donated by Guy Strohmeier’s Auto Center of Lakeport.

Through his generosity and that of many other local merchants, the Scouts of Lake County can spend another exciting year on their scouting journey.

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