In Jim's Opinion......
Subject:TUCKER WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Date:Thu, 6 Apr 2006 16:15:10 -0400
Hello Karon--
You called regarding when the community can meet Steve Murray, and to discuss
Tucker’s future direction. I’d like to suggest Friday, 5 May at 7:00
p.m. in
the Tucker Museum. Please advise Dean Brown if that is acceptable to you and
any other interested CSUF people, as I will be out of town.
I do need to tell you that I am disappointed with the current situation at
Tucker, and troubled by the direction you have expressed for Tucker’s future.
In the 23 years that I have been a Tucker neighbor and volunteer, the place is
looking better now than it ever has. Many local Tucker supporters have
expressed the same sentiment as well. All the improvements appear to be the
work of Tucker’s manager, Birkin Newell, who you have terminated.
When Birkin took the job, he could not even move into the caretaker’s cottage
because it was uninhabitable due to the negligence of the previous “tenant,” who
installed herself there without the knowledge or permission of CSUF, according
to Bill Dickerson, and who, during the months she lived there, somehow became
a
CSUF employee. Birkin and his family renovated the cottage, repaired it after
severe storms, so far at their own expense.
Other noteworthy improvements for which Birkin is responsible include:
-a new greenhouse full of indigenous seedlings ready for springtime planting
-a renovated, improved Braille Trail complete with newly planted indigenous
plants
-Turtle ponds patched and renovated by Birkin’s family
-a greatly improved natural history museum with hands-on displays which the
kids really like
-a new rock well built by local boy scouts with whom Birkin is affiliated
-a repaired footbridge, again courtesy of local boy scouts
-excellent community relations
-coordination of several fundraising events held here in the canyon
-hiring and training of CSUF student employees
-conducting more paid tours than any of his predecessors in the 23 years
I’ve lived here. The place always seems to be busy.
The latter point is especially important because it is a source of revenue which
has been cut off at the knees just when it was gaining momentum. Birkin was
working with his contacts in the Boy Scouts and local schools, touting Tucker
as
a unique resource for outdoor education.
This leads me to my next point: Tucker is a place where students/kids can enjoy
the OUTDOORS. Your idea of sticking taxpayers with a six figure tab for a
bigger indoor Tucker with computers, larger gift shop, larger kitchen, etc.,
doesn’t seem to fulfill Tucker’s outdoor education mission, as expressed
by its
founder. Frankly, I’d rather see major expenditures go towards outdoor
education, and used to bus disadvantaged kids up here to get them out of motel
rooms and other urban environments. When I was a cabin counselor at Camp
O-Ongo, the kids most appreciative of the outdoor experience were the inner
city kids, many of whom had never been out of the city before. That is why Ms.
Argentin and I specified her union’s $500.00 donation for the benefit of
inner
city kids.
Rather than criticize Birkin because he didn’t do his paperwork the way
you
liked, you could have helped him with it. When everything else is running so
much better than it ever has, I would think the job of a good supervisor would
be to support the day-to-day operation of a facility like Tucker so the
hands-on manager could do his job and not worry about paperwork. This situation
reminds me of the last place I worked: We had a couple of salesmen who were
horrible about doing paperwork. They were always late with their expense
reports, and their sales call reports often went undocumented for weeks. But
their boss overlooked it because these guys MADE SALES, and were good at what
they did. Their supervisors supported them. The company made money.
Apparently, a Tucker operations manual was a big deal. You told me that despite
the nagging, Birkin never completed it. If you were at Tucker more often you
would have been familiar enough with daily operations to have written it, thus
enabling Birkin do what he has done so well: book and operate tours, and
continue to renovate the place.
From my perspective, I would attribute the current situation to not much more
than a personality clash. That is not sufficient reason to “throw out the
baby
with the bath water.” CSUF hasn’t always been the best administrator,
particularly in the recent past, and this makes me very nervous about the
future.
On a final note. After what occurred with Dan Rawson I hope you and CSUF are
aware that any work done along a blueline stream requires plans and careful
coordination with resource agencies, with permits approved by these agencies
including the County of Orange, the California Dept. of Fish and Game, and the
Army Corps of Engineers, with possible additional reviews by other agencies.
Dean Brown is knowledgeable about this process.
Thank you for your time.
jim sill