In response to an attack on a nature and hiking area in Mount Shasta, our community has rallied to raise money, repair the damage and make a statement that destructive behavior will not be tolerated in the north state. Click here to read about the vandalism and repair efforts!
On Thursday evening, March 20, the Siskiyou Land Trust will host a free show by National Outdoors Writer of the Year Tom Stienstra to raise funds through donations and a prize-filled raffle. The event will start at 7 p.m. at the Sisson Museum, located at the fish hatchery for the Department of Fish and Wildlife on North Old Stage Road in Mount Shasta.
In February at Sisson Meadow, vandals damaged a bridge over a creek, destroyed the arbor leading to Alder Street, ripped heavy steppingstones from the hillside and threw them into the water, and also ruined two benches that were crafted and donated by the Strawberry Valley 4-H Club. In addition, some of the glass panels in a kiosk were kicked in and a few shingles were torn from the top of the small structure.
Repairs, even with volunteers, will cost over $5,000, said Sam Baxter, president of the Land Trust. “A lot of people put their hearts into the work to make Sisson Meadow a special place,” Baxter said. “For a lot of us, that’s why seeing the damage felt like getting stabbed in the heart.”
Stienstra will headline the March 20 benefit event and share the story, photos and details of the adventure Sierra Crossing, where he crossed the Sierra Nevada from east to west as the first pioneers would have seen it. In fall of 2013, in a ceremony in New York, Stienstra became the first outdoors writer in the nation to win the President’s Award’s, as national Outdoor Writer of the Year, newspaper division, for the third time.
“The north state is a special community where most people look out for each other and have each other’s backs,” Stienstra said. “When you hurt one person, you hurt everybody. We need to come together, fight back and show we know how to do the right thing.”
Entrance to the show is free. Donations are voluntary.
As part of the raffle that will follow the show, local residents are making donations to help encourage people from near and far to participate. Outfitter and fishing guide Jack Trout, now in Chile, heard about the damage and donated a rafting/flyfishing trip on the Upper Sacramento River. Stienstra is donating several of his books.
To donate for the raffle or to the Siskiyou Land Trust, phone Baxter at (530) 925-9077.
