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Monday, April 4, 2011 – Daily News – 3B Woodcutting permits available starting today Starting today, personal use firewood permits will be avail- able for purchase from the Men- docino National Forest. Permits are $5 per cord of wood, with a minimum pur- chase of four cords for $20. The permits are good through Dec. 31. Use of firewood permits on the Covelo Ranger District is permitted through Nov. 30. The wood does not have to be cut at the same time. All firewood removed must be dead and down. It is illegal to remove firewood from the National For- est without a valid permit. Permits must be purchased in person from one of the Forest offices. If a person is unable to cut the wood themselves, they can obtain a third party autho- rization that will allow someone else to cut or gather the wood. However, the permittee must still purchase the permit in per- son. The Mendocino National Forest only accepts cash or check as payment for firewood permits and sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive tags and a map of the Forest. Permit holders should be aware that federal and state quarantines to prevent the spread of sudden oak death (SOD) are in effect for Lake and Mendocino Counties. Any fire- wood cut in these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma. Firewood permits can be pur- chased from the following offices: • Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s Office/Grindstone Ranger District Office, 825 N. Humboldt Ave., in Willows, open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 934-3316. • Stonyford Work Center, 5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road, in Stonyford, open 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1- 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Call 963-3128. •Covelo Ranger Station, 78150 Covelo Road, in Covelo, open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call (707) 983- 6118. • Upper Lake Ranger Station, 10025 Elk Mountain Road, in Upper Lake, open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call (707) 275-2361. Gathering firewood is impor- tant to many individuals and Bringing spiritual practice to social action The Mindful Campus group at Cali- fornia State University, Chico is spon- soring a talk by Donald Rothberg, Ph.D., on “Mindfulness, Contemplative Prac- tice and Civic Engagement” on Monday, April 4 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Rothberg will explore how to bring contemplative practice to civic engagement. The talk, in Selvester’s 104 on the CSU, Chico campus, is free and open to the public. “Despite the examples of Gandhi and King, all too often the spiritual and the social have been separated, particularly in the modern world,” said Margaret DuFon, a member of the Mindful Cam- pus group. “Donald Rothberg will explore how contemplative practice and civic engagement can nourish and inform one another and how their inte- gration is crucial for responding to some of the great challenges of our times. He will identify key principles and practices that can help us to weave together con- templative practice with civic engage- ment.” Rothberg has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1976 and is a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He was formerly on the faculties of the University of Ken- tucky, Kenyon College and Saybrook Graduate School. Currently, he writes and teaches classes on meditation, daily life practice, spirituality and psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. He has helped to guide three training programs for connecting contemplative practice with service and social change work through the Buddhist Peace Fel- lowship, Saybrook and Spirit Rock. He is the co-editor of “Ken Wilber in Dia- logue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers” and the author of “The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Bud- dhist Approach to Transforming Our- selves and the World.” While in Chico, Rothberg will present two additional events—a workshop, “Working with Judgments,” on Sunday, April 3, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., and a meditation and dharma talk on Monday, April 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. Both of these events will be at the Sky Creek Dharma Center, located at 120 Three Oaks Court near the Chico Airport. The Sunday workshop will explore one major area of challenge in civic engagement—how we may judge oppo- nents, co-workers and ourselves harshly. It will help the participants to distinguish the judgment from discernment and offer contemplative practices to trans- form the judgmental mind. Registration is $15 for the event, an opportunity to offer a donation for Rothberg. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information on both of these events, contact Ann Ponzio at 894-1898, or e-mail her at annpnz@gmail.com. The Mindful Campus program at Cal- ifornia State University, Chico is funded by a Center for Learning and Teaching (CELT) Impact Grant. For further infor- mation about the program, contact Mar- garet DuFon at mdufon@sbcglobal.net or 530-898-6151. Abalone season open; new report cards available California’s popular red abalone season opened April 1 in waters north of San Francisco Bay. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds divers and rock pickers that anyone taking abalone must record their catch on an abalone report card, and tag the animal with corresponding tags from the cards. This year, all licenses and cards will be available through the new Automated License Data System (ALDS), which automatically records purchases in an active database. “Abalone report cards are a vital source of informa- tion needed to manage this resource, and the ALDS will allow us to track whether individuals have returned their report cards as required by law,” said DFG Asso- ciate Marine Biologist Jerry Kashiwada. “In the past, we could not easily determine who had not returned their cards.” Abalone report cards should be returned to the DFG Fort Bragg office at 32330 North Harbor Drive, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5554. This season’s return deadline is January 31, 2012, although cards may be submitted early. Abalone report cards must be returned even if no abalone is taken. Because of the nature of the paper used for the ALDS abalone report card and tags, scissors are need- ed to separate the tags from the card just prior to attach- ing them to an abalone. In the past, scissors were not needed to separate the pre-perforated tags. Tags that are separated from the cards ahead of time are invalid. Holes may be punched in the tags immedi- ately after purchase, however. Other slight modifica- tions to the tagging procedure, such as using scissors to cut off tags, may be needed with the ALDS report cards. The Fish and Game Commission is currently con- sidering proposals for marine protected areas (MPAs) along the north coast, from Point Arena in Mendocino County to the Oregon border. The north coast MPA process will not affect the 2011 abalone season. To find out more about the MPAs currently under considera- tion, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/northcoast.asp. Currently, the only open abalone fishery in Califor- nia is in the northern region of the state. This fishery is biologically sustainable and has remained productive for nearly 60 years. In 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, the recreational catch in northern California was an estimated 295,000 abalone. Everyone engaging in the take of abalone is respon- sible for knowing and abiding by all California abalone sport fishing regulations. A complete list of abalone fishing regulations is also available in the 2011 Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet, available wherever fishing licenses are sold, at DFG offices and online at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations. families surrounding the Men- docino National Forest. Follow- ing are some tips for a safer experience. • Plan your trip – check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes for spring and fall through winter cutting, water, emergency food, and the appro- priate gear for the season when you are gathering firewood. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave and are prepared for changing condi- tions in the mountains! Also, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back. • Keep vehicles on designat- ed roads and be aware of chang- ing weather and road condi- tions. Wet dirt roads can quickly turn to mud, making it possible to get stuck and causing damage to road, soil and water resources. If there are puddles in the road, mud flipping off the tires or you can see your ruts in the rearview mirror, consider pulling over and taking a hike to look for wood, or turning around and finding a different area to cut your firewood. • As we enter fire season, be aware of fire restrictions or clo- sure order than may be in place restricting where you can go. Make sure you have a spark arrester on chainsaws and any other mechanical equipment being used. • Make sure you are cutting firewood on the Mendocino National Forest and not from other federal, state or private lands. For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino. • Everyday Cheapskate • Coupon Queen • Gleaners • Savage Truth on Money The Daily News - At your side when times are tough