Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation

FOUNDATION CONSIDERS WILDERNESS TRAILS AT HANNING FLAT SPORTSVALLEY LIFE By Kern Valley Sun / December 8, 2020 Residents who want to experience the 3,800-acre Hanning Flat preserve should keep an eye out on the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation’s Facebook page to find out when the next Hike Hanning Flat date is set.... The Heritage Foundation remains in the planning stages on how to administer Hanning Flat, Bruce Vegter, president of its board of directors, told the Kern Valley Sun. In June 2020, the Trust for Public Land donated the property to the Heritage Foundation. We’re going to do our planning stages now, are not going to rush into anything quickly, he said. Like I said, we’ve got our grazing plan developed. They have some habitat enhancement ideas with burrowing owls and are exploring funding opportunities. It’s a relatively small project to manage while working with partners to progress on other wildlife enhancement plans at Hot Springs Valley Wetlands Preserve, Brown Flat and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Canebrake Ecological Reserve. Trails will be developed as part of the enhancements, he said. But we’re not going to really go out there and develop with a shovel to try to make a trail that would resemble something that you might find at Yosemite or anything like that. It’ll just be wilderness trail, Vegter said. They will try to enhance paths to some milling sites and where natural springs have water coming out of the ground. Vegter also said that there are more than 30 bird species in just a two-hour limited walking tour. Golden Eagles are among the nesting birds. Last year they discovered a pair of Great Northern Harriers nesting on the ground. We have three-colored winged blackbirds, a species of special concerns, that are nesting on our Preserve. So we let them finish their fledglings before we let the cattle come off, he said. Some open houses have been held. Within a few months, the Heritage Foundation will schedule an open house once a month on a weekend day, with an announcement on its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/KRVHF. People can come out and explore and explore for the day, he said. The all-volunteer group needs more boots on the ground, helping it with Hanning Flat and other lands it maintains. For information about volunteering and to make a donation, visit the Heritage Foundation’s website at www.krvhf.org.

The Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of over 3,800 acres of the area known as Hanning Flat. This conservation effort is the result of over two years of work to help secure funding from five different sources. While there will be no immediate changes to the area, wildlife habitat enhancement and natural resource protection will be some of our first steps. We will also be developing our plans for public access. We anticipate identifying some hiking trails to explore the higher elevations of our new preserve. So, watch for a Hike Hanning Flat announcement.

URBAN GREENING COMING TO HOT SPRINGS VALLEY Kern County and KRV Heritage Foundation Awarded Urban Greening Grant An Urban Greening grant in collaboration with the county of Kern has been awarded to our community. Funds will be used to establish and maintain a green belt that will be incorporated with a meandering multi-use walkway. This new area will be located along Lake Isabella Blvd. Starting near the Erskine Creek Road intersection and extending south to the Highland C...hapel Church. The new meandering walkway along with over 12 acres of new planting and a new border fence along the Blvd. will make a beautiful and long-over-due improvement to our community. We have been working with Kern County for over two years and look forward to seeing this project a reality. The county will be responsible for design and construction of the meandering multi-use walkway and the new fence along the boulevard. KRV Heritage Foundation will champion the planting and maintenance aspects of the project. Project Plans and Specifications will begin in the first quarter of 2020. Advertising for bids in the first quarter of 2021. Path construction and planting to begin in the second quarter of 2021. The Urban Greening Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment particularly in disadvantaged communities. https://www.krvhf.org/ https://www.facebook.com/KRVHF/

https://www.facebook.com/80484966264/posts/10157668904286265/?sfnsn=mo

KRVHF was pleased to welcome some members of the Kern River Valley Historical Society to our newest preserve Hanning Flat.

https://www.facebook.com/256564574708233/posts/1292807064417307/?sfnsn=mo

Hike Hanning Flat We are pleased to announce our first open house at our newest preserve, Hanning Flat. Our gates will be open Saturday Oct 31 from 9 an until 3 pm. Bring your lunch, water and your hiking boots and explore. The preserve is located along Sierra Way across from the Forest Service Hanning Flat area in the south lake area.

View from our new Hanning Flat Preserve